Friday and Saturday brought the UEFA Women’s Champions League second qualifying round to a close, with 11 teams securing their places in the next stage as they continued their pursuit of a spot in the league phase.

Belgian side OH Leuven required a penalty shootout to overcome Fenerbahce after the two teams played out a 1-1 draw. Leuven are aiming to reach the league phase for a second consecutive season.

Konya Plummer gave the visitors an early advantage at Den Dreef, opening the scoring inside the first 10 minutes as Turkish champions Fenerbahce looked to become only the second team from their country to reach the league phase.

Leuven, who progressed to the knockout round play-offs last season, struggled to create opportunities in the first half and failed to register a shot as Fenerbahce controlled much of the contest.

The hosts eventually found an equaliser when Jada Conijnenberg converted her chance to level the score and force the match into a decisive shootout.

Leuven kept their composure from the spot, winning the penalty shootout 4-2 to secure their place in the final qualifying round.

One of the standout stories of this season’s Women’s Champions League qualifying campaign has been Czarni Sosnowiec, who defeated Spartak Myjava 4-2 in the mini-tournament final in Cyprus.

The Polish side made a fast start, taking the lead in the opening moments, but Myjava turned the game around just 11 minutes later. Czarni, competing in European competition for only the second time, responded by restoring parity from the penalty spot.

They then regained the advantage before half-time and added a fourth goal late on to complete a 4-2 victory. The result made Czarni the first team under the current competition format to progress to the third qualifying round after entering in the opening round.

Myjava, who also featured in the first qualifying round in July, had finished fourth in their mini-tournament at the same stage last season.

Austria Wien also secured their place in the next round with a commanding 5-0 victory over Farul Constanta. Modesta Uka scored twice for the Austrian side, who dominated proceedings and registered an impressive 32 shots during the match.

It is the second consecutive campaign in which Austria Wien have successfully navigated the second qualifying round mini-tournament.

PSV Eindhoven moved one step closer to the league phase with a 3-1 victory over HJK Helsinki, marking their best-ever run in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Former league phase participants Brann were pushed all the way by PAOK in a closely fought encounter. The Norwegian side eventually secured their progression when Nea Lehtola struck in stoppage time. PAOK pulled one back from the penalty spot shortly afterwards, but Brann held on for a 3-2 victory.

Koge also booked their place in the next round after coming from behind to defeat Hearts 2-1 and win their home mini-tournament.

On Friday, Servette comfortably advanced with a 4-0 victory away to Aktobe, while Breidablik began the day’s action with a dramatic 3-2 win over Dinamo Minsk in the third-place play-off. The Icelandic side, who reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup last season, needed extra time to overcome their Belarusian opponents and secure another appearance in the competition.

The other teams finishing third in their respective mini-tournaments and earning places in the Women’s Europa Cup were FC Kharkiv, Hajduk Split, Apollon Limassol, Gintra, SFK Sarajevo and Mitrovica.

St. Polten edge Sporting on penalties

In the league path, Austria’s other representative, St. Polten, moved closer to securing a fifth consecutive appearance in the group stage or league phase after defeating Sporting CP in a penalty shootout.

Neither side managed to break the deadlock during the 90 minutes, but Fanni Vago put St. Polten ahead just four minutes into extra time.

Sporting, who progressed through this stage two years ago, found an equaliser with nine minutes remaining to send the tie to penalties. However, the Portuguese runners-up missed their final two spot-kicks, while St. Polten converted all four attempts to secure a 4-1 shootout victory.

Juventus needed extra time to overcome Hammarby 3-1 and secure their place in the next round of Women’s Champions League qualifying.

Hammarby, who reached the Women’s Europa Cup final last May, took the lead after 30 minutes. However, their advantage lasted just 10 minutes before Juventus restored parity to send the match into the break level.

The Italian side eventually took control in extra time, with Remina Chiba becoming the hero by scoring twice during the opening 15-minute period. Her double secured a 3-1 victory for the Bianconere, who joined fellow Italian side Inter Milan in the next stage.

Eintracht Frankfurt also advanced after recording a 2-0 victory over Malmo. Laura Freigang scored in both halves to seal the win for the four-time champions, who are aiming to reach the Women’s Champions League group phase for a second time.

Ajax booked their place in the final qualifying round with a narrow 2-1 victory away to Rangers. Sherida Spitse sealed the win by converting a penalty in the opening minutes of stoppage time, sending the Dutch side through.

In the third-place play-off of the same mini-tournament, two-time Women’s Champions League group-stage participants Slavia Praha suffered a 5-3 defeat on penalties to Brondby following a 1-1 draw.

The result saw Brondby finish third in their four-team group for the fourth consecutive UWCL campaign. The Danish side also gained revenge against the team that eliminated them from the competition 11 years ago, while Slavia’s defeat brought their European campaign to a surprise end.

Valerenga bounced back from their disappointing semi-final defeat on Wednesday by beating Omonia Nicosia 2-0, keeping their European campaign alive.

Torreense and SeaStars Odesa also secured places in the Women’s Europa Cup after finishing third in their respective mini-tournaments.

The draw for the third qualifying round will take place on Tuesday, with the 11 mini-tournament winners from the previous round joined by seven teams entering directly at this stage. The sides will compete over two legs, with the winners claiming the final nine places in this season’s league phase.

Tuesday will also see the draw for the first qualifying round of the Women’s Europa Cup. The 11 teams that finished third in their UWCL mini-tournaments will join 13 direct entrants. The teams finishing second in Friday and Saturday’s groups will enter the competition in the following round alongside the teams eliminated in the UWCL third qualifying round.