Liepāja faces tough return leg in Montenegro in Conference League qualifier

Tonight, on July 15, Latvian club FK Liepāja will play the return leg of the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round against Dečić from Montenegro. The match will be held in the town of Tuzi, with kickoff scheduled for 21:30 Latvian time. Liepāja won the first leg 1-0 at home despite being reduced to ten men in the 21st minute after Marvin Martinšs was sent off.

The only goal in the first match was scored by Joseph Oloko Ede in the 64th minute, assisted by Amars Haidars. Liepāja's head coach Vladimir Vasiļjevs expressed confidence ahead of the return leg, stating that the team has not come just to defend but to win. He acknowledged that playing in the Balkans is always difficult and the atmosphere will be different, but the team is well prepared.

Unlike Liepāja, which played a Latvian Cup match against Auda (a 0-1 loss) between European games, Dečić have not yet started their domestic season – it begins on August 1. Montenegrin clubs have had a poor start in European competitions this summer, losing all four matches so far. For Liepāja, the first-leg win was their first European victory since 2022.

The referee for the match is Tural Kurbanov from Azerbaijan. The stadium in Tuzi has a capacity of about 2,000, and Dečić's previous home European matches attracted around 1,000 spectators. Both teams have already secured €325,000, but the winner of this tie will earn an additional €375,000. The second round opponent will be Austria Wien.

Liepāja have advanced through European rounds four times in their history, while Dečić have done so twice.