Goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Maxim de Cuyper, Mats Wieffer and Olivier Boscagli capped an exceptional Brighton & Hove Albion performance that saw the Seagulls defeat Tromsø IL 4-0 in their Europa Conference League playoff match.
Having been held to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Romssa Arena, Brighton returned to Sussex needing a positive result to confirm their place in the League Phase.
Any doubts lingering after last week were quickly extinguished. They booked their spot with gusto, as a dominant first half display was rewarded with three goals.
Charalampos Kostoulas and Maxim de Cuyper, who had both been brought into the starting lineup after missing out in the first leg, both capitalised on lax Tromsø passing out from the back to put Albion 2-0 up, before Mats Wieffer put the tie beyond doubt when he thundered home a half volley just before half time.
Those goals were enough for Brighton to take their foot off the gas in the second half, but Boscagli added some gloss to the scoreline when he fired home late to complete a second 4-0 win at the Amex in four days.
Brighton supporters will now be dusting off their passports and looking forward to more ventures across the continent, with the draw for the league phase set to be conducted on Friday.
Team News
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Buoyed by his teams’ excellent 4-0 victory over Aston Villa on the opening day of the season, Fabian Hürzeler made four changes from the side that started in the arctic circle the week before, with captain Lewis Dunk replacing the injured Ferdi Kadioglu in defence.
Midfielder Matt O’Riley also came into the team for his first minutes of the season in place of youngster Malick Youcalye, while forwards Georginio Rutter and Ibrahim Osman dropped to the bench in favour of Maxim de Cuyper and Charalampos Kostoulas.
In the opposite dugout, Jørgen Vik only made one alteration from the team that heroically held the Seagulls to a scoreless draw at home, despite having 32% possession and faced 25 shots on goal. That change saw Jesper Grundt return from injury to make only his third start of the 2026 season and feature in the heart of midfield, with Lars Olden Larsen replaced in the lineup.
Story of the Match
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On a night where the hosts were looking to secure only a second ever season in European football, Albion were welcomed onto the field to a rousing rendition of Sussex by the Sea from an expectant Amex Stadium.
Buoyed by the home support, the Seagulls kicked off the second leg exactly where they left the first - on the front foot. Kostoulas went for a spectacular bicycle kick only three minutes in, but his audacious effort flew comfortably wide of the mark.
Despite coming into the game level on aggregate, Tromsø knew they faced a tough task against their Premier League opponents. Their challenge was made harder when the visitors were forced into an early change, with centre-half Vetle Skjærvik stretchered off within the opening ten minutes.
Much to the ire of Tromsø manager Jørgen Vik who was waving his arms animatedly on the touchline and throwing his water bottle, Brighton were starting to control the ball in probing areas. The visitors were pushed right back and forced to defend for their lives, with every clearance earning a huge roar from the corner of visiting support.
Despite the stout defending, an opening Brighton goal felt inevitable, and it only took 21 minutes for the Seagulls to get themselves in front. De Cuyper robbed the ball back high up the pitch and it kindly dropped to Kostoulas, who fizzed the ball home beyond the reach of former Stoke City shot-stopper Jakob Haugaard to open the scoring in the tie.
Not content with taking the lead, Brighton were in the mood for more goals as they hoped to back up the weekends’ statement win over Aston Villa with another scintillating display. Chances went begging, as O’Riley sent an effort wide of the mark before Gomez had a free header from a corner that should have nestled into the back of the net but instead inexplicably fell wide.
Those misses would matter little, as just after the half hour mark Brighton would double their advantage. Having conceded the goal and gotten away with multiple previous warnings by playing out from the back, Tromsø inexplicably decided to continue to try and pass their way through the Albion attack.
Once again they were punished for it, as de Cuyper robbed Leon Hien in the middle of the area, this time electing to put the ball past a hapless Haugaard himself. 2-0, and even with an hour to go, the tie felt done.
Brighton were not finished there. Less than five minutes later, Wieffer surged forward from full-back and started an attack. The ball came back to him, and the Dutchman thumped the ball home on the half-volley to put to bed any doubts of Brighton’s progression to the league phase.
Chants of ‘Europe again ole ole’ rang out around the Amex, with the Albion faithful looking forward to more memorable Thursday nights until Christmas at least.
With the second 45 now seemingly academic, both sides made alterations at the break. Brighton gave summer signing Pascal Struijk a debut in place of Lewis Dunk, with young defender Costinha replacing Weiffer. Meanwhile Tromsø made a triple change, with attackers Olden Larsen, Ieltsin Camoes and full-back Sander Håvik Innvær introduced in a last desperate attempt to rescue the tie.
However, those changes were in vain, as the game continued in the same fashion. Within 15 minutes of the restart Kostoulas had spurned four chances to bag his brace, first failing to connect with a dangerous ball fizzed across the area before nodding headers over and then wide moments later, with the final chance flying high over the bar.
Such was Brighton’s domination, it took Tromsø 71 minutes to have a notable effort. Unfortunately for the Eliteserien effort it was an effort best forgotten, as Hien’s attempt from a well worked set piece sailed high over the bar to ironic jeers from the home crowd.
Not content to even let the visitors have that moment, Brighton surged up the other end and looked to mirror their score from the weekend. Olivier Boscagli thought he had scored his first for the club after volleying home the rebound of Gross’ effort, but the defender had his goal disallowed having strayed comfortably offside.
The Frenchman was not to be denied, however, as he finally got himself on the scoresheet mere moments later. Gross’ delivery was only cleared to the edge of the area, and Boscagli arrowed an effort into the corner to complete the rout.
From there, the game really was done, as Albion cruised home to victory and a spot in the Conference League league phase.
For Tromsø, the wait to feature in the Conference League league phase goes on, as it’s Brit-induced heartbreak again having lost out in the third qualifying round two years ago to Kilmarnock.
But after two years away from the European scene, Brighton can look forward to continental escapades yet again. Famous nights in Marseille, Amsterdam and Athens still live fresh in the memory of Seagulls supporters, and they will be looking forward to finding out their opponents in the league phase draw on Friday 28th August.