In the first leg of the UEFA Conference League 2026/27 second qualifying round, our team faced Hungarian side Debrecen away in Hungary.

Compared to the previous match against Malta's Marsaxlokk, Artak Oseyan restored Momo Yansane to Pyunik's attacking frontline in place of Iasonas Pikis.

It is also worth noting that after a long break, James Santos returned to Pyunik's starting lineup for a European fixture following his suspension. As a reminder, he received a red card two years ago playing for Pyunik in the second leg of the Conference League play-off round against Slovenian side Celje.

Pyunik came close to opening the scoring as early as the 12th minute. Following a burst down the left flank by James Santos and a dangerous cross, the ball found Artak Dashyan, but his powerful strike missed the target. Coincidentally, it was from almost this exact spot that Artak scored for the Armenia national team against Turkey in September 2023.

Unfortunately, midway through the first half, Dashyan picked up an injury and was unable to continue—undoubtedly a major blow for our side.

In the 31st minute, the hosts threatened Pyunik's goal seriously for the first time: Gergő Tarcsa sent a cross from the right wing into our penalty box, and Dominik Kocsis’s header struck the upright.

Overall, our team looked sharper in the first half, and with a bit more composure in the final third, Pyunik could have taken the lead.

Debrecen stepped up their intensity after the restart and began attacking with more sharpness. Gergely Tercza and Sergi Samper both had decent chances for the Hungarian team.

After the interval, Debrecen stepped up their tempo and began to play more aggressively. Gergő Tarcsa and Sergi Samper both had decent chances for the Hungarian team.

Following that, in the 56th minute, Pyunik launched a swift counter-attack as Mikhail Kovalenko crossed the ball into Debrecen's penalty area, but Daniil Kulikov's header was brilliantly saved by the opponent's goalkeeper, Plamen Andreev.

Just two minutes later, the hosts nearly took the lead. Following a scramble in Pyunik's box, a shot from Debrecen's new French signing, Sohan Baldoni, miraculously stayed out of the net.

Immediately during the very next attack, however, the Hungarian team managed to open the scoring. The goal came, one might say, as a "gift" from our defense. Nikolaos Kainourgios made an erroneous pass inside his own penalty area, allowing Debrecen players to intercept the ball and feed Florian Cibla, who fired an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box into the top far corner of our net — 1-0.

After conceding, Pyunik had a magnificent chance to equalize in the 65th minute, but Hovhannes Harutyunyan's effort hit the post.

In the remaining minutes of the match, capitalizing on our defenders' lapses, the opposition could have punished our team twice more. Fortunately, luck smiled on our side after attempts by Florian Cibla and Dominik Kocsis.

Debrecen managed to claim a narrow victory in the first leg of the tie; however, Pyunik's performance keeps the hopes alive that they are fully capable of overcoming the Hungarian obstacle in the return match.