Hamrun Spartans host FC Lausanne-Sport of Switzerland in a match from match-day 2 of the league phase of the UEFA Conference League at the National Stadium on Thursday, kick-off at 21:00.
In the first match, Hamrun Spartans suffered a narrow defeat to Jagiellonia Białystok away from home despite playing in ten men for half an hour after Joseph Mbong was sent off. It was a fine display by the Spartans who will be hoping to repeat on Thursday in their bid to get something from this game although the Swiss side is clearly a strong team which eliminated three clubs from the previous rounds and kicked-off their league stage commitments with a win.
Thursday’s clash with Lausanne-Sport will be the first time, a Maltese club hosts a league stage match from a UEFA club competition.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Hamrun Spartans coach Giacomo Modica said “I hope we will not be too excited as otherwise, it would be a problem. It is clearly an important competition. We are bringing life to what will be the first time a Maltese team plays in a UEFA Conference League league phase match. The value is very high, but I’m confident after what we showed in Poland. But one swallow does not make spring. I’m happy with what we have done, but we are facing a very strong team that has won even away from home.”
“We know the importance of this match. If we don’t give 200%, we can only make a fool of ourselves. I hope all this serves as a warning to the team, and that they know we’re not technically on par with many teams in the competition, but that we have the heart and soul to overcome any obstacle. If we just consider the technical aspect, then our opponents won’t have any problems. But we have to meet the standards we met in Poland. Then, in the match … after the match, we’ll see who deserved and who did not. I have immense faith in my players. Let’s try to evaluate what the game will be like on the pitch because I can have confidence in them and this is important and necessary … I believe in them but then the match is the thermometer which shows what we are.”
Defender Vincenzo Polito added “The Jagiellonia match certainly gave us a lot of self-confidence. The most important thing is to maintain the same attitude. With that and with the heart, we can aspire to something important.”
Polito and Modica are confident supporters will be behind them for this match with the Hamrun coach saying “We have great supporters who love their team, and that makes us really proud. When they show up abroad in 200-250, it’s amazing. They have such a great love for this team, and I thank them for that. I hope to have them back with us again tomorrow, and hopefully we will all be happy after having put in a good performance.”
West Stand C is sold out with tickets for West Stand A and Millennium F still available. Millennium D will be reserved for the visitors.
Football Club Lausanne-Sport are based in Lausanne. Founded in 1896, they compete in the Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League.
They spent most of their history playing in the Swiss top division, winning seven league titles – the last one in 1964/65 – and the Swiss Cup nine times.
Last season, they placed fifth on 53 points, twenty behind champions Basel, ten behind runners-up Servette, eight behind Young Boys and one behind fourth-placed Lugano to secure a return to European football after a fifteen-year absence.
They entered the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, eliminating Vardar Skopje (6-2 aggregate) and then eliminated FK Astana of Kazakhstan (5-1 aggregate) in the third round and Besiktas of Turkey (2-1 aggregate) in the play-off round. In the first match from the league stage, they defeated Breidablik of Iceland 3-0 at home.
This season, they are currently ninth in the Swiss Super League after collecting nine points from the nine matches played. After losing four of the first five matches, they earned six points from the last four matches thanks to a win and three draws.
The club is owned by INEOS who also own French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice and have own a minority stake in Manchester United. INEOS is Principal Partner and third equal owner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and owner of INEOS Grenadiers cycling team.