One of the eye-catching games on Thursday saw Dundee United face Rapid Wien. The tie was finely poised after last week's 2-2 draw in the Austrian capital. The Scottish club took a 2-0 first half lead through Max Watters as the striker bagged a brace for his team.
Janis Antiste got one back for last season's Conference League quarter-finalists just past the hour mark, before Ercan Kara adding an equalizer with 12 minutes left in normal time. In a lively contest with 38 shots between the two after 120 minutes, penalties were needed as once again, the score read 2-2.
Amar Fatah was the only player to miss his penalty in the shootout as he dragged his effort just wide of the mark. Rapid converted all five of their spot kicks to win the shootout 5-4 and advance to the playoff round.
One other match required spot kicks as Neman Grodno overturned their 2-0 first leg loss versus KI by winning on the night by the same scoreline. Similar to Rapid, the Belarusian side scored all five of their penalties. Their goalkeeper proved to the hero, as Maksim Below made a save in the second round which ultimately helped his team advance.
There were quite a few comebacks on Thursday, as Shamrock Rovers cruised to a 4-0 success past Ballkani, winning the tie 4-1 across the two legs. As for Rakow, they also turned things around with a 2-0 defeat of Maccabi Haifa to advance 2-1 overall.
Romania's CS Universitatea Craiova had won 3-0 at home versus Spartak Trnava last week, and when they added a fourth 32 minutes in, one would be forgiven for thinking that they would advance without issue. The Slovaks found a leveller a few mintues later, then found the back of the net thrice in the second half to force extra time in an incredible comeback.
However, CSU Craiova, who made the UECL's playoff round back in 2022/23, recovered in time, as Tudor Baluta scored what proved to be the winner in the 101st minute. A third goal on the night was added towards the end of the second extra time period as the Liga 1 outfit prevailed 6-4 on aggregate.
Perhaps the biggest story of the day came in Denmark, as Brondby, trailing 3-0 versus Vikingur Reykjavik after the first leg, found themselves down a man 18 minutes in. Yet, the Copenhagen-based club came to life after going down to 10 men. Nicolai Vallys netted on either side of the interval to give his team hope.
Filip Bundgaard tied the aggregate scored in the 57th minute before the 21-year-old doubled his goal tally 19 minutes from time.
Brondby held on with 10 men as Vallys was denied a hat-trick near the end due to a VAR intervention. Still, the Danes progressed in remarkable fashion, winning 4-0 at home, and 4-3 over the two legs..
San Marino's Virtus became their country's first-ever representative to reach the playoff round of a UEFA club comeptition after beating Milsami Orhei 3-0 at home and 5-3 on aggregate. All three goals came in the second half as the team from Acquaviva are one round away from a league phase appearance.
Dinamo Tirana pulled off an impressive scalp by knocking off Hajduk Split 3-1 in extra time. That saw the Albanians, who scored twice in the space of two minutes in the second extra period, prevail 4-3 on aggregate.
The Croatians, who played for 42 minutes down a man, will miss out on group phase football for the 15th consecutive season.
Elsewhesre, Banik Ostrava held off Austria Wien in an entertaining second leg. Erik Prekop's penalty just before the break gave the Czech side a bit more breathing room. Despite the hosts' goal midway through the second half, the 1-1 draw was not enough for they as they fell 5-4 on aggregate.
In Estonia, Andreas Buch gave his Differdange 03 team a lifeline in the 89th minute with a timely goal. That saw them force extra time versus Levadia Tallinn.
Bubacarr Tambedou gave the home side the lead two minutes in, but Buch again tied things up. A Samir Hadji penalty in the penultimate minute decided the tie, as Differdange triumphed 3-1 on the road and 5-4 overall.
The playoff round of the Conference League will take place over the next two Thursdays, though there could be some matches moved to earlier in the week. The 24 winners of that round will join the 12 losing teams from the Europa League playoffs in the league phase.
Follow all of the UEFA Conference League on Flashscore.