Baku offered Sabah a European night to remember as the Azerbaijani side beat Slavia Prague 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium, collecting the first continental victory in the club’s nine-year history. After opening their campaign with a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United, Valdas Dambrauskas’ team found a far more welcoming occasion at home, with Kaheem Parris and Joy-Lance Mickels providing the goals.
Founded in 2017, Sabah were playing their first European home fixture and turned it into their first three-point return in the competition. The result came against a Slavia side that had moments of control and several close calls, but could not overcome determined defending or their hosts’ growing confidence after the interval.
A breakthrough delayed, then delivered
The match settled gradually in Baku. Parris thought he had put Sabah ahead after 17 minutes, only for VAR to rule out his finish for a very narrow offside. Slavia answered quickly: Tomas Chorý had their clearest early opportunity two minutes later, but French defender Steve Solvet stopped the effort on the goal line.
The Czech visitors continued to test Sabah before half-time. Tomáš Vlček came close after work by Ange N’Guessan, while Michal Sadílek struck the post and required treatment after colliding with it. Neither side found a goal before the break.
Sabah’s landmark moment arrived four minutes into the second half. Parris drove a shot from the edge of the penalty area beyond goalkeeper Jakub Markovic, becoming the club’s first scorer in European competition. The Jamaican’s finish changed the rhythm of the evening, allowing the home side to create more openings as Slavia pushed for a response.
Slavia believed they might have had a route back in the 82nd minute, when Lukáš Provod’s shot was blocked on the line by Akim Zedadka. The visitors appealed for handball, but the video review did not award a penalty.
The final word belonged to Sabah in the 88th minute. Markovic made an error when coming out, Mickels seized on the loose ball and rolled it towards an empty net, with Nigerian defender Samuel Isife unable to clear before it crossed the line.
A disciplined evening in Baku
Sabah began with Pokatilov in goal; Solvet, McCarthy, Puchacz and Zedadka in defence; Rakhmonaliev and Lepinjica in midfield; Du Queiroz, Veljko Simic and Parris behind Mickels. Dashdamirov, Nwachukwu and Mbina entered in the 73rd minute, while Khaybulaev replaced Simic four minutes from time.
Slavia started Markovic; Holes, N’Guessan and Zima; Vlček, Moses, Sadílek and Sturm; Provod, Ayaosi and Chorý. Suleiman and Nowak were introduced on 63 minutes, with Kubiak, Isife and Chytil following in the 73rd minute and N’Guessan departing three minutes later.
Austrian referee Sebastian Gishamer booked Sabah’s Simic, Solvet and Zedadka, as well as Slavia pair Ayaosi and Kubiak. Yet the enduring image was not the cautions or the late appeals, but Sabah’s players marking a first European win in their own city—a small club from Baku making its first clear imprint on a continental competition.
