Boasting a slender advantage from the first leg of their Champions League first-round qualifying battle, KF Ballkani endeavour to complete the job against UE Santa Coloma on Tuesday evening.
The Kosovar top-flight champions left it late to secure a 2-1 success in their opening battle last week and will be rewarded with a second-round battle with Midtjylland should they maintain or add to their advantage.
Akin to Ollie Watkins in England’s Euro 2024 semi-final win over the Netherlands, Ballkani attacker Bernard Karrica was his side’s 90th-minute saviour in Andorra last week, where the three-time Kosovar champions came from behind to gain a narrow opening advantage.
Youssef El Ghazoui struck first for Tuesday’s visitors on the 22-minute mark, only for Lindon Emerllahu to dispatch a penalty on the stroke of half time, and just when a draw appeared to be on the cards, Karrica popped up with the critical moment in the dying embers.
By prevailing in front of the 445-strong crowd in Andorra la Vella, Ballkani – who won their third straight Football Superleague of Kosovo title in the 2023-24 campaign – are just 90 minutes away from a first-ever two-legged win in Europe’s premier competition.
The Gabriels have fallen at the first hurdle of Champions League qualifying in their previous two attempts, going down to FK Zalgiris in 2022-23 and suffering a 4-2 aggregate loss to Ludogorets Razgrad last year, although on both occasions, they made it through to the group stage of the Europa Conference League.
However, new ground will be broken for Ilir Daja’s side if they can reach the second round of Champions League qualifying for the first time in their history this week, although they will not be doing so at their regular venue.
Indeed, Ballkani’s Suva Reka City Stadium did not meet UEFA requirements, meaning that the second leg will instead be played at the 5,000-seater Zahir Pajaziti Stadium, offering Santa Coloma the slightest crumb of encouragement as they bid to snap a miserable sequence of European setbacks.
