Malta international Ilyas Chouaref scored a vital second-half equaliser to help FC Sion secure a hard-fought 2-2 draw away to FC Noah in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round in Armenia.

The European fixture was also officiated by an all-Maltese refereeing team, with Matthew De Gabriele taking charge of the match. He was assisted by Jurgen Spiteri and Mitchell Scerri, while Alex Johnson served as fourth official.

The hosts made a flying start, opening the scoring after just five minutes when Helder Ferreira converted from the penalty spot.

FC Sion responded positively and restored parity on 13 minutes through Winsley Boteli, only for FC Noah to regain the advantage seven minutes later when Gor Manvelyan found the net.

The Swiss outfit faced a major setback midway through the first half as defender Nias Hefti was sent off by De Gabriele after receiving a second yellow card, leaving Sion to play with ten men for more than an hour.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Sion produced an impressive response after the break. Chouaref, who represents the Malta national team, levelled the contest in the 56th minute with a well-taken volley to make it 2-2.

FC Noah were also reduced to ten men later in the match when defender Stone Mambo was shown a red card, but neither side could find a winner.

The draw leaves the tie finely balanced ahead of next week’s return leg in Switzerland, with Sion taking an encouraging result back home after showing great resilience away from home.