RoPS 1-1 Aberdeen: the first division team to 4-2 on aggregate

Aberdeen will face Georgian club Chikhura Sachkhere in the second qualifying round of the Europa League after surviving a fright against RoPS in Lapland.

Leading 2-1 in the first leg, Derek McInnes' team conceded after just 70 seconds when Tarik Kada's deflected shot escaped Joe Lewis.

With the cumulative score, the Scottish Premiership team headed towards goals on the outside, but Sam Cosgrove equalized by a penalty in the first half and Lewis Ferguson scored in added time to seal the progress of Aberdeen.

After being caught off guard by the first setback, the Pittodrie team continued to dominate against the Finns.

But their inability to find a winning goal for most of the night, with Cosgrove the main culprit, made them vulnerable until Ferguson struck.

Aberdeen recovers from its early fright

Aberdeen's damaging end for the first leg – after conceding the time lost in a fatal injury, to give the Finns a lifeline – was quickly worsened in Lapland.

There was only 70 seconds left in the clock when the Finns leveled the total. Scott McKenna failed to manage a long ball under the pressure of Aleksandr Kokko and Kada made his way to the defender's lack of clearance. Curley's goal on a 25-yard shot hurt Ash Taylor in the back corner.

This left the Scots scoring points to avoid a first-round exit and launched their takeover offer with aerial bombardment. But the lack of killer instinct that cost them to Pittodrie was again evident.

A succession of centers and bullets in the direction of Cosgrove were treated by the hosts before Lewis Ferguson pbaded a header to the width of the head of a big delivery of Shay Logan.

Aberdeen's cries of penalty were ignored when Ryan Hedges's corner kick bounced off the artificial pitch and hit the hand of a defender, but they did not have to wait long time.

Former Kilmarnock player Mahamdou Sissoko hit Lewis Ferguson for a decisive tackle and Cosgrove slipped the ball into the left corner of goalkeeper Antonio Ruguero.

The striker should have added a second soon to put his team in the lead shortly after, missing the target with a header at close range after being spotted by a superb center Hedges.

Ash Taylor was asking Reguero to save his shot from afar after the break, while Aberdeen kept up the pressure, and Cosgrove was guilty of another flagrant lack when he rose to the last post to direct Jon's center. Gallagher to the side net.

The impressive Hedges punched a narrow shot, Andrew Considine took a very narrow direction and McGinn had a chip that rocked.

But the McInnes players owed Lewis a vital save in the final stages, rushing to foil Youness Rahimi, before Ferguson reached the decisive goal on the counter.

"Aberdeen wiping the ground with RoPS mid-season" – badysis

The former badistant of Scottish director Peter Houston on Sportsound

Ferguson made a good run in the final seconds of the match and stole the ball head-to-head, but scored the rebound. I think in the middle of the season, Aberdeen would wipe the ground with this team. But that's the job done, and they're in the next round.