NK VARAŽDIN – SANTA CLARA 2:1 (Mamut 10′, Dabro 85’/Adriano 55′)
NK Varaždin: Zelenika – Jovanov, Barać, Ba, Boršić – Marina (Sierra 64′), Duvnjak – Bočkaj (Latković 64′), Belcar (Tavares 85′), Vuk (Škaričić 77′) – Mamut (Dabro 77′)
Santa Clara: Batista – Soares, Rocha, Lima (Pires 90’+1′), Nunes (Venancio 73′), Pereira (Victor 90’+1′) – Ferreira (Serginho 64′), Silva, Lopes, Adriano – Carter (Wendel 64′)
In the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round, played on July 24, 2025, at the Gradski Stadion Varteks in Varaždin, the home team Varaždin defeated the favored Portuguese side Santa Clara with a score of 2:1. The match kicked off at 8:00 PM local time. Swiss referee Luca Cibelli officiated it.
Varaždin started the match excellently with an aggressive approach and high pressing. Already in the 8th minute, Leon Belcar won a penalty after being fouled in the visitors’ box, and Ivan Mamut scored from the spot in the 10th minute, giving the home team a 1:0 lead. Until the end of the first half, Varaždin maintained their dominance and even found the net once more, but Mamut’s second goal was ruled out for offside.
The start of the second half saw the Portuguese side change their approach and, in the 55th minute, Adriano Firmino scored a spectacular goal from distance to equalize at 1:1. After that, Santa Clara took over the initiative and created several serious chances, the most dangerous of which came in the 75th minute. Still, Varaždin goalkeeper Oliver Zelenika made a brilliant save to deny Soares.
Towards the end of the match, Varaždin’s coach decided to bring on Marko Dabro—a move that proved decisive. In the 85th minute, Dabro scored directly from a free kick, with his shot deflecting off the wall and deceiving the away goalkeeper, sparking celebrations among the home fans for the final 2:1 score. In the closing moments, the home team managed to hold on to the lead and prevented Santa Clara from equalizing.
Throughout the match, numerous substitutions were made on both sides to bring in fresh legs, and the encounter was played in a fair and sportsmanlike atmosphere, with a few yellow cards but no significant incidents.
This victory represents a historic success for Varaždin, which showed great character and compactness and took a significant step toward advancing to the next round of the Conference League. The key heroes for Varaždin were Ivan Mamut, who calmly converted a penalty, goalkeeper Zelenika for his timely saves, and Marko Dabro for his decisive late goal.
