Croatia’s vice-champions defeated Poland’s Częstochowa “Raków” club 3:2 in overtime in the decisive fourth qualifying round match.
The first match ended in a 2:2 draw, so the Croats needed to win the return match away.
“Hajduk” led twice after goals by Ron Raci (1 min.) and Michele Šego (66 min.), but the Poles equalized twice thanks to accurate shots by Mohamed Lamine Diaby-Fadiga (61 min.) and Mahir Emreli (88 min.), so the teams had to play overtime.
The decisive goal was scored in the 94th minute by Lithuanian-born US emigrant R. Pukštas.
The 22-year-old midfielder has recently been actively linked with a move to “Middlesbrough,” which plays in the second tier of English football.
Read more Behind the scenes of the CŽA director’s visit to Moscow: analyst deconstructed the details
We remind you that in the third qualifying round, “Hajduk” eliminated the Lithuanian club Vilnius “Žalgiris” with an aggregate score of 9:2.
Both “Kauno Žalgiris” and “Hajduk” will play in the main Conference League stage. Both the Lithuanian champions and “Hajduk” will learn their opponents at the draw ceremony starting at 2 p.m. on Friday.
The Conference League will start on October 15.
