KuPS were celebrating winning consecutive domestic league titles this past weekend, but it was the visitors who were congratulating each other after just three minutes.
Staggeringly, on a 10-match losing run across the continent, Slovan’s efforts to bring their unwanted streak to an end were given an early boost as Andraz Sporar’s pinpoint pass allowed Nino Marcelli to fire an unstoppable strike into the corner of the net past KuPS goalkeeper Johannes Kreidl.
The Slovaks’ lead should have only lasted a few minutes, but instead of firing his close-range header past Dominik Takac, KuPS winger Joslyn Luyeye-Lutumba somehow headed high into the stands.
Falling behind almost immediately from kick-off invigorated the Canaries from their cage, as only two fine saves from Takac prevented Clinton Antwi’s one-on-one strike, and Petteri Pennanen’s powerful strike from giving the hosts their equaliser.
Nonetheless, Slovan’s number one was helpless to stop Jarkko Wiss’s side from heading into the break level after 41 minutes in Finland.
Having already threatened in the first half, Antwi was finally allowed to toast his teammates, as he expertly fired home Doni Arifi’s amazing assist from just outside the penalty area.
Remarkably, KuPS turned the match on its head within three minutes of the restart as Pennanen powerfully headed home Bob Nii Armah’s delightful delivery.
Captain fantastic Pennanen nearly led by example again, as he came close to wrapping up the win shortly after the hour mark, but frustratingly found Takac in the way of his rebounded effort.
However, following a relatively quiet period in-play, the hosts eventually secured all three points in the 81st minute, with Jaakko Oksanen firing home a stunning free-kick that left Takac with no chance of making the save.
An encore to Sunday’s festivities sees KuPS enter the automatic qualification positions of the UECL phase standings.
Meanwhile, Slovan are still in search of their first win in this season’s competition proper after falling to a third successive defeat that leaves the Sky Blues three points adrift of the play-off positions.