Derry City 1 IFK Gothenburg 0 (Agg 2-0): Derry City boss Stephen Kenny again waved his magic wand at the Brandywell last night to etch his name into folklore.
Having defeated two-time Uefa Cup winners IFK Gothenburg for the second time in a fortnight, Derry City will progress in Europe for the first time in 41 years.
It was a richly deserved result, and the team of 2006 have now emulated those Derry City heroes of the Irish League back in 1965 when Willie Ross's side overcame Norway's FK Lyn.
Effort, tenacity and determination fashioned this win, and to record a 2-0 aggregate over a team of the calibre of Gothenburg was special.
Killian Brennan failed a late fitness test and Kenny opted for Stephen O'Flynn to deputise on the left side of a 4-5-1 formation.
And what a choice that turned out to be, as the Mallow man grabbed the ball in the 32nd minute following a penalty award for handball and drove the Foylesiders into the next round.
The result was clinched following a deep corner from Kevin Deery which saw Gothenburg striker George Mourad, amazingly, handle the ball inside the area.
Iceland referee Gardar Hinriksson immediately pointed to the spot, and the restricted Brandywell attendance of 2,400 held their breath.
Refusing to negotiate with anyone, O'Flynn grabbed the ball and drove it low into the corner. It was a superb strike by the stand-in winger, as Gothenburg goalkeeper Benjt Andersson guessed the correct side.
Until the penalty, both sides had taken their time to settle. Derry's McHugh and Barry Molloy created half-chances but nothing serious enough to trouble the visiting defence.
Gothenburg also had their moments, with strikers Stefan Selakovic and the towering Mourad always a handful, but Darren Kelly and Peter Hutton stood up to the challenge.
After the goal, and with Gothenburg frustrated, the home side went close to adding a second in the 34th minute. A throw-in on the left saw Beckett play a superb ball into McHugh, but he failed to hit the target with an angled volley.
And Kelly also went close when, following another Deery corner, the big centre-half's downward header was directed to the wrong side of the post.
In fact, Gothenburg forced Derry goalkeeper David Forde into his first save of the match in the 73rd minute when Mourad got his head to a Hjalmar Johnsson cross but the Galway man plucked the ball from the air.
Controversy arose in the 75th minute when substitute Marcus Berg appeared to dive following a challenge with Forde. The referee pointed to the spot, but a quick consultation with his assistant forced a change of mind and Berg was yellow-carded.
DERRY CITY (4-5-1): Forde; McCallion, Kelly, Hutton, Hargan; McHugh (McGlynn, 82 mins), Deery, Molloy, Higgins (Oman, 82 mins), O'Flynn (Martyn, 86 mins); Beckett. Subs not used: Doherty, Farren, McChrystal, Jennings.
IFK GOTHENBURG (4-4-2): Andersson; A Johansson, Bjarsmyr, D Johnsson, H Johnsson (Johansson, 74 mins); Alexandersson, Kihlberg, Wernbloom, Vasquez; Selakovic (Berg, 69 mins), Mourad.
Referee: Gardar Hinriksson (Iceland).
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