Silkeborg’s hopes of advancing in the Conference League were dampened Wednesday evening after a 1-1 draw at home against Icelandic side Akureyri. The match, the first of two in the second qualifying round, leaves the tie wide open ahead of next week’s return leg in Iceland.

The Danish side Silkeborg dominated the match for long stretches, controlling possession and creating more scoring opportunities. However, they only managed to convert one of those chances.

Callum McCowatt broke the deadlock five minutes before halftime, receiving a pass from Pelle Mattsson and placing a shot into the far corner, giving Silkeborg a 1-0 lead.

Akureyri, featuring former Lyngby player Marcel Rømer, continued to battle and nearly equalized after an hour when Asgeir Sigurgeirsson’s shot went narrowly wide.

Just as Silkeborg appeared to be heading for a narrow victory, Hallgrimur Steingrimsson struck for Akureyri in added time, firing a shot into the corner of the net to level the score at 1-1.

To reach the Conference League main tournament, Silkeborg must navigate three qualifying rounds. Should they defeat Akureyri, they will face the winner of the tie between FK Novi Pazar of Serbia and Jagiellonia of Poland in the next round.