Crystal Palace confirmed their place in the 25/26 edition of the UEFA Conference League as their one-goal lead from the first leg proved to be all the Eagles needed to ensure qualification.
It was a game of little threat from either side as the defences certainly reigned supreme in Norway on the night. Despite the lack of entertainment, Palace fans are unlikely to care as they have now qualified for a major European tournament.
The Eagles also made it 13 games unbeaten in all competitions, equalling their record as a top-flight team - yet another positive so early in the season for Oliver Glasner.
Despite a resilient effort from Fredrikstad, they exited in the qualifying round of this competition. They can take pride in being able to limit a Premier League side to very little opportunities, but may rue their lack of attacking desire now that all is said and done.
Story of the Match
All Fredrikstad's threatening moments came in the form of Daniel Eid's long-range throws into the box. Every time the Norwegian delivered the ball into the box, there was a scramble to get it away from danger - a sense of unease was surrounding the Palace defence.
Glasner's men had a couple of promising chances themselves in the opening 45 minutes, as Jefferson Lerma and Jean-Philippe Mateta both forced saves out of Martin Børsheim. However, both of these chances were from a reasonable distance, as Fredrikstad did not allow their opponents enough space to operate in the box.
The hosts best chance of the first half fell in the direction of wing-back Stian Stray Molde. Dean Henderson completely missed the long throw from Daniel Eid. That left Molde with an empty net to hit, but the 28-year-old was caught off guard and failed to turn the ball into the goal. It was a warning for Crystal Palace, who continued their hunt for an insurance goal.
But the visitors were just playing too slowly to create anything of real threat, resorting to long-range shots that rarely worried Børsheim in Fredrikstad's goal. Glasner's men were taking too many touches in the attacking areas, allowing their opponents to maintain their defensive solidity and keep them at bay.
Crystal Palace will certainly have gone into the break the more disappointed of the teams, as the Eagles looked like they did not have any tricks to pull out to break down that stubborn Fredrikstad defence. It was in fact quite similar similar to the first leg at Selhurst Park, where they were struggling to find a way through.
But the Norwegian side needed to release the shackles at some point in the second half if they wanted to find a way back into this tie. They had once again defended valiantly and almost found that crucial goal through Molde.
Not much changed in the second half for either side as Crystal Palace were still failing to up the intensity and put their opponents under any form of sustained pressure.
In fact, there was very little quality from either side in their attacking thirds. Børsheim was certainly the busier of the two keepers, making four saves over the 90 minutes, whilst Dean Henderson, had none to make. Despite being a goal down, Fredrikstad never really seemed eager to get forward, even in the dying embers.
The excitement all came in the last minute of injury time when Børsheim went up for one last long throw from Eid. The ball could not be directed goalwards, and Palace now had the ball with Børsheim still retreating toward his goal. Jean-Phillipe Mateta was through one-on-one, but the goalkeeper provided another great save, even if it failed to affect the outcome of the match.
Nevertheless, it was job done for Crystal Palace, who, despite two underwhelming performances, have qualified for the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League.
Player of the match - Martin Børsheim
Børsheim performed adequately to keep his side in the game until the bitter end.
The 20-year-old put in a very mature performance between the sticks, making four saves, including an impressive one to deny Mateta right at the death.
Had Fredrikstad gone on to get back into the match, then Børsheim would have certainly been highlighted as a key part in that, ensuring the deficit did not grow throughout this second leg.
Although his side are out of Europe for this season, Børsheim can take a lot of encouragement from his performance in this match.