Andorrans FC Santa Coloma lost their away leg tie against FC Banants in Armenia but advanced to the Champions League 2nd round qualifiers on away goals
With the results now in from the return leg of a Champions League first round qualifier played this evening at the home of Armenian champions FC Banants, Maccabi Tel Aviv will be welcoming the Andorran champions FC Santa Coloma to Bloomfield Stadium next Tuesday for their first leg tie in the second of the Champions League qualifying rounds. After winning 1-0 in the first leg in Andorra, Santa Coloma headed out to the Armenian capital Yerevan in the knowledge that a draw or a loss by a margin of less than two goals would send them through to the second qualifying round for the first time in their history. With twenty minutes gone hosts Banants drew first blood, but less than ten minutes later Santa Coloma equalised. In the second half Banants once again took the lead and then added a third, and despite going down to ten men the Armenians already fancied themselves dead certs for advancing to the next round. But five minutes into injury time the Andorrans had nothing more to lose and sent everyone forward, including their Spanish goalkeeper Eloi Casals, who scored the dramatic last-gasp goal that sent his side through to the second round on the away goals rule. As for the Armenians, they can take consolation from the fact that they registered their first ever home win in European competition.
So next Tuesday at 8.30pm Maccabi Tel Aviv will open their 2014/15 European campaign against FC Santa Coloma at Bloomfield Stadium. Information on ticket sales for the match will be published in the coming days at the official Maccabi Tel Aviv website. A week later the MTA squad will head out for the return leg to the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees mountains on the border between France and Spain. The exact date of the match has yet to be determined.
FC Santa Coloma (Andorra)
Current European ranking: 378
Largest European win: July 1st 2014, 1-0 against FC Banants , July 19th 2007, 1-0 against Maccabi Tel Aviv, both at la Vella Communal Stadium of Andorra
Largest European defeat: August 23rd 2001, 7-1 against Serbian side FK Partizan in Belgrade
Appearances in Champions League qualifiers: 3
Appearances in UEFA Cup/Europa League qualifiers: 7
Largest number of European appearances: midfielder Josep Ayala (12), defender Juli Fernández (12)
Highest European goalscorer: Juli Fernández (2), Norberto Urbani (2)
