Brest scored its first-ever goal in European competition on Thursday, but it took place at a different venue instead of their own stadium.
Midfielder Hugo Magnetti found the net with a half-volley from 20 meters out, placing the ball in the bottom right corner in the 23rd minute against Sturm Graz in the updated Champions League.
“It’s a childhood dream to play in this competition, I felt a lot of emotion,” Magnetti said. “I feel very proud to have scored the first European goal for Brest, especially in the Champions League.”
Brest secured a 2-1 victory, with forward Abdallah Sima skillfully spinning and scoring in the 56th minute after an own goal had leveled the match just before halftime.
It’s unclear how many fans in attendance were actually Brest supporters, as the game wasn’t held in their charming Brittany port city.
Brest’s stadium didn’t meet UEFA’s requirements, so the team had to move its European home games to Guingamp’s Stade de Roudourou, which is about 114 kilometers (71 miles) away.
Only 5,000 of the 15,200 seats at Stade Francis-Le Blé met UEFA standards, leading to the approval of the 19,000-seat Roudourou for their matches.
Brest made its European debut after coach Eric Roy guided the team to a surprising third-place finish in the French league last season, despite having a small budget.
Next, Brest will face another Austrian team, traveling to play Salzburg on October 1.
