Shamrock Rovers dug deep to stay in the tie as they fell to a 1-0 first-leg defeat to Celje in Slovenia on Thursday night.
A place in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League and a showdown against either Malmö FF of Sweden or PAOK FC of Greece awaits the winner, with the Hoops needing a big night at the office in Tallaght Stadium next week to turn this around.
Stephen Bradley and his players also know that they have a play-off spot in the Conference League - and a shot at group stage football - secured if they fail to come back on home soil in the second leg.
They had a false start as an early chance by Aaron Greene was followed by a period of sustained pressure that accumulated in Luka Menalo scoring for the home side in the 34th minute.
That was a just reward for the Slovenian champions, who are hoping to qualify for the group stages of a European competition for the first time in their 104-year history.
Shamrock Rovers were forced to plug gaps early on, and Leon Pöhls was called into action on a number of different occasions during the first half.
The first instance involved a reactionary save after Armandas Kučys squared to Aljoša Matko.
Celje then won a corner and a well-worked routine involved a quick pass to an unmarked Jošt Pišek. The Slovenian Under-21 international followed that up by picking out Mario Kvesić, and his close range attempt was blocked down by Pöhls.
Rovers held their own until Menalo cut through and a left legged shot sailed in at the opposite corner.
The Hoops closed out the first half by winning a corner and Dylan Watts' set-piece was knocked wide by Sean Hoare.
The game restarted and Rovers clicked in the final third, a shift in tempo marked by the Celje defence getting in the way of a Daniel Cleary shot. Neil Farrugia also tried his luck and his effort flashed wide in the 58th minute.
The home side came through this spell and went back to what they did best, that being passing the ball around and finding space.
Rovers stood firm to deal with attempts by players like Rolando Aarons, and they broke down the right in the 77th minute.
There was no equaliser for Aaron McEneff, instead there was a corner and the referee blew his whistle for a free-kick after Lovro Štubljar punched the ball away.
Denis Popović could have doubled his side’s lead at the end of the game after a mix-up in the Rovers defence, but he missed an open goal with a curling shot.
Celje: Lovro Štubljar; Klemen Nemanič, David Zec (Edmilson 67), Marco Dulca (Matija Kavčič HT), Luka Menalo, Luka Bobičanec, Mario Kvesić, Ivan Brnić (Denis Popović 67), Jošt Pišek, Armandas Kučys (Rolando Aarons 46), Aljoša Matko (Nino Kouter 67).
Shamrock Rovers: Leon Pöhls; Daniel Cleary, Roberto Lopes, Sean Hoare, Trevor Clarke (Darragh Burns 57), Dylan Watts (Markus Poom 78), Gary O’Neill, Neil Farrugia (Graham Burke 78), Josh Honohan, Aaron Greene, Darragh Nugent (Aaron McEneff 67).
Referee: Damian Sylwestrzak (Poland)
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