FK Liepāja booked their place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League after defeating Montenegrin side Dečic 2-1 away from home on Thursday evening, completing a 3-1 aggregate victory.
After securing a hard-fought 1-0 win in the first leg at Daugava Stadium despite playing with ten men for much of the match, the Latvian side travelled to Montenegro knowing they would face a much sterner test.
As expected, Dečic started aggressively in front of their home supporters and were rewarded after creating several dangerous opportunities. Davor Kontic broke the deadlock with a powerful strike from outside the penalty area, sending the home fans into celebration and levelling the tie on aggregate.
Liepāja gradually settled into the match and found the perfect response just before half-time. In the first minute of stoppage time, Bart Straalman surged forward from the right flank and delivered a cross into the penalty area. Although Joseph Ede Oloko was unable to reach the ball, it continued through to Dutch forward Kyvon Leidsman, who calmly slotted home to restore Liepāja’s aggregate advantage.
The equaliser shifted the momentum firmly in the visitors’ favour and left Dečić once again needing two goals after the interval.
Goalkeeper Dāvis Ošs continued to produce another assured performance in the second half, while Liepāja struck what proved to be the decisive goal midway through the period. After an initial effort was blocked by the Montenegrin defence, the loose ball fell kindly to Brazilian midfielder Fellipe Vieira, who unleashed a powerful finish into the net to put the Latvian club 2-1 ahead on the night and 3-1 in front on aggregate.
From that point, Dečic needed to score twice simply to force extra time, but Liepāja managed the closing stages confidently and looked the more dangerous side on the counter-attack.
The Latvian side almost added a third goal late on through substitute Djibril Gueye. The Senegalese forward brilliantly beat one defender before skipping past another seconds later, only to see his goal-bound effort dramatically cleared off the line by a Dečić defender.
The final whistle confirmed Liepāja’s passage into the second qualifying round, marking the club’s first successful European qualifying tie since the 2022/23 season.
Liepāja’s reward is a meeting with Austrian Bundesliga side Austria Wien, with the first leg scheduled for next week.
FK Liepāja vs FK Dečic – 2-1 (1-1) 3-1 on aggregate
Goals: Leidsman 45+1′, Vieira 63′ | Kontic 11′
