Alfred Johansson was “very proud” of his Motherwell side as they maintained their unbeaten start to his reign with 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 when Tawanda Maswanhise’s penalty gave the Steelmen the lead at the Bolt Arena just after the hour following a foul on Regan Charles-Cook.
But 36-year-old former Celtic and Norwich striker Teemu Pukki stepped off the bench to equalise with his first touch in the 71st minute, while Well midfielder Alex Lowry was down injured, leaving the tie delicately poised ahead of next week’s second leg at Fir Park.
“We played a good performance today,” said Johansson. “I’m very, very proud of the players. That was impressive, to be honest, from where I’m sat.
“I think we dug deep and we played parts of the game at a high level.
“Second half, long period was really good. It was an unfortunate situation where we conceded the goal.
“We had one guy down and it’s a very experienced number nine they have. It can happen. I’m proud of the performance, I think we’ve done a good job here.”
Johansson was particularly pleased with the way Well seized the initiative in the second half after a cagey first period.
“I think the players started to be even more brave in their decision-making,” he said. “I think we were breaking lines a little bit better.
“It’s mainly the players who decided to say, ‘no, okay, let’s play, let’s do our thing’.
“The guys were also more aggressive in the pressure in the second half, which allows you then to recover a couple of balls higher up the pitch, which then maybe gives you two minutes here, three minutes there with possession on their half, which then makes you feel more confident on the ball as well.
“I think the players, they just turned up the heat a little bit. That was good to see.”
Whoever prevails at Fir Park next week will face a glamour showdown with Europa League runners-up Freiburg in the play-off round.
“To be able to play at home, at Fir Park, with all of our people in the stands, it’s something obviously to look forward to,” said Johansson. “That’s something for next week.”
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