Europa League - Dundalk 2 CS Grevenmacher 1 (Dundalk win 5-4 on aggregate):Dundalk booked their place in the second qualifying round of the Europa League after tonight's 5-4 aggregate win over CS Grevenmacher at Oriel Park.
Next up will be a trip to Bulgaria to face Levski Sofia next week for Ian Foster’s side.
The tie was 3-3 after the first leg but, with away goals in the bag, the home side all but ended the contest in the early stages.
The opener came in the fifth minute when Tiarnan Mulvenna knocked the ball down for Fahrudin Kuduzovic.
The Bosnian attempted to turn for goal but found himself on the end of a body check by Khalid Benichou. Icelandic referee Magnus Thorrison had no hesitation pointing to the penalty spot and Neale Fenn sent Marc Pleiming the wrong way from 12-yards.
Kuduzovic doubled the homes side’s lead in the 16th minute after an error by Khalid Benichou. The big centre back gave the ball away needlessly on the edge of his box. Fenn picked it up and created a yard of space with some delightful skill and Kuduzovic was on hand to sweep the ball home from close range.
From there Dundalk were always in control but Grevemacher hit a late consolation through Christian Muller but it wasn't enough to stop Dundalk progressing to the second round of a European competition for the first time since 1981.
Elsewhere Portadown also progressed with a 2-1 aggregate win over Latvian side Skonto. Richard Lecky’s 29th-minute goal gave the Irish League side a 1-0 second-leg win in Riga.
The 14-time Virsliga champions had been favourites to go through following a 1-1 draw at Shamrock Park last week.
Glentoran drew 2-2 with KR Reykjavik but lost 5-2 on aggregate.