Ħamrun Spartans ready to fight hard against Dynamo Kiev, says coach Modica

Ħamrun Spartans coach Giacomo Modica has made it clear that Ħamrun Spartans will be giving everything they can to make life difficult for Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv as the two sides face off in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie at the Tony Bezzina Stadium on Tuesday evening (kick-off: 7pm).

The Spartans are coming into the match in high spirits after last week’s heroic performance against FK Zalgiris, of Lithuania, which saw the team come back from two goals down to level the tie before progressing after a marathon penalty shoot-out.

The reward for the Malta champions was a clash against Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv, who not only boast a glorious history in their domestic scene but also boast three European titles, having won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup twice in 1975 and 1986 as well as the Super Cup in 1975.

Despite Dynamo’s European pedigree, Modica said that his team will give their opponents the respect they deserve but warned that they are determined to give their opponents a stern challenge.

“Last week’s win against Zalgiris inevitably generated a lot of enthusiasm among players and fans,” Modica said.

“It was a good achievement but still we can upgrade it to a marvelous feat if we manage to surpass one or two obstacles in Europe. Tomorrow, we have in front of us an obstacle that looks on paper unsurmountable.

“The gap in terms of technical ability between the two teams is very big. But football matches are won on the football pitch and we have a lot of determination to try and continue where we left off last week.

“We must put the match not just on a technical basis but on other components such as our physical fitness, determination, and fight.

“I have a lot of confidence in this group of players, who last week have showed that they have the ambition and great character to fight back from tough moments as well as the ability to play some excellent attacking football.

“As I said, we will show great respect to our opponents but we are going to play our hearts out and if our opponents show that they are better than us, we will congratulate them, but they need to earn the win.”

Modica said that Dynamo’s biggest threat lies in their attacking department, where they boast some top-quality players like Andriy Yarmolenko.

“Dynamo Kyiv’s major strength lies in attack, where they have some talented players,” Modica said.

“Technically, they are very strong. However, they come into the tie without having played any competitive matches, so on that part we need to be wise enough to try and profit from their lack of match rhythm.

“It will be important that we don’t make mistakes in the final third of the pitch as they will punish us.”

Ambition

On his part, defender Ognjen Bjelicic said that the players are aware of the great history of Dynamo Kyiv,  but are determined to give their 100 per cent and try and get a possible result.

“Dynamo is a tremendous team with a great history, but when you play in a competition like the Champions League, you cannot have any regrets, and we are determined to give our 100 per cent to try and get a good result ahead of the return leg,” the Serbian defender said.

“For us, it’s great to play against bigger clubs in Europe and our goal is to keep fighting till the last minute.”