Milsami Orhei took an important step towards the third qualifying round of Europa League after tying abroad 1-1 in a second round match against Shahtior Soligorsk, Belarus. The other representative of Moldova in Europa League, Dacia Chisinau, suffered a 0-2 defeat in the return game against Chernomorets Odessa, Ukraine, IPN reports.

In the encounter between Milsami Orhei and Shahtior Soligorsk, the score for the hosts was opened by Pavel Sitko in the first half. In the second half, Milsami managed to draw through striker Petru Leuca. The return match will be played in Orhei on July 25.

“It is a fair result. We yielded to pressure at the beginning of the game, but we then pulled ourselves together and managed to score. Everything will be decided in a week. Both of the teams deserve to qualify, but the game will show,” said Milsami coach Stefan Stoica.

The goals in the Dacia Chisinau – Chernomorets Odessa game were scored in the first and last minutes of the second half by Sergei Samodin and Olexiy Antonov. “We had problems with the lack of concentration. Consequently, we received a stupid goal in the last seconds,” said Dacia coach Igor Negrescu.

The draw to decide the matches of the Europa League third qualifying round will take place at the UEFA head office in Nyon on July 19.