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Injury-time equalisers gave Kilmarnock and St Mirren a boost in their bid to win their UEFA Conference League third qualifying round ties.
Bobby Wales picked the perfect moment to score his first goal for Kilmarnock as the teenager’s stoppage-time equaliser kept his side well in the hunt for European progress against Tromso.
The 19-year-old produced an instinctive first-time finish to earn his side a 2-2 draw against the Norwegians in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.
Bobby Wales scored a last-gasp equaliser against Tromso
Killie had also struck early on but failed to build on Kyle Vassell’s opener and became embroiled in a cagey affair.
The home side conceded a sloppy equaliser just after the break through Jakob Napoleon Romsaas before the visitors netted again on the counter-attack, with Lasse Nordas netting.
The Ayrshire side had a penalty award rescinded after a VAR review before Wales struck.
The goal from the attacker, who scored 12 times on loan with Alloa last season, will give Kilmarnock a fighting chance of prolonging their European adventure when they travel to the world’s northernmost professional football club next Thursday.
“What pleased me was the way we finished the game, the spirit,” said Killie boss Derek McInnes afterwards.
“That was us all over last season. That’s why we’re in Europe because we never know we’re beat. We keep going and it was a really special moment for Bobby Wales.
“Great spirit, great determination. You always remember how the game finishes. I think they think the game’s won. It’s not and we will look forward to next Thursday.”
Olusanya the hero for St Mirren
Meanwhile, Toyosi Olusanya was the last-gasp hero for St Mirren against Brann, netting a leveller in the 90th minute.
St Mirren grabbed a 1-1 draw with Brann
The home side struggled for long spells in the first leg of their third qualifier against the visitors who moved the ball with pace and purpose, while the heroics of Buddies goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe kept them at bay.
The visitors went ahead in the 75th minute through midfielder Felix Myhre’s low drive, but in the 89th minute Olusanya popped up with a close-range leveller which Saints will gladly take into next week’s second leg in Bergen, although they will need to increase their level of performance if they are to go through.
Brann’s goal came when the ball fell to Myhre and he rifled a low drive through a ruck of bodies and into the net from a corner.
But there was drama in the final minute when Olusanya bundled the ball over the line from a cutback from fellow substitute James Scott and St Mirren Park erupted in unexpected joy, with Euro hopes resurrected.
“First and foremost, for this group of players and the club to be alive in this tie going into the away game is a fantastic story,” said St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson, who was disappointed that Olusanya will miss the second leg for a booking which “looked like the goalkeeper ran into him”.
“It is a fairy-tale story from where the club has come from,” he added.
“Young boys making their way in the game, not making fortunes of money being able to compete against a very good side with resources way beyond our dreams, so a fantastic storyline.”
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