Auda routed in Albania, knocked out of Conference League

Latvian football club Auda saw their hopes of reaching the UEFA Conference League group stage end on Thursday night in Elbasan, where they suffered a 0:4 defeat against Dinamo City of Tirana in the second leg. The previous week Auda had earned a 1:0 win at Skonto Stadium, but the aggregate score finished 1:4 in favour of the Albanian side.

The first half was a cautious affair, with defences holding firm for a long time. The hosts were more dangerous going forward, and after Brazilian midfielder Lorrans picked up an injury, they broke through. Eridon Cardaku opened the scoring from about 20 metres, placing the ball into the bottom right corner. Shortly before the break, Klevi Çefalla met a corner kick with a first-time volley and put it into the far top corner.

Dinamo City extended their lead in the 52nd minute. A quick attack confused the three Auda players who had tracked back, and a pass from the left found the unmarked Nigerian Malomo Ajodedzi, whose first-time shot left goalkeeper Nils Toms Puriņš with no chance. Around the hour mark, Eduards Daškevičs twisted his right ankle while playing a strong, inaccurate pass across the goal and had to leave the match. David Fadairo, another Nigerian, sealed the result with a shot in the 79th minute.

As a result, Auda missed the chance to bring Cypriot side Pafos to Riga in the next round; Pafos include former Brazil international centre-back David Luiz. In the same round, RFS were eliminated by Jablonec, while Riga progressed past Hungarian side Győri ETO.