Dilly Duka tallied in the fourth minute for FK Partizani. (Photo courtesy of MLS)

Dilly Duka has scored his first goal in Albania.

The former Red Bulls and FC Motown midfielder found the net in FK Partizani’s 3-1 upset loss to Luftetari Gjirokastra Saturday.

Still, Partizani (16-5-6, 54 points) enjoys a nine-point lead over second-place Kukesi (13-8-6, 45) in the Albanian Super Division.

Duka scored in the fourth minute to lift the hosts into a 1-0 lead, but they could not hold off Luftetari Gjirokastra (10-13-4, 34), which is in seventh place out of 10 teams.

Duka played a vital role for FC Motown, which reached the National Premier Soccer League final last season.

Barring a major collapse down the stretch, Partizana should reach the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for the 2019-20 season.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.