Turkish clubs advance to UEFA Conference League playoffs
ISTANBUL
Galatasaray eliminated Scotland's St Johnstone with a 5-3 aggregate score on Aug. 12 to advance to the UEFA Europa League playoffs.
In a third qualifying round second leg game, Mbaye Diagne scored the opener for the Lions in the 30th minute at McDiarmid Park stadium in Perth, Scotland.
After six minutes, however, the home side equalized the match with an own goal from Galatasaray goalie Ismail Cipe.
But Galatasaray took the lead again with a goal from Kerem Akturkoglu in the 64th minute.
Algerian midfielder Sofiane Feghouli scored his team's third goal while Emre Kilinc netted one more goal for the Istanbul football club.
Michael O'Halloran produced St Johnstone's second goal in the 94th minute, but it was not enough to taste victory as the match ended 4-2.
Galatasaray will face Denmark's Randers for the next round.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Demir Grup Sivasspor eliminated Georgian club Dinamo Batumi on Aug. 12 to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs with a 3-2 aggregate score.
Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the first half at Yeni Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium in Sivas, Turkey.
The Georgian club found the net with Giorgi Pantsulaia in the 78th minute as the match went to extra time.
In the 109th minute, Jorge Felix produced a goal for Sivasspor, so the Turkish side advanced to the playoff round.
Sivasspor will face Denmark's Copenhagen for the next round.
Trabzonspor also eliminated Molde from Norway on Aug. 12 to qualify for the UEFA Conference League playoffs.
The Turkish team broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when Portuguese defender Edgar Ié scored from close range at Molde Stadion.
Molde leveled the match with a late goal from Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson in the 97th minute..
Regular time ended 1-1.
Neither team could score during the 30 minutes of extra time, so the match was decided on penalty kicks.
Trabzonspor won 4-3 on penalties to move to the playoff round.
The first leg ended in a 3-3 draw at the Şenol Güneş Spor Complex in Trabzon.
The Black Sea Storm will face Italy's Roma in the playoffs on Aug. 19