HJK advanced to the Europa League at the expense of Silkeborg.
Santeri Väänänen tries to prevent Mark Brink from centering. Frank Cilius
HJK pulled off a tough trick on Thursday night when they drew 1-1 away from Silkeborg and secured a place in the Europa League with 2-1 on aggregate.
Bowing to the Finns was a noticeable blow to the Jutes, because they had imagined a different script for the pair of matches. Silkeborg’s European games now continue in the Conference league.
The coach apologized
The top team of the Danish Superliga is part of the foursome in the Conference League draws, so several big-name teams can enter its group. Silkeborg coach Kent Nielsen however, was not excited about meeting the names of Central and Southern Europe, but emphasized the importance of getting results instead of cash receipts.
– It is not an experience trip. I’m really sorry that we didn’t qualify for the Europa League because we always want to be at the highest possible level. We will continue in the Conference League and we intend to make the most of it and hopefully we will meet teams that we are capable of beating, Nielsen told Ekstrabladet.
CEO of Silkeborg Kent Madsen also admitted that it is bad to remain a dreamer of the next place.
– This was a great opportunity that we didn’t use, and I will feel a huge disappointment for a few days. We would have liked to play against the top teams of the biggest leagues, but there might still be big teams from the basket on Friday, Madsen reminded.
The group draws for the European and Conference leagues will take place today in Istanbul, Turkey.