It was a night of mixed results for Maltese football in the UEFA Conference League. Floriana secured a thrilling 3-2 away win against Haverfordwest County to progress to the second qualifying round with a 5-3 aggregate score. Meanwhile, Birkirkara’s European journey came to an end after suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Petrocub in Moldova, losing 3-1 on aggregate.
Floriana will now face Balkani of Kosovo in the next round.
Haverfordwest County…..2
Floriana…………………………3
(Agg: 3-5)
Floriana advanced to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League after a dramatic comeback win away to Welsh side Haverfordwest County.
The hosts started brightly and opened the scoring in the 11th minute through Greg Walters, who struck after a corner caused confusion in the box. Just six minutes later, Ben Ahmun made it 2-0 with a strong finish, putting Haverfordwest 3-2 ahead on aggregate.
Floriana responded quickly. In the 19th minute, Lonardelli scored with a powerful shot from outside the box. Right before half-time, Floriana were awarded a penalty when Jones fouled Jan in the area. The Haverfordwest defender received a second yellow and was sent off. Jake Grech scored from the spot to level the match at 2-2.
In the 67th minute, Floriana took the lead. M’Mombwa controlled well in the box and smashed home the winning goal, making it 3-2 on the night and 5-3 overall.
Floriana will now face Ballkani of Kosovo in the next round.
Referee: Joao Goncalves (Portugal)
Haverfordwest County: Rees, Rees (C), McCarthy, Jones, Watts, Walters, Shephard, Abbruzzese, Hawkins, Ahmun, Fawcett.
Floriana: Cioletti, Lonardelli, Lopez, Mendonca, Gamarra, M’Mombwa, J. Grech, D. Vella (C), Glisovic, Jan, Varela.
Petrocub………3
Birkirkara…….0
(Agg: 3-1)
Birkirkara have been knocked out of the UEFA Conference League after a 3-0 defeat away to Moldovan side Petrocub.
Petrocub almost took the lead after just five minutes when Bogaciuc hit the post. They kept pushing and in the 39th minute, Lupan opened the scoring after a good save from Martinez moments earlier. That goal brought the aggregate score to 1-1.
In the 56th minute, Lupan scored again, finishing a smart pass from Jardan to make it 2-0. Later, in the 77th minute, substitute Rotaru made it three with a shot from outside the area.
The result means Birkirkara are out of the competition, with Petrocub advancing to the next round 3-1 on aggregate.
Referee: Oguzhan Cakir (Turkey)
Petrocub: Smalenea, Jardan, Potirniche, Ngah, Bors, Platica, Bogaciuc, Djou, Ambros, Lupan, Cojocaru.
Birkirkara: Martinez, Cordova, Marjanovic, Micallef, Lacunza, Makoma, Satariano (C), Maydana, Acheampong, Sasere, Reid.
