Motherwell’s impressive start under Alfred Johansson continued as they secured a 1-1 draw away to HJK Helsinki in the first leg of their Conference League third qualifying round tie.
The Lanarkshire side’s new Swedish boss briefly looked on course for his fourth consecutive victory at the helm after Tawanda Maswanhise’s penalty gave the Steelmen the lead just after the hour.
But 36-year-old former Celtic and Norwich striker Teemu Pukki equalised for Finnish side HJK within seconds of stepping off the bench.
Well, who lost Alex Lowry and Regan Charles-Cook to injuries in the closing stages, will return home feeling they have a good chance of setting up a glamour play-off round showdown with Europa League runners-up Freiburg later this month.
HJK, who thrashed Coleraine 8-0 on aggregate in the previous round, went into the match on the back of a 3-0 Veikkausliiga defeat at SJK on Monday that had left them fourth in the table.
Johansson handed a first start to on-loan Wycombe midfielder Lowry and a first start of the season to talismanic forward Maswanhise.
The hosts had the only two notable chances of an evenly contested but largely uneventful first half.
Leonel Montano saw a header from close range pushed behind by goalkeeper Alex Paulsen in the 18th minute after Pyry Mentu had lobbed the loose ball back into the danger area following a corner.
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Paulsen was called into action again two minutes after the break to deny Mads Borchers after Montano’s cutback from the left broke to the forward on the angle of the six-yard box.
Having struggled to impose themselves in the final third before the break, Well made a more purposeful start to the second half.
Within two minutes of the restart, Lowry drilled just wide from 20 yards out. Charles-Cook then saw an effort charged down in the box before Martin Moormann’s shot from Emmanuel Longelo’s delivery was deflected into the sidenetting.
Longelo then smashed a ferocious strike off the crossbar from 25 yards out as the visitors scented a breakthrough.
Just before the hour, Charles-Cook went down in the box under a challenge by Miska Ylitolva. Following a lengthy VAR check and a pitchside monitor review, Czech referee Dalibor Cerny awarded a penalty.
Almost five minutes after the infringement took place, Maswanhise stepped forward and fired home his first goal of the season from the spot, bringing a small section of the jubilant 550-strong travelling support spilling on to the edge of the playing surface to celebrate.
Pukki was introduced in the 70th minute and the veteran brought HJK level within a minute of entering the fray. Kaius Simojoki cut in from the right and slipped a pass to the veteran striker, who turned in the box and wriggled free of a clutch of Well defenders before lashing an angled finish high past Paulsen from six yards out.
