The Viflek Zhirony Miguel Gutierrez scored in the first half, and the defender Huanpe added a second goal with a penalty in the 73rd minute, when they defeated the guests from Slovakia Bratislava with a score of 2-0 on Tuesday, securing their first victory in the Champions League. The hosts could have increased their advantage, but the penalty by Cristiano Stuan in the closing moments of the match was saved. However, they held onto the win without any major issues ahead of their fans, who loudly celebrated their heroes after the first points for their first European season.
Gutierrez and the Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma were shining on the left flank. Danjuma specifically played well on the flank and made a pass to Gutierrez, who opened the scoring for the Spaniards three minutes before halftime. Zhirona continued to outclass their rivals from Slovakia after the break, and only a brilliant save from Dominik Takac from a strike by Bojan Miovski in the 54th minute allowed the hosts to maintain their advantage.
Zhirona eventually went ahead 2-0 when the ball, after a direct free kick from Huanpe, was touched by one of the players at the wall and flew into the net. However, the moment shifted toward the guests later when Stuan's penalty was saved by Takac, and the guests had several chances. They came dangerously close twice in stoppage time when Tigran Barsegyan sent a shot just over the bar, and Yulius Shoke sent a goal kick after a foul kick, deflecting off the upper part of the net.
Despite the late pressure, Zhirona held onto the victory and collected all three points, leaving themselves in 20th place in the league table out of 36 teams after the match on Tuesday, while Slovakia Bratislava continues to remain at the bottom after three consecutive losses and a difference of points -10.