Scotland's Conference League teams both grab dramatic goals in Norwegian joust as Czechs move closer to Hearts date

Young striker Bobby Wales stepped off the bench for Kilmarnock to score in their 2-2 draw with Tromso at Rugby Park, while Toyosi Olusanya struck late for St Mirren as they drew 1-1 with SK Brann at the SMiSA Stadium in Paisley.

It means Killie and the Buddies can head across the North Sea with some optimism against their Eliteserien counterparts, although the Norwegian teams will both be favourites to progress to the play-off round.

At Rugby Park, Killie struck early on but failed to build on Kyle Vassell’s opener and became embroiled in a cagey affair. The home side conceded a sloppy equaliser through Jakob Napoleon Romsaa just after the break before the visitors netted again on the counter-attack via Lasse Nordas.

The Ayrshire side had a penalty award rescinded after a VAR review before Wales struck. The goal from the attacker, who scored 12 times on loan with Alloa last season, will give Kilmarnock a fighting chance of prolonging their European adventure when they travel to the world’s northernmost professional football club next Thursday.

The St Mirren v Brann Bergen match kicked off 45 minutes later at 7.45pm in front of a packed crowd in Paisley, although Brann dominated and the hosts needed to rely on goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe to make some excellent saves.

Brann, who are second in the Norwegian top flight, finally broke the deadlock on 76 minutes through Felix Myhre, only for Olusanya to grab the leveller in the first minute of stoppage time.

Meanwhile, Viktoria Plzen are now warm favourites to take on Hearts in the play-off round of the Europa League after they defeated Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 2-1 in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie against the Ukrainians.

Due to ongoing Russian invasion and conflict in Ukraine, Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih had to cede home advantage in the tie, with the first leg taking place in Kosice in Slovakia. The neutral venue did not immediately hamper the hosts, though, with Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih leading 1-0 at the break thanks to a goal from Ghanaian striker Prince Kwabena Adu.

However, Viktoria Plzen - who reached the quarter-finals of last season's Europa Conference League - fought back and levelled just three minutes into the second half when 16-year-old midfielder Jiri Panos levelled. It spurred the visitors on, with Daniel Vasulin scoring what turned out to be the winner on 69 minutes.

Viktoria Plzen now hold a clear advantage going into next Thursday's second leg in Czech Republic. Should they prevail, they will host Hearts at the Doosan Arena on Thursday, August 22 before the return leg at Tynecastle seven days later.