Forty-eight sides commence their journey in the UECL, with the teams coming from primarily smaller nations. This group included 10 clubs who have participated in a European group stage in the past. With that said, it will be a long road to reaching back there.
Tuesday had two of the first qualifying round's first legs. Cliftonville's Ryan Curran scored the competition's opening goal off a free-kick against Gibraltar's St. Joseph's away,
The Reds led twice in the contest. Yet, they could not hold on, as Jack Keaney's straight red card just before the break allowed the Saints to pile on the pressure. In the end, the match ended 2-2, leaving the tie finely poised for next week's return leg at Solitude.
Among Thursday's 22 matches were some incredible results. Perhaps none was bigger than Borac Banja Luka's shocking 4-1 home defeat to Andorran side FC Santa Coloma. The Bosnians, who reached the last 16 of the Conference League last term, conceded thrice in 11 minutes during the first half.
By the time Armando Leon added a fourth midway through the second period, the damage appeared to have already been done. Fans started to leave the stadium after that, and despite Enver Kulasin's consolation a few minutes later, the result still leaves Borac in serious danger of an early elimination. For FCSC, the victory was the largest away win by an Andorran club in European competition.
But it was not just the side from Banja Luka who struggled. HJK, who have played group phase football in each of the last four years, were humbled 4-0 at NSI. The game changed in the 23rd minute as Jere Kallinen received a straight red card for a dangerous foul. From there, the Faroese outfit ran rampant, scoring twice in each half to prevail.
In total, six former group phase participants lost their opening legs on Thursday: Flora Tallinn (3-0 at Valur Reykjavik), Pyunik (1-0 versus Tre Fiori), Petrocub (1-0 away to Birkirkara), and F91 Dudelange (2-0 against Atletic Club d'Escaldes) also suffered surprising defeats.
Several last-minute goals occurred as well. Paide's Robi Saarma converted a penalty in the 96th minute to lift his team past Magpies 3-2 away. Aleksandar Bolevic left it late for Zeljeznicar, as his 96th-minute goal ensured the Bosnians earned a 1-1 draw versus Koper.
The craziest result, however, came in Georgia. Matej Simic scored twice for Torpedo Kutaisi, including a winner at the death to see them past Ordabasy 4-3. Both clubs led throughout the 90 minutes, but the hosts came out on top in the end.
All of the first qualifying round ties, except for the clash between Larne and Auda (Wednesday, first leg ended 0-0), will be decided next Thursday. The 24 winners will advance to the second qualifying round, where 56 new teams, plus the eight losing sides from the Europa League opening round of qualifying, will enter.
Follow all of the UEFA Conference League qualifying round matches on Flashscore.