Coleraine FC were cheered on by around 200 fans in Helsinki during last Thursday's Conference League second qualifying round first leg in Finland. The blue and white army certainly let themselves be seen and heard at the Bolt Arena as the Bannsiders returned to the European stage for the first time in five years. However, they were joined by visitors from Italy, Russia, and South Korea as football once again brought people together. Seungwook Kim, who hails from South Korea and was in Helsinki to visit friends, met Coleraine supporters in Molly Malone's bar in the Finnish capital. After enjoying some banter, Seungwook was asked to go to the game and duly obliged as he sat with the travelling party in the away end. So, what did he make of his time amongst the Bannsiders? He replied: “It was the first time for me in a stadium. “I was invited to the game by Coleraine fans Steven McAlary and Ron Peacock one day before the game day. “The Coleraine fans were very nice to me, and I was greeted and welcomed by many of them. “In my opinion, Coleraine played quite well and just missed the right chances to score a goal. “The team and fans were great and I wish them well for the future. “Since I met Steven, Ron and the nice people from Coleraine, I am planning to visit the island of Ireland next summer in July or August time.” Andrea Lai, who was a visitor to The Showgrounds back in April and hails from Bologna in Italy, was also in Finland to lend his support to the Bannsiders. “The experience in Helsinki was awesome,” he added. “I started catching Coleraine supporters in the city centre and taking pictures with them and chatting. “In the afternoon, I had some beers in an Irish pub with some lads I met on the way to Bolt Arena, then I caught the whole group and walked with them to the match. “Meeting all the fans was wonderful, many people recognised me and were sincerely happy to chat with me and I took lot of pictures, first one of course was Scott Smyth! “Despite the final result, it was a great chance for me to consolidate a wonderful relationship with the team and the fans, feeling closer and closer.” Next fixture: vs Cliftonville FC (away, 2026-12-12) (2nd in the table).