Samsunspor secured a narrow win in North Macedonia last week to put themselves in the driving seat in the tie.
As such, the task facing the visitors was an uphill one, given they are yet to win a game or even score a goal away from home in the main draw of a UEFA tournament, but they started with plenty of endeavour and energy here.
Still, there was a distinct lack of quality in the final third, although Fahd Ndzengue did well to force Okan Kocuk into a save from a tight angle.
The onus was on Shkëndija to take the game to their opponents, yet Samsunspor could at least have put their opponents under more pressure to give themselves extra breathing space.
As it was, they could only muster a few half-chances until the final minute of the first half, when Boubacarr Gaye kept out Carlo Holse’s first-time effort from just inside the box that was otherwise heading into the bottom corner.
The Ballists needed to find something to get themselves back on level terms, but within 10 minutes of the second period, they were further behind.
A penalty was awarded to Samsunspor after Jaurès Assoumou was felled by Alensandër Trumçi in the area, giving Olivier Ntcham the opportunity to put his side in front. And, unlike teammate Cherif Ndiaye, who missed a spot-kick in the first leg, the former Celtic man made no mistake.
Despite having a two-goal deficit to make up, Shkëndija offered little in the final third, even after introducing club legend Besart Ibraimi.
Instead, Samsunspor put both the game on the night and the tie to bed when Ndiaye tapped into an empty net from Assoumou’s low cross for his first goal in 2026.
Marius Mouandilmadji thought he had added extra gloss to the scoreline shortly after with a fierce drive into the roof of the net, but he was in an offside position when receiving the ball and the goal was therefore chalked off.
The centre-forward subsequently hit the post before being pulled back for offside once more, but it was a case of third time lucky as he finally had his goal, slotting the ball through Jaye’s legs.
Mouandilmadji was the competition’s joint-top goalscorer before kick-off, and his side’s superiority gave him a chance to further add to his tally.
As full time approached, he had another two more chances to add to his tally and, although he was first denied by the post, he tapped home in added time to take his haul in the competition to seven.
Overall, it was a comfortable evening for the Turkish outfit, and they will now face either Shakhtar Donetsk or Rayo Vallecano.
Shkëndija, meanwhile, were already trailblazers in their country by becoming the first North Macedonian side to reach this stage of a UEFA competition, and they can therefore be proud of their performance in the UECL as a result.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marius Mouandilmadji (Samsunspor)