Celje advance to UEFA Conference League Round of 16

The Slovenian football champions Celje have made it to the round of 16 of the UEFA Conference League by defeating APOEL Nicosia 4:2 on aggregate in the second leg of the knockout phase play-offs, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Celje played out a 2:2 draw with APOEL at home last week, making a step further, defeating the Cypriot champions in GSP Stadium in Nicosia 2:0 to qualify for the last 16.

The home side was better in the first half but it was Celje's Armandas Kučys who scored for the guests with a header in the last seconds of the period.

Celje were better in the second half and doubled the lead in the 51st minute, when midfielder Tamkar Svetlin converted from inside the box after a nice assist by Svit Sešlar.

Veteran Žan Karničnik described the match as "phenomenal" in his comment for the Sportklub portal. He said Celje were "working hard, creating opportunities and deservedly won".

After what is one of the greatest achievements in European competitions for the Celje club, they will play Switzerland's Lugano in the knock-out round of 16 in March.

Before the draw determined their opponent, their Spanish head coach Alberto Riera said he did not care which Celje drew as long as "we play this good."

Meanwhile, Olimpija Ljubljana were eliminated by the Bosnian champions Borac Banja Luka. They played out a goalless draw with the Bosnian champions at home for an aggregate loss of 0:1.