Gzira United pulled one back late in the game in a 2-1 defeat to F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg in the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round at the Stade Jos Nosbaum in Dudelange on Wednesday but the Maroons qualify for the third qualifying round on a 3-2 aggregate score.

For Darren Abdilla’s side, this is the second consecutive time, they made it to the third qualifying round. A clash with either Viktoria Plzen of Czechia or Drita of Kosovo awaits the Maroons with the first leg expected to be played away from home. In the first leg in Plzen, Viktoria Plzen and Drita shared the spoils in a goalless draw.

In Dudelange, the hosts were determined to overturn the two-goal deficit. They had twenty one attempts with seven shots at target, stopped by Gzira goalkeeper David Cassar.

F91 Diddeleng opened the score seven minutes from the end of the first half thanks to Samir Hadji and six minutes from time, Hadji made it 2-0.

At that point, the aggregate score was 2-2. However with three minutes to go, Jose Wilkson Teixeira reduced the gap for Gzira, putting them through to the next round.

DIDDELENG Didier Desprez, Ismael Sidibe, Kino Delorge, Bruno Frere (89′ Marc Liby Thomas), Filip Bojić (74′ Ivan Englaro), Oege-Sietse Van Lingen, Edis Agovic, Dylan Kuete (64′ Yannick Schaus), Samir Hadji, Sylvio Ouassiero (90′ Sinan Altun), Vincent Decker

GZIRA David Cassar, Carlos Chabá, Andy Borg (85′ Gabriel Bohrer Mentz), Zach Scerri, Marcelo Dias, Lucas Macula (77′ Ewertton), Farid Romero, Brooklyn Borg, Jose Wilkson Teixeira, Thiaguinho, Jackson Mendoza.

Referee: Yigal Frid ISR
Assistant referees: David Elias Biton, Matityahu Yakobov ISR
Fourth official: Idan Leiba ISR