Riga beat ETO Győr 1–0 in first leg of Conference League third qualifying round
Latvian side Riga secured a narrow home victory over Hungary's ETO Győr in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round. A fourth-minute own goal by a young defender proved decisive.
Riga claimed a 1–0 win at home against Hungarian club ETO Győr on Thursday in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round. The match was part of the Champions Path, and the only goal came inside the opening minutes.
In the fourth minute, Maysa Diop delivered a pass from the right, parallel to the goal line. Nineteen-year-old ETO defender Bálint Szelényi attempted to intercept, but the ball struck his leg and flew into the top-left corner of his own net, giving Riga the lead.
Deep into the second half, Diop had another chance when his shot found the visitors' net in the 72nd minute. However, the goal was disallowed because of an offside in the build-up.
Riga began their European campaign in the Champions League qualifying rounds, losing 3–4 on aggregate to Armenian champions Ararat-Armenia in the first round. They then moved to the Conference League and beat Vardar of North Macedonia 8–4 on aggregate in the second qualifying round.
ETO Győr had also started in the Champions League qualifiers, suffering a 2–3 aggregate defeat to Víkingur Reykjavík in the first round. In the Conference League second qualifying round, they defeated Atert Bissen of Luxembourg 7–3 on aggregate.
In the Latvian top flight, Riga are second, one point behind leaders RFS. ETO have begun the Hungarian league season with one win and one draw.
Should Riga advance to the playoff round, they will play the first match away against the loser of the tie between Lech Poznań and KI Klaksvík.
Other Latvian teams have been involved in the third qualifying round as well. Auda beat Dinamo Tirana 1–0 at home on Tuesday, while RFS lost 0–2 away to Jablonec on Thursday. The return legs are scheduled for next week. The winners of each pair in the third qualifying round will reach the playoff round, while the losers will be eliminated from European competition. Reaching the Conference League group stage requires overcoming three qualifying rounds and a playoff round.
