Hibernians, Sliema Wanderers and Valletta play the second leg of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round matches on Thursday – Hibernians and Sliema away from home and Valletta at the Centenary Stadium.
The Wanderers face Khazar Lankaran of Azerbaijan at the City Stadium in Lankaran, kick-off at 17:00, Valletta host SP La Fiorita at the Centenary Stadium, kick-off at 18:00 while Hibernians entertain FK Vojvodina at the Stadion Karadjordje in Novi Sad, kick-off at 20:30.
Last week, Sliema and Khazar shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, Hibs lost 1-4 to Vojvodina while Valletta registered a comfortable 3-0 win in San Marino. Therefore while the Valletta and Hibernians matches are a pure formality with the Paolites virtually eliminated and the Citizens practically having secured a place in the next round, Sliema still stand a chance to reach the next stage.
The 1-1 draw means that Sliema either need a win or hold Khazar in a 2-2 draw or a draw with more goals. A goalless draw would not be enough while a 1-1 draw would lead to extra-time.
The Wanderers reached a second round of a UEFA competition on four occasions. In the Cup Winners Cup 1968/69, they eliminated Rumelange of Luxembourg thanks to the away goals rule following a 2-1 away defeat and a 1-0 home win. Three years later, they eliminated IA Akranes of Iceland with a 4-0 aggregate score in the Champions Cup. In 1996, they managed to eliminate Margveti Zestaphoni of Georgia despite a 1-3 home defeat as they registered a 3-0 win in Georgia in the UEFA Cup while in 2003, they eliminated Skonto Riga of Latvia in the UEFA Champions League on the away goals rule thanks to a 2-0 win at the Hibernians Ground and a 1-3 defeat in Riga.
In the second qualifying round, the winner will face Maccabi Haifa of Israel – first leg to be played in Israel.
This will be the second time, the Citizens will be playing in San Marino. In 2011/12, Valletta eliminated SP Tre Fiori with a 3-0 win in San Marino and a 2-1 win at the Hibernians Stadium.
For Valletta, this would be the fifth time they reached a second round of a UEFA competition and the third successive time.
In the UEFA Champions League, in 1999, they eliminated Barry Town of Wales after a goalless draw away from home and a 3-2 home win. Ten years later, they eliminated Keflavik of Iceland with a 5-2 aggregate score in the UEFA Europa League. Two years ago, they eliminated Tre Fiori of San Marino with a 5-1 aggregate score in the UEFA Champions League and last year FC Lusitans of Andorra with a 9-0 aggregate score in the same competition.
Unless the unthinkable happens, in the second qualifying round, Valletta will face FC Minsk of Belarus. The first leg will be played at the National Stadium on Thursday 18 with the return leg being played a week later in the Belarus capital.
Coach Mark Miller hopes to recover in time Jonathan Caruana and Kurt Magro. The former was substituted at the end of the first half while the latter missed the trip to San Marino.
Meanwhile Hibernians face a difficult test against the strong FK Vojvodina of Serbia. The 4-1 at the Centenary Stadium all but sealed a place for the Serbian cup finalists against the winner of the clash between FK Čelik Nikšić of Montenegro and Budapest Honvéd FC of Hungary. Six years ago, FK Vojvodina had eliminated Hibernians from the UEFA Cup with a 7-1 aggregate score.
To make matter worse for Hibernians, apart from Zoran Levnajic and Adrian Pulis who was due to make his last appearance for the club, new Hibs coach Branko Nisevic could
not count on goalkeeper Mario Muscat.
In fact the squad which travelled to Novi Sad is made up of goalkeepers Daniel Balzan and Christian Cassar; Jonathan Pearson, Rodolfo Dos Santos Soares, Ryan Camilleri, Keith Tanti, Marcelo Mariano Dias, Clayton Failla, Neil-John Chetcuti, Bjorn Baeksgard Kristensen, Jackson De Lima Siqueira, Edison Luis Dos Santos, Andrew Cohen, Jean Paul Farrugia, Brandon Muscat, Timothy Tabone Desira, Jurgen Degabriele and Obinna Polycarp Obiefule.