Wrexham win on Women's Champions League debut

What the report says

BBC Sport Wales reported that Wrexham Women marked their first appearance in the Women’s Champions League with a 4-2 win over Armenian champions FC Pyunik at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. The match was a first qualifying round semi-final, and Jenny Sugarman’s side advanced to face Riga of Estonia in Saturday’s qualifying round final after Riga defeated Glentoran 4-1 earlier in the day.

Wrexham entered European competition after winning the Adran Premier for the first time last season. According to the BBC, their victory was also the first Champions League win by a Welsh club since Cardiff Met in the 2019-20 campaign, making the result a notable moment for the club and for Welsh women’s football.

Pyunik went ahead in the 12th minute through Susanna Badalya, who scored from outside the area after a clearance by Wrexham goalkeeper Liz Craven went astray. Wrexham quickly levelled when Faye Knox created the chance from the left and Katie Barker finished the cross. Lili Jones then put the home side in front shortly after half-time with a deflected strike from the edge of the box, before Ava Suckley added a third after Pyunik goalkeeper Amber Lockwood spilled Jones’ effort.

The visitors reduced the deficit through Luiza Ghazaryan, but Wrexham secured the result late on when new signing Natasha Thomas scored their fourth. BBC Sport also noted that Thomas hit the crossbar in added time, while Knox had earlier missed an opportunity to extend the lead.