In 1997, the club would again play in the Cup Winners' Cup. In the first round, Croatian side NK Zagreb won 3–2 at home. Tromsø IL were down 3–0, but goals by Bjørn Johansen and Ole Martin Årst gave Tromsø a good result before the home match. The return match in Tromsø ended 3–2, as well, but this time in favour of Tromsø. Rune Lange scored the first goal, but Zagreb equalized before half time. The score was 2–2 after 90 minutes (Ole Martin Årst scored the second goal for Tromsø), and Zagreb looked like they would advance to the second round. However, one minute into injury time, Svein Morten Johansen scored, and extra time would have to be played. Five minutes into the second period, Rune Lange scored the winning goal for Tromsø. It was a historic win, as it was not only the first time Tromsø managed to win a match in a European cup, but also the first time Tromsø managed to qualify for the second round of a European cup. In the second round of the Cup Winners' Cup, Tromsø would play Chelsea. Tromsø defeated Chelsea 3–2 in the home match (after goals by Steinar Nilsen, Frode Fermann and Ole Martin Årst), which became infamous for the heavy amounts of snow that fell during the match. However, the return match did not go well for Tromsø, who eventually lost 7–1 (9–4 on aggregate). Bjørn Johansen scored Tromsø's only goal in London.