Motherwell were eliminated from the Conference League after suffering a 4-1 defeat against Freiburg at Europa-Park Stadion, succumbing to a 7-2 aggregate scoreline.
The Scottish side had restored hope when Emmanuel Longelo cancelled out Derry Scherhant's early opener, but a red card for Jake Girdwood-Reich before the hour mark left Motherwell vulnerable to a late collapse.
Motherwell, based in North Lanarkshire, were competing in the play-off round of the UEFA Conference League, Europe's third-tier club tournament. German Bundesliga side Freiburg, who reached the Europa League final last season, hosted the second leg at their Europa-Park Stadion holding a 3-1 lead from the first match at Fir Park.
Freiburg took control of the tie in the sixth minute when Scherhant latched onto a defence-splitting pass from Maximilian Eggestein. The striker ran through and finished past exposed Motherwell goalkeeper Alex Paulsen from ten yards out to extend the home side's aggregate advantage.
The German hosts continued to press early on. Yuito Suzuki threatened a second goal after dispossessing Ibrahim Said on the edge of his own penalty area, before Scherhant sent a tantalising low delivery across the face of goal.
Longelo equaliser gives Steelmen hope
Motherwell created their first chance of the night in the 17th minute when Jamie Knight-Lebel met Alex Lowry's free-kick at the back post, heading wide of the target. Five minutes later, the 1,400-strong visiting support got the moment they had travelled to Germany for.
Longelo surged forward from his own half in the 22nd minute and unleashed a low shot from 22 yards out. Home goalkeeper Mio Backhaus fumbled the effort completely into his own net, sparking jubilant scenes in the away end as Motherwell levelled the second leg at 1-1.
Freiburg responded quickly as Scherhant and Suzuki both threatened to restore the German side's lead, while Motherwell forward Seb Palmer-Houlden saw a low shot pushed away by Backhaus. Suzuki was then denied by Paulsen before Cyriaque Irie smashed an angled shot off the crossbar before half-time.
Red card triggers second-half collapse
Motherwell remained competitive into the second half until Girdwood-Reich was shown a straight red card just before the hour mark. The defender was dismissed for tripping Scherhant as the forward burst clean through on goal.
Paulsen tipped Scherhant's resulting free-kick over the crossbar, but Freiburg struck from the subsequent corner in the 60th minute. Igor Matanovic glanced a header into the net from four yards out to restore the home team's lead on the night.
Three minutes later, Motherwell conceded from another corner as Irie headed in from six yards out. Freiburg hit the woodwork twice more as the match became a matter of damage limitation for the visitors, before Keisuke Goto lashed in the fourth goal from 12 yards with five minutes remaining.
Johansson reflects on European exit
The dismissal of Girdwood-Reich was the second red card Motherwell suffered in the tie. A week earlier at Fir Park, Martin Moormann was sent off in the first leg, paving the way for Freiburg to secure a 3-1 win in Scotland.
Speaking after the second leg, Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson praised his team's performance over the first 60 minutes while admitting the challenge grew too demanding following the red card.
The Swedish manager said: "I think we competed really, really well for 60 minutes and after that obviously it becomes much more difficult once again, and from there it's about trying to protect as much as you can."
Johansson added: "Could we have done that a little bit better? Maybe in some decisive actions in our own box but I think the guys they tried everything that they had so all in all it was good for 60 minutes and then it was tough."
