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Women's Champions League qualifying: Frankfurt score eight as Rangers beat Slavia Praha

Rangers managed to advance to final of their the UEFA Women's Champions League mini-tournament.
Rangers managed to advance to final of their the UEFA Women's Champions League mini-tournament.O'Rourke/Rangers FC / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

The UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round began on Tuesday and Wednesday as the semi-finals for the 11 mini-tournaments took place.

Like the first qualifying round, this stage features four-team mini-tournaments, composed of two semi-finals, a third place playoff, and a final. One of the teams involved in each tournament hosts all four games.

Seven of the 11 mini-tournaments in the domestic champions path, while the other four are from the league path.

Scottish runner-ups Rangers came from a goal down to beat the more fancied Slavia Praha 2-1 in extra time. Hosting their mini-tournament, The Blue Belles fell behind to an Isabella Briede goal shortly after the break. Despite being outshot in the match, the hosts levelled through Nicola Docherty with nine minutes left of normal time.

Eilidh Austin was the hero for her side, with her goal coming 12 minutes into the first extra time period. Rangers managed to hold on from there despite Eva Hendle's red card towards the end.

It is the first time since 2022 they have prevailed in a Women's Champions League match.

Next for Rangers will be Ajax, who defeated Brondby 2-0 in their semi-final.

There was also joy for Scotland's other representatives, as Hearts got past Gintra 2-1. The Gorgie Girls also had to come from behind, with Ellen Dolan and Kayla Jardine scoring 10 minutes apart to see their side through.

They will take on HB Koge, the host team, who were 4-1 winners against Riga FC in their game.

One of the biggest surprises saw Iceland's Breidablik fall on penalties to Aktobe on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw.

The match saw the two goals come three minutes apart as Aktobe, who are hosting their group's matches, ended up prevailing 2-0 in the shootout. Breidablik, who reached the inaugural UEFA Women's Europa Cup quarter-finals, failed to score any of their four spot kicks.

Aktobe will take on Servette in their final after the Swiss outfit prevailed 3-0 versus Dinamo Minsk.

Three teams who were involved in first qualifying round also won their matches on Wednesday. Poland's Czarni Sosnowiec got past home side Apollon Limassol 4-2 in a shootout after a 3-3 draw across 120 minutes. They will try to make the third qualifying round versus Spartak Myjava, who defeated Vllaznia 2-1.

PAOK also managed to advance in their game, with the Greeks needing extra time to get the better of Ferencvaros 3-2. Ilektra Tzourtzevits scored the winning goal three minutes into the extra 30-minute period, lifting her club to a match against a strong Brann side, who topped Mitrovica 5-0.

Frankfurt score eight as Sporting move on easily

The team with the most goals in mini-tournament semi-finals were Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Omonia Nicosia 8-0 in their match.

Four-time winners of the UWCL, Frankfurt had first half braces from Larissa Muhlhaus and Ereleta Memeti as they raced to a 5-0 lead by the break. Playing in front of their home crown, the Germans added three more to put the match beyond doubt.

Their final will be against a Malmo side who shocked Valerenga 1-0 earlier on that day.

Also qualifying for the final of their mini-tournament were Sporting CP, who defeated Ukraine's SeaStars Odesa 5-0. There was little trouble for the Portuguese side from the get-go, taking the lead 20 minutes in.

Florencia Bonsegundo then netted a brace before the first half's conclusion, setting Sporting on their way. Their final is against Austria's St. Polten, who won 4-3 in an entertaining match versus Young Boys.

Juventus were given a more than decent test against debutants Torreense, but found a way through to win 2-1. Last season's Europa Cup finalists Hammarby won the other semi in their section 4-0 over Apolonia Fier.

League phase participants from last term OH Leuven cruised past TSC Backa Topola 4-0 in their game, setting up a final with Fenerbahce, who were 2-1 victors at the expense of FC Kharkiv.

PSV Eindhoven prevailed 3-2 against FK Sarajevo and will face HJK in their mini-tournament final. The Finnish outfit defeated hosts Racing Luxembourg 2-0. Austria Wien and Farul Constanta will contest the other final as the former beat Hajduk Split 3-2, while the latter fought their way past ZNK Mura 3-1 after extra time.

All of the mini-tournament third place matches, as well as their finals, will be on Saturday. Exceptionally, the matches in Kazakhstan are on Friday.

The 11 teams who win the finals will partake in the two-legged third qualifying round in September. The losing finalists will enter the Women's Europa Cup along with the third place finishers.

Follow everything that happens in the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifiers on Flashscore.