Tonight, Maltese champions Ħamrun Spartans will play the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. The match will take place at the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
In the first leg, Ħamrun put in an impressive performance, especially during the first 70 minutes, taking a 1-0 lead through a Koffi penalty. However, two late goals, including one in the final seconds, saw them fall to a narrow 2-1 defeat.
Head coach Luciano Zauri Modica emphasized the importance of capitalizing on chances at this level of competition, noting that the goals conceded stemmed from avoidable errors. While praising the team’s overall performance, he admitted that Ħamrun are still not operating at 100% of their potential.
Should Ħamrun manage to overturn the deficit and qualify tonight, they will secure at least a place in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. They would also advance to the Europa League Play-off Round, where they would face Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv. If they lose, Ħamrun will still have a lifeline, entering the Conference League Play-off Round against either RFS of Latvia or KuPS of Finland.
