Rijeka defeated Derry City and secured a place in the third qualifying round of the Conference League
Rijeka opened their European season with two victories without conceding a goal. Matjaž Kek's team won 1:0 away to Derry City on 30 July 2026, confirmed the advantage from the first match and advanced to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League with a 2:0 aggregate victory. The only goal at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium was scored by Daniel Adu-Adjei in the 14th minute, and the Rijeka club's next opponent will be Finnish side Ilves.
Rijeka travelled to Northern Ireland with a narrow but valuable advantage earned a week earlier at Rujevica, where Toni Fruk decided the first encounter in the 52nd minute. The return leg therefore presented a clear tactical trap: Derry had to attack in front of their home supporters, while the Croatian representatives could not allow the match to turn into a succession of duels, set pieces and unpredictable situations in front of their own goal. The home side did indeed begin the match more aggressively, but Rijeka survived the early pressure, punished a major error by the opposing defence and then controlled the result. According to HNK Rijeka's official report, 3,500 spectators attended the match, while the referee was Portugal's João Gonçalves.
Derry threatened first, Todorović stopped Boyce
Derry City tried from the first minute to impose a tempo that would allow them to quickly erase the deficit from the first match. The hosts used the width of the pitch and attempted to deliver the ball towards Liam Boyce as early as possible, while Michael Duffy and Ellis Chapman looked for space between Rijeka's back line and midfield. The best opportunity of that opening period arrived in the 11th minute. Chapman was involved in a move down the left, the ball reached Boyce approximately ten metres from goal, but Rijeka goalkeeper Aleksa Todorović came out at the right moment and saved the shot. It was a crucial intervention because a Derry goal at that stage would have completely changed the balance of power and levelled the aggregate score.
UEFA's match sheet and the club report confirm that Rijeka started with Todorović in goal, with Ante Oreč, Ante Majstorović, Alfonso Daniel Barco and Mladen Devetak playing in front of him. Tiago Dantas, Branko Pavić and Niko Janković operated in midfield, while Amer Gojak, Toni Fruk and Daniel Adu-Adjei formed the attacking part of the line-up. That formation allowed Rijeka to stabilise possession after a demanding opening while retaining enough pace to attack the space behind the home defence. It was precisely one mistake while playing the ball out that soon opened the way to the opening goal.
Adu-Adjei punished the mistake and shaped the entire tie
The decisive moment occurred in the 14th minute. Derry City failed to handle a situation following a throw-in in their own half, and Adu-Adjei recognised the uncertainty in the home defence, intercepted the ball and advanced towards the penalty area. The Rijeka forward entered at an angle from the left and found the far corner of goalkeeper Brian Maher's net with a precise shot. Rijeka thus took a 1:0 lead in the return leg and increased their aggregate advantage to 2:0, meaning that from that point Derry needed to score two goals without conceding another in order to force extra time.
The goal also had a powerful psychological effect. Derry had looked energetic in the opening minutes and confident that they could open up the tie, but after conceding they lost some of their initial assurance. Rijeka, on the other hand, gained the opportunity to manage the tempo and choose the moments when they would push their lines forward. According to the club report, Adu-Adjei tried again on the turn as early as the 18th minute, but Maher stopped his shot. Niko Janković tested his luck from distance in the 25th minute, while several efforts by Fruk and Janković six minutes later were blocked by the home defence.
The Rijeka team did not retreat completely, which was important for maintaining control. Instead of defending inside their own penalty area, they tried to retain the ball, slow the hosts' attacks and force Derry to expend energy while pressing. Fruk dropped into midfield to link the play, Gojak looked for space between the lines, while Adu-Adjei's movement constantly kept the home centre-backs under pressure. Rijeka's final dangerous situation of the first half fell to Janković, but after Adu-Adjei's cut-back he fired over the goal.
Control after the break and little space for the hosts
Derry coach Tiernan Lynch reacted at half-time by introducing James Clarke in place of Boyce, and during the second half he attempted to further refresh the team. Darragh Burns and Barry Cotter came on in the 62nd minute, while Jamie Stott was given the closing stages of the match. The changes nevertheless failed to produce a turnaround. Rijeka remained compact, closed the central channels effectively and generally restricted the hosts to attempts from less favourable positions. Clarke threatened in the 52nd minute, Adam O'Reilly tried with a header five minutes later, and Duffy took a free kick in the 66th minute, but according to the Rijeka club's report, none of those situations required another intervention on the level of Todorović's first-half save.
At the same time, the visitors had several opportunities with which they could have removed the final uncertainty earlier. Adu-Adjei was late to Gojak's low cross in the 53rd minute, while Majstorović shot wide seven minutes later following a Dantas corner. Dantas finished one move with a shot over the goal in the 72nd minute, and three minutes later the scorer of the only goal was also inaccurate with a header. In the 84th minute, Rijeka constructed another good move through Oreč and Gojak, after which Fruk shot from around sixteen metres, but the ball passed just outside the post.
That course of the match suited the visitors because time was working in their favour and Derry were unable to establish sustained pressure. Rijeka also used substitutions in the closing stages: Justas Lasickas replaced Janković, Ivan Ćubelić came on for Fruk, and Goran Grulović was given the final minutes in place of Adu-Adjei. The score did not change again. The final 0:1 meant that Derry's European campaign was over, while Rijeka advanced with two identical victories and a 2:0 aggregate score.
Two matches, two different scorers and two clean sheets
Rijeka built their progress on disciplined results. In the first match on 23 July at the HNK Rijeka Stadium, the home side spent a long time searching for a way to break through Derry's organised block, and the decision came at the beginning of the second half. According to UEFA's official data, Fruk scored in the 52nd minute for a 1:0 victory. Derry managed to keep the tie alive for the return leg, but at the Brandywell they failed to convert their best early opportunity, after which Adu-Adjei increased the Croatian club's aggregate advantage.
For a team that was only just entering a new competitive season, the fact that they did not concede a goal in 180 minutes is particularly important. Qualifying ties at the beginning of a season often take place before the automatic patterns of play have been fully developed, and errors at that stage can have direct consequences for an entire European campaign. Rijeka did not always play fluidly against Derry, but in both matches they found the moment to score and preserved their defensive stability. In the return leg, Todorović's save from Boyce provided additional security, while Majstorović and his teammates limited the number of serious situations in front of goal after the break.
Ahead of the return leg, Derry City made no secret of their belief in a comeback. According to the club's preview, Lynch urged the players to show more confidence and not allow their higher-quality opponents too much time and space. The home coach also emphasised the importance of support from the Brandywell stands. The start of the match showed that this plan could cause Rijeka problems, but Boyce's miss and the error preceding Adu-Adjei's goal quickly changed the circumstances. After that, Derry were no longer able to restore the intensity of the opening period.
Kek satisfied with qualification but demands further improvement
After the match, Matjaž Kek assessed that Rijeka had deservedly secured a place in the next round, although he was not satisfied with the way his team entered the match. In a statement published on the club's official website, he said that the players initially perhaps showed too much respect for Derry City's style of play, but that the goal arrived at the right moment. He particularly highlighted the character of the team and the players' readiness to respond to a physically demanding match. Kek described qualification as the fulfilment of the first objective at the beginning of the season, while stressing that Rijeka could and must play better as they progressed through training sessions and matches.
The Rijeka coach also thanked the supporters who travelled to the away match. His team now enters a period in which European commitments will be intertwined with the start of the domestic championship. According to HNK Rijeka's schedule, the first league match of the 2026/27 season against Rudeš will be played at Rujevica on 2 August. That leaves little time for recovery before the first encounter with Ilves, so workload management and squad depth will already be important in the opening days of August.
Ilves overcame Stjarnan after extra time and penalties
Rijeka's opponent in the third round will be Ilves from Tampere, who secured qualification in a considerably more dramatic manner. The Finnish team lost the first match against Iceland's Stjarnan 1:0, but on 30 July, in front of 4,201 spectators at Tammela Stadium, they won the return leg 2:1 after extra time. Jesse Kilo gave Ilves the lead in the 52nd minute and levelled the aggregate score. Stjarnan regained the favourable position in extra time with a goal UEFA credits to Bjarki Hauksson in the 108th minute, but Tatu Miettunen equalised the return-leg score in the 114th minute and took the tie to a penalty shootout.
According to Ilves' report, the Finnish team converted all five penalties, while goalkeeper Faris Krkalić saved the attempt of Andri Rúnar Bjarnason. The final 5:4 shootout victory sent Ilves into the third qualifying round. The Tampere club began their European season in the first round against Luxembourg's Differdange, and against Stjarnan they demonstrated an ability to recover from an unfavourable score and the endurance required for a match lasting more than two hours. Rijeka will therefore face a different challenge in the next tie from the one presented by Derry: Ilves arrive with the competitive rhythm of the Finnish season and confidence following a dramatic qualification.
The first match between Rijeka and Ilves is scheduled for 6 August at Rujevica, while the return leg will be played one week later in Tampere. Rijeka's objective will be to build an advantage before the trip to Finland, but Ilves' experience against Stjarnan serves as a warning that the Finnish representatives do not give up even when they fall behind. Kek's team enter the third round without having conceded a European goal and with two different scorers, while Ilves arrive after 120 minutes of football and a successful penalty shootout. During the short period between domestic and European commitments, Rijeka will have to preserve their defensive solidity while also raising the level of their play with the ball in order to take the next step towards the final stages of qualifying.
Match summary
- Result: Derry City - Rijeka 0:1
- Aggregate score: Rijeka advanced 2:0
- Scorer: Daniel Adu-Adjei in the 14th minute
- Stadium: Ryan McBride Brandywell, Derry
- Attendance: 3,500
- Rijeka's next opponent: Ilves Tampere
- First match of the third round: 6 August 2026 at Rujevica
Sources:
- HNK Rijeka - official report from the return match against Derry City, line-ups, scorer and course of the match (link)
- UEFA - official data on the return match between Derry City and Rijeka in the second qualifying round of the Conference League (link)
- UEFA - official data on the first match between Rijeka and Derry City at Rujevica (link)
- HNK Rijeka - statement by coach Matjaž Kek following qualification (link)
- Derry City FC - return-leg preview and statements by coach Tiernan Lynch regarding the tactical approach and expectations (link)
- Ilves Tampere - official report on qualification against Stjarnan after extra time and penalties (link)
- HNK Rijeka - official schedule for the start of the 2026/27 league season and the match against Rudeš (link)