Motherwell continued their promising start under manager Alfred Johansson by securing a 1-1 draw against HJK Helsinki in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round tie.
The Scottish side took the lead in the second half through a Tawanda Maswanhise penalty, but HJK equalized shortly after through former Celtic and Norwich striker Teemu Pukki, who had just come off the bench.
The result leaves Motherwell in a strong position to advance to the play-off round, where they could face Freiburg, the runners-up of the Europa League.
Motherwell's new Swedish boss expressed pride in his players' performance. "I think it was a good performance. I’m very, very proud of the players," Johansson said. "They started to be even more brave in their decision-making [in the second half], they were more aggressive in the press, which allows you to recover more balls higher up the pitch, which makes you feel more confident."
The match was largely uneventful in the first half, with HJK's Leonel Montano having the best chance. After the break, Motherwell grew into the game, with Alex Lowry and Regan Charles-Cook going close before Emmanuel Longelo struck the crossbar.
The breakthrough came when Charles-Cook was fouled in the box by Miska Ylitolva. Following a VAR review, a penalty was awarded, and Maswanhise converted for his first goal of the season.
Pukki, introduced in the 70th minute, leveled the score within a minute with an angled finish. Motherwell also faced setbacks with injuries to Alex Lowry and Regan Charles-Cook late in the game.