Auda beat Dinamo Tirana 1:0 in Conference League third qualifying round opener
Latvia's Auda defeated Tirana's Dinamo City 1:0 in Riga in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round, taking a narrow advantage ahead of the return match.
Latvian football club Auda started the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League with a victory on Tuesday. In Riga, Auda beat Dinamo City of Tirana 1:0 after a goalless first half.
The only goal came in the 68th minute, when Bartelemý Diedjou scored with an aerial shot from 18 metres after a pass from Eduards Dašķevics. Three minutes later, the visitors were reduced to ten men, as defender Fabjan Prendreka picked up his second yellow card. Auda, however, failed to turn the numerical advantage into another goal.
In the final minute of stoppage time, Dinamo City came close to equalising. Tins Hrvojs headed the ball off the line, and moments later goalkeeper Nils Puriņš made a save after a corner. The return leg will be played in Tirana on 13 August.
Auda entered the tournament in the second round, where they eliminated FCSB of Bucharest 7:3 on aggregate. The Romanian side won the European Cup in the 1985/86 season. Dinamo City, meanwhile, advanced past Astana 4:2 on aggregate after extra time in the first round and beat Aluminij 4:1 in the second.
The winner of this pair will face the losing team from the Europa League tie between Salzburg and Pafos in the play-off round.
Auda are third in the Latvian league. Dinamo City finished fourth in Albania last season and will begin the 2026/27 Albanian championship at the end of August. The Tirana club played their first European matches in the 1967/68 season and have little to show for those appearances. Last year, they lost 1:4 on aggregate to Jagiellonia Białystok in the Conference League play-off round.
Other Latvian teams play their matches on Thursday. RFS will visit Czech side Jablonec, while Riga will host Győri ETO from Hungary in the champions path. Liepāja have already been eliminated, losing 1:5 on aggregate to Austria Vienna in the second round. A club must get through three qualifying rounds and the play-off round to reach the Conference League group stage.
