Players from Santa Coloma pulled off a stunning upset by defeating Ukrainian vice-champions Polesie 2-1 in the first leg of their Conference League qualification quarter-final. The Andorran club now heads into the July 31 return fixture with a surprising advantage.
"We were expected to be the underdogs, but our team showed tremendous character after conceding first," a Santa Coloma representative might have said after their unexpected victory.
The match began according to script with "Polesie" opening the scoring, but things quickly unraveled for the Ukrainian side. By halftime, "Santa Coloma" had scored twice, completely turning the tables on their heavily favored opponents.
Bookmakers had given the Andorran side almost no chance before kickoff, with odds reaching as high as 13.00 for their victory compared to just 1.20 for "Polesie". Talk about a betting upset!
Interestingly, this isn't the first surprise Santa Coloma has delivered in this qualification campaign. The Andorran outfit previously eliminated Borac after winning 4-1 away in the first round before losing 0-2 at home but advancing on aggregate.
Polesie FC appeared disjointed throughout the match, lacking attacking edge despite their status as vice-champions of Ukraine. They even lost the shots-on-target battle 2-3, highlighting their struggles against supposedly weaker opposition.
The return leg in Astana on July 31 at 21:00 now sets up an intriguing scenario: Can "Polesie" regroup and overturn this deficit, or will Santa Coloma complete one of the biggest sensations of the current European qualification campaign?
Bookmakers still favor the Ukrainian side to advance despite their first-leg stumble, offering odds of 2.05 for a Polesie win with a -1 handicap. But after what we've seen, would you bet against these Andorran overachievers?
