Johansson unruffled as Motherwell beat HJK 2-0 at Fir Park to reach Conference League play-offs

Motherwell defeated HJK Helsinki 2-0 at Fir Park on Thursday night to secure a 3-1 aggregate and reach the Conference League play-offs, and manager Alfred Johansson embraced matchwinner Ibrahim Said after the game.

Fans were already planning travel to Germany, with supporters "digging out their passports, discovering all sorts of routes to Freiburg and dreaming of the Conference League," but Johansson kept his focus on Stenhousemuir in the Scottish League Cup while also admitting he had fed his babies to allow his wife to sleep on Thursday night. The Swede has remained unbeaten in six matches since succeeding the mighty impressive Jens Berthel Askou, and the club have continued their run despite the departures of Elijah Just, Elliot Watt, Callum Slattery and Calum Ward.

Ibrahim Said produced a pair of solo goals described in the match report as a "sublime pair of solo goals," driving the night’s celebrations; former team-mate Andy Halliday said Said would "be playing for Barcelona if he could score" and Johansson labelled him "outstanding." The 2-0 victory sent supporters home in celebratory mood after a night with more than 8,000 in the stands and secured a 3-1 aggregate win over the Finns.

From a media perspective Johansson declined to get drawn into talk of future European opponents, saying he would not look ahead to Freiburg and instead focusing on other matches: "In Helsinki, he wouldn’t look forward to this second leg, instead only Falkirk. Here, he only cares about Marvin Bartley's second-tier side," the report noted, and Johansson also downplayed Said’s recent form by saying he "didn't manage to show his offensive skills" against Falkirk last weekend.

Andy Halliday, who the article says "apparently jumped out his seat" at Said's second goal, praised the club’s approach on BBC Sportsound: "a lot of the fundamentals are very similar" under Johansson, and added, "I love what Motherwell stand for, how progressive they are, trying to do it a completely different way that's proven, surely to everyone, that it can work. "Squad development, the youth academy, playing a brilliant brand of football and the fact they lost a fantastic coach and manager last year to go out and recruit similar, I love it." He continued: "In wider Scottish football, I hope people sit up and take note of what they're doing," and: "I really hope they sign one or two more players at the top end of the pitch, because if they do that, I think they could be every bit as good as last year."

Johansson highlighted the crowd’s contribution, saying: "We had 8,100 people at Fir Park tonight which is from what I hear in modern times, if not the best, it's at least up there in terms of attendance. I'm so pleased, happy and proud to be a part of that." He added: "When you're in the dugout and the players play on the pitch, there's an energy at Fir Park that transmits down to the pitch. "It makes us better, it makes us stronger."

Motherwell will return to Fir Park on Thursday before making a trip to Germany, and their immediate priority is Stenhousemuir on Sunday — a match Johansson described succinctly as: "A final for us."