Pyunik played its first official match of the new season in the first qualifying round of the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League, visiting San Marino’s Tre Fiori.

Before the game, few doubted Pyunik’s success, and the course of the match showed that our team could have won by a large margin.

Head coach Yeghishe Melikyan included six new players in the starting lineup: Henri Avagyan, Filipe Almeida, Aleksandar Miljkovic, Sead Islamovic, Gevorg Tarakhchyan and Sargis Metoyan. Notably, Serbian defender Miljkovic, who had recently returned to the club, wore the captain’s armband.

From the first minutes, Pyunik dominated the match, attacking from different directions. In the 8th minute, Miljkovic’s powerful long-range strike was saved by Tre Fiori’s goalkeeper Michele Nardi.

One of the most active players in the first half was Yusuf Otubanjo, who had several great chances to score, but luck was not on his side. This game marked his 28th European match with Pyunik, making him the club’s all-time leader in European appearances.

In the 30th minute, following a corner kick, Sergey Vakulenko’s header hit the goal bar, narrowly missing the target.

Henri Avagyan had little to do in the first half, only intervening once seriously to stop a close-range shot by Mario Ferri.

After the break, Pyunik continued to control the match, and it felt like our team would succeed.

But in the 63rd minute, Tre Fiori surprised everyone. Matteo Prandelli delivered a one-touch pass to Matteo Manfroni, who finished the attack with a goal.

Yeghishe Melikyan responded with a triple substitution, sending to the pitch Nicolas Kenourgios, Daniel Aghbalyan and Xavi Moreno.

In the 75th minute, another newcomer, Cameroonian striker Marius Noubissi, entered the field and immediately became active, threatening the opponent’s goal twice.

In the added time, Pyunik launched a full attack at Tre Fiori’s goal; after Otubanjo’s shot Nardi barely saved his team.

After all, our team failed to save the game and lost 0-1. However, Pyunik is able to bring back the loss and determine the winner of the confrontation in the second leg.