Sam Vines set up the late equalizing goal for Royal Antwerp on Thursday, as they did what was needed in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off to stay on equal footing heading back to Belgium.
Josh Cohen and Maccabi Haifa put themselves in pole position to advance past Red Star while the Yanks at Rangers still have everything to play for after their draw against PSV.
Sam Vines was the only American on the field in Europa Conference League qualification to see his team advance to the next round, with Kyle McLagan, Christian Cappis and Kenny Saief all having their hearts broken in extra time.
Malik Tillman’s late goal helped Rangers storm back from a two-goal disadvantage, while Josh Cohen and Maccabi Haifa survived an early scare to move within one step of the Champions League group stage.
It was wins all around for all Yanks competing in Europa Conference League qualifiers on Thursday, with Kanny Saief finding the net for Baku, Sam Vines going the distance for Antwerp and Kyle McLagan and Vikingur continuing their run.
Glasgow Rangers travelled to Belgium for the first leg of their Champions League tie against Union St. Gilloise, but things did not go according to plan as the Gers headed home after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Karel Geraert’s USG.
Josh Cohen and Maccabi Haifa all but assured their advancement to the final qualification round with a blow-out home win, while James Sands and Malik Tillman had a difficult outing with Rangers FC in their loss in Belgium.
The last step of the convoluted path to the Europa Conference League group stage has been set in Tuesday’s draw, giving several Americans their potential play-off round foes for late-August.
The draw for the UEFA Champions League play-off round, the final hurdle before the lucrative group stage, was made on Tuesday afternoon, setting possible qualification paths for James Sands, Malik Tillman and several other Americans.
Kyle McLagan and Vikingur continued their historical European run with an aggregate win over The New Saints while Christian Cappis notched an assist for Brøndby as they easily downed Pogon Szczecin in Europa Conference League qualifying.
