«Auda» Snatches Victory in UEFA Conference League Qualifiers Against FCSB Bucharest

«Auda» played their first match of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round on Thursday evening, facing FCSB Bucharest away. The match ended with a 3-2 victory for the Latvian club, which was clinched in the fourth minute of added time.

«Auda» took the lead as early as the fifth minute through Eduards Dašķevičs. The hosts equalized in the 23rd minute via Octavian Popescu, but «Auda» restored their advantage in the 33rd minute when Bartolomejs Djedū converted a counterattack. FCSB leveled again in the second half with a goal from Aymen Boutoutaou. The decisive goal came in the fourth minute of stoppage time, scored by Kaders Konē.

The return leg will be held on July 30 at Skonto Stadium. Both teams entered the competition at the second round. «Auda» currently sits third in the Latvian championship, while FCSB finished eighth in Romania last season and started the new campaign with a 2-0 win over Pitești «Argeș».

In the third round, the winner will face the victor of the tie between Tirana's «Dinamo City» and Kidričevo's «Aluminij». FCSB's predecessor, Steaua Bucharest, won the European Cup in the 1985/86 season, reached the final in 1988/89, and claimed the European Super Cup in 1986.

Other Latvian clubs this round: «Riga» defeated Skopje's «Vardar» 3-2 on Wednesday, RFS beat Ísafjarðarpairas «Vestri» 4-1 on Thursday, and «Liepāja» lost 0-2 to Vienna's «Austria».