Europa League semi-finalist Braga begins season with hard-fought win in Serbia
Portuguese club Braga defeated Železničar Pančevo 1-0 away in the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round, scoring from a penalty in the 67th minute.
Portuguese football club Braga, a semi-finalist in last season's Europa League, kicked off their new campaign with a tough victory in Serbia. In the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round, Braga edged past local side Železničar Pančevo 1-0 away in Pančevo, a suburb of Belgrade. The hosts were making their European debut.
The only goal came in the 67th minute when Ricardo Horta converted a penalty. Although Železničar had twice as many shots on goal (8 to 4), Braga's defense held firm to secure the narrow win.
Braga finished in the top four of the Portuguese league last season and reached the Europa League semi-finals, eliminating Real Betis (1-1 and 4-2) in the quarter-finals before losing to Freiburg (2-1 and 1-3). Železničar, meanwhile, ended the previous Serbian SuperLiga campaign in the top four and were making their first-ever appearance in European competitions.
In the next round, Braga will face the winner of the tie between Dynamo Minsk and Neftçi Baku.
In other matches of the round, RFS beat Iceland's Vestri 1-0 away, while Riga FC won 3-2 away at Vardar Skopje. Liepāja and Auda will play their first legs later, facing Austria Wien and FCSB respectively.
