Dambrauskas Sabah starts Champions League campaign with a win

UEFA Champions League first qualifying round action began positively for Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas, whose Azerbaijani champions Sabah took a significant step towards the second round with a 2-0 home victory over Welsh champions The New Saints.

The 49-year-old coach, who ended Qarabağ’s domestic dominance by leading Sabah to their first Azerbaijani title last season, returned to the Champions League as a head coach for the first time in five years. His previous appearance in the competition came with Ludogorets, whom he guided to the play-off round, while Tuesday’s match marked Sabah’s historic Champions League debut.

After a goalless first half, the hosts found another gear after the restart. Serbian winger Veljko Simić broke the deadlock in the 66th minute, giving Sabah a deserved lead after sustained second-half pressure.

The Azerbaijani champions then put themselves in an even stronger position six minutes from full-time. Jamaican winger Kaheem Parris finished off another attacking move to double the advantage and seal a 2-0 victory ahead of next week’s return leg in Wales.

The victory was Dambrauskas’ seventh in 15 UEFA Champions League qualifying matches as a head coach. Before taking charge of Sabah, he had managed six qualifiers with Žalgiris Vilnius and eight with Bulgarian champions Ludogorets.

The return leg will take place in Wales next Tuesday. Should Sabah progress, they will face the winner of the first qualifying round tie between Finnish champions KuPS and North Macedonian champions Vardar in the second round.

UEFA Champions League 1st qualifying round: