Hammarby had acquitted themselves well despite a defeat to Anderlecht in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers which had seen them drop down into the UECL. Rakow, meanwhile, had thrashed Valletta in the previous round of UECL qualification and would provide another tough test.
Across the 90 minutes, there was almost nothing to separate the sides, who produced five shots on goal each having had 50% of possession.
It's usually the visitors that come away from such even first legs the happier, given the home leg is to come, and that will be no different for Hammarby, especially after Patryk Makuch put the ball in the back of Warner Hahn's net midway through the second half, but the referee quickly chalked it off for a foul on the goalkeeper.
Either side will have to find a way through in 90 minutes of later when they meet again in Stockholm on 13th August.