AALBORG, DENMARK - Having lost the away leg 2-1, Danny Califf and Aalborg BK pulled through to the UEFA Cup draw by beating HJK Helsinki of Finland 3-0 in front of a crowd of 3,902 at Aalborg Stadion on Thursday evening.

With Martin Pedersen suspended, Patrick Kristensen took his place at left back in an otherwise unchanged defensive chain for AaB, with Califf and Michael Jacobsen in the center and Allan Olesen at right back. Behind them, Karim Zaza was finally fit after a shoulder injury and ready to make his debut between the pipes for AaB.

AaB put the pressure on from minute one and the game was only six minutes old when Kristensen sent a cross into the area. Rade Prica laid it off to Thomas Enevoldsen, who sent a beautifully aimed shot floating into the net for the opener.

Four minutes later, Enevoldsen sent Prica through on goal, but Finnish keeper Ville Wallén reached the ball just in time to thwart the attempt.

In the 23rd minute, Enevoldsen sent a cross in from the left. Siyabonga Nomvethe served it on the edge of the box for Andreas Johansson, but the Swede sent it over the crossbar.

Two minutes later, however, the cross came from Olesen on the right. Prica headed it to Johansson, and this time, the former Wigan player made the most of his opportunity.

Jacobsen came close three minutes later with a 20-yard free kick, but his shot went just wide.

With three minutes to go of the half, Kasper Risgård sent in a cross from the right and found Johansson, who sent it back across the six-yard box where Jeppe Curth managed to push it across the line so that AaB could take a 3-0 lead into the break.

The Finns did come forward on occasion, but the home defense was well organized. Despite several corner kick opportunities, Zaza played his first 45 minutes for AaB without having to make a save.

"It reminds us of going back to last year when we had the same back four for the entire season and we were committed to work defensively first," Califf told American Soccer Daily after the game.

"I think we're trying to bring that back by everybody doing their job and realizing that in order for us to be successful we have to keep the ball out of the net, and that's the first priority."

Helsinki came close seven minutes into the second when Liro Aalto sent a FK into the crowded area and several gasps went through the crowd before Jacobsen finally managed to clear it.

Another 13 minutes passed before Sebastian Sorsa sent a cross in towards Dawda Bah, but Zaza got a hand to the ball before the Gambia international could reach it.

The home crowd would have more to cheer about in the 67th minute when Thomas Augustinussen replaced Enevoldsen, returning to action after a year of injury agony.

"It's great," said Califf. "He's an incredible ball winner, plus he's a great guy to have around and a great guy on the field; a leader. So I think now with myself, Karim and Augo we have three guys in there that are vocal and can open their mouths and win balls and I think that's one thing that we've been missing."

Kabba Samura replaced Sorsa after 69 minutes, and 11 minutes later, a cross came in for the Sierra Leone native, but Zaza diverted his header out for a corner.

Four minutes before time, Aalborg had a chance to make it four. Nomvethe sent in a corner from the left, Augustinussen nodded it back to Prica, but the top scorer sent it over the crossbar.

The Finns had one last chance with a minute to go when a loose ball came to Bah in the penalty area, but Zaza went down and made another save to debut for AaB with a clean sheet.

"We felt we could have had more from the last game," Califf told ASD. "We knew that they were going to sit back and we had a better idea of what they were going to bring. But more than anything, I think we had the commitment to really work harder than them, and I think that was the key tonight."

"(Zaza) brings a lot of experience in the back and that's definitely what you need." Califf commented on his new keeper. "He talks a lot and organizes which helps me out a lot and he's really decisive in what he's going to do."

"There's a few times tonight when we're a little bit on different pages, but we haven't trained hardly at all together, so it's going to grow in time and I'm really looking forward to it."

The win sends Aalborg through to the first round of the UEFA Cup where they could face European giants such as Bayern Munich, Ajax Amsterdam or Atlético Madrid.

"I'm excited, Said Califf. "The way I look at it is they don't expect us to win. It's going to be a lot of fun to play against a good team. We don't have the pressure on us, so we're going to go out and have a great time and work hard. It's a great opportunity."

The draw for the first round will be held on Friday afternoon, with the games to be played on September 20th and October 4th.

Scoring
AAB - Thomas Enevoldsen (Rade Prica) 6'
AAB - Andreas Johansson (Rade Prica) 25'
AAB - Jeppe Curth (Andreas Johansson) 42'

Lineups
AAB - Karim Zaza, Michael Jacobsen, Danny Califf, Andreas Johansson (Cacá 88'), Rade Prica, Jeppe Curth (Mattias Lindström 58'), Siyabonga Nomvethe, Allan Olesen, Kasper Risgård, Thomas Enevoldsen (Thomas Augustinussen 67'), Patrick Kristensen

HJK - Ville Wallén, Mohamed Kamara, Liro Aalto, Vili Savolainen, Mika Nurmela, Grant Smith (Hermanni Vuorinen 54'), Dawda Bah, Jukka Raitala, Tuomas Haapala (Jarno Parikka 89'), Markus Halsti, Sebastian Sorsa (Kabba Samura 69')