Overview
- TNS were knocked out after losing 2-1 at Park Hall, leaving the tie 4-1 to Sabah on aggregate following the two-legged first qualifying round on Tuesday.
- Sabah took control with first-leg goals from Veljko Simic and Kaheem Parris, and added first-half strikes from Joy-Lance Mickels and Rahman Dashdamirov in Oswestry while Josh Lock scored a late consolation for TNS.
- Manager Craig Harrison said the side paid for missed chances and noted a gruelling near-20-hour return from Azerbaijan and a long injury list that left several key players unavailable.
- Because they exited Champions League qualifying early, TNS drop into the Conference League second qualifying round and will face Estonia’s Flora Tallinn in the next round.
- The defeat continues a recent pattern for TNS of failing to overturn first-leg deficits in Europe and leaves the club reliant on injured players returning and short recovery time to mount a run in the Conference League.