KuPS have defied the odds by beating Turkish side Bursaspor 1-0 in the first leg of the  third qualifying round of the Europa League played on Thursday at the Arena Savon Sanomat , Kuppio.

With only 18 minutes left, Estonian midfielder Sander Puri scored the winning goal for KuPS  to send the more than 3,000 home supporters into frenzy.

Nigerian midfielder Paul Obiefule had predicted  before the game that his Finnish team will  continue their Cinderella run in the competition.

''It is nice that we won tonight; we are now looking forward to next Thursday in Turkey. I  was fielded for 90 minutes, and I was at my best. We are on our way to history by being the  first Finnish club to play in the group stage of the Europa League,'' says a delighted Paul  Obiefule to allnigeriasoccer.com.

KuPS had dismissed Gaz Metan MediaÃ…Ÿ, Llanelli and Maccabi Netanya to reach this stage of the  competition.