Football | Dundalk and Levadia Tallinn draw in Tallaght

Dundalk have come from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Levadia Tallinn at Tallaght Stadium in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round.

Bogdan Vastsuk bagged a brace for the visitors, with Will Patching and David McMillan scoring Dundalk's goals in Dublin.

The Estonian side took the lead after just 66 seconds, with striker Bogdan Vastsuk slotting the ball past Lilywhites goalkeeper Alessio Abibi from close range after a strong run down the left wing by Ernest Agyiri.

Dundalk responded instantly, finding the net just 73 seconds later. Patching found the corner with a tidy low finish from Dan Kelly's cut-back to the edge of the box to make it 1-1 after just three minutes.

Vinny Perth's side looked threatening, with Andy Boyle heading over and McMillan seeing a shot blocked.

However, Levadia snatched their second goal in the 19th minute, silencing the majority of the 1,000 fans inside the stadium.

Zakaria Beglarishvili capitalised on Wilfried Zahibo's poor mistake by playing through Vastsuk with an excellent pass, and the latter calmly lofted the ball over the advancing Abibi to give  Vladimir Vassiljev and Marko Savic’s side the lead.

The hosts looked for another quick response, with Kelly heading Darragh Leahy’s inviting cross narrowly wide.

Dundalk restored parity for the second time in the 27th minute, with McMillan netting his 13th European goal for the club with a tidy touch and low finish from six yards after good work by Raivis Jurkovskis.

The Lilywhites saw a penalty appeal turned down late in the first half after the referee adjudged Maximiliano Ugge's challenge on Patching inside the area to be a fair one.

Levadia came close to restoring their lead early in the second half, but Patrick McEleney reacted quickly to clear the danger after Abibi could only parry Beglarishvili's shot.

At the other end, McEleney and lively substitute Greg Sloggett fired off target, before the former shot straight at Karl Andre Vallner after good buildup play.

The winners of the return leg in Tallinn next week will face Dutch side Vitesse in the third round of qualifiers.