Bledi Shkembi has given Skenderbeu Korce first blood in their quest for a place in the Champions League group phase against Dinamo Zagreb.

Dinamo, who were held in the first leg of their second-round tie by Luxembourg outfit Fola, looked in no mood to settle for a draw early on, with El Arabi Hilal Soudani bringing a save out of veteran keeper Orges Shehi from Paulo Machado's corner.

Soon after, the Croatians were again threatening to score the opening goal, but Josip Pivaric fired wide from another Machado set piece.

Skenderbeu's first chance of note came on 13 minutes when Bernard Berisha's strike failed to trouble keeper Eduardo.

The visitors continued to search for a breakthrough and almost got it as Marko Rog, who scored in the 3-0 second-leg win against Fola, shot narrowly wide.

On the half-hour mark, Dinamo went even closer to edging ahead as Soudani's fizzing strike rattled the crossbar.

However, it was Korce who took the lead before the interval as Shkembi curled his free kick beyond the reach of Eduardo.