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Motherwell leave Conference League play-off hopes in their own hands as old foe rescues HJK - 5 talking points It's all to play for when the two sides meet again in Lanarkshire next Thursday after the 1-1 draw Motherwell will have to Finn-ish off the job at Fir Park if they want to make the Europa Conference League play-off round, writes Scott Burns from Helsinki. The Steelmen had to settle for a draw away to HJK. They had gone ahead through Tawanda Maswanhise’s penalty, but former Celtic striker Teemu Pukki came off the bench to score a wonder goal for the Finns. It now comes down to next Thursday’s clash in Scotland, as the two sides battle it out to face last season’s Europa League finalists Freiburg in the next round. Alfred Johansson’s side will certainly believe they can get the victory on their own patch. Here are five talking points from the Bolt Arena. More selection issues Motherwell had selection issues before they even landed in Finland. Dylan Williams picked up an injury against Hibs and the big one was Ibrahim Said. He was unable to travel because of a visa issue. It meant Johansson made two changes from the starting team at Easter Road. Alex Lowry came in for his first start and top scorer Maswanhise also began for the first time under Johansson. The Zimbabwe international is slowly getting back after a broken jaw. Paulsen the first half hero Motherwell came out and dominated for the first 20 minutes, but despite having all the ball they never really hurt HJK. The Finns had pace on the break and weren’t afraid to use it. They also had a cutting edge and only a string of saves from Paulsen kept them at bay. Pyry Mentu put a ball over the top for Leonel Montana, but the ‘Well No. 1 raced off his line to block. Mentu then set-up Santeri Haarala but his shot from a tight angle was palmed down and then gathered by the New Zealand international. The pick of the bunch came two minutes from the interval. HJK had worked the ball past Tom Sparrow and played it to Mads Borchers. but against the on-loan Bournemouth shot-stopper came off his line to block. It was clear HJK might not be the force they once were, but they were a step up from Havnar Boltfelag in the last round. Well’s woodwork woes Johansson had clearly shown his dissatisfaction or had changed things. Regardless, Motherwell looked a different team just after the restart. Alex Lowry had a shot blocked and Oscar Priestman followed up with a shot that he dragged wide. Motherwell had a couple of corners and went close from one. Lowry’s corner went out to Emmanuel Longelo, who curled in a great ball that Martin Moormann got his foot on but his effort came back off the near post. Motherwell continue to applied the pressure. Longelo let fly with a rocket from distance, but this time his effort rattled back off the crossbar. VAR gives Maswanhise his big moment Motherwell were eventually awarded a penalty after Miska Tlitolva’s challenge on Regan Charles-Cook. Czechia ref Dalibor Cerny was invited to go to the monitor by VAR assistant Tomas Kocourek. He did, came back and pointed to the spot. Charles-Cook had held the ball on the spot, but when calm was restored he made way for the masked Maswanhise. The striker spotted the ball and coolly sent Matej Markovic the wrong way from the spot in the 64th minute. It sparked wild celebrations from the jubilant sold-out away section of more than 550 Motherwell fans. Pukki to the rescue for HJK Pukki had a rather infamous two-year spell at Celtic, but never really hit the heights. It is about the only place where Finland's record international scorer has struggled for goals. At 36, he is now very much in his golden years. HJK head coach Joonas Rantanen said before the game he can produce magic, but now it is about managing those minutes. He certainly did that in this game. He came on in the 70th minute and within sixty seconds he had HJK level. He picked the ball up with his back to goal, beat a couple of defenders and rifled it high over Paulsen. Motherwell had looked in very little danger in the second half, up to that point. HJK tried to push for a winner and the visitors had to hang in and keep their shape as a number of ‘Well’s top players had to be replaced. Johansson and his players joined their fans after the game knowing that their European destiny is very much in their own hands.