The European dream may have come to an end on Thursday in Dublin, where Ħamrun Spartans suffered a 3-1 defeat to Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium.
However, this year’s historic participation in the League Phase of the UEFA Conference League has only fuelled the ambition and determination among the Ħamrun Spartans players to do everything in their power to return on such a prestigious platform as from next season.
On Thursday, there were high hopes that Ħamrun Spartans could wrap what has been a remarkable and unprecedented run with victory over Shamrock Rovers.
However, things didn’t go as planned. After falling behind to an early penalty, the Spartans managed to put themselves back on track when N’Dri Koffi fired home the equaliser.
But on 28 minutes, the Spartans’ hopes suffered a fatal blow when Joseph Mbong was harshly sent off for what the referee described as a violent challenge, leaving the Malta champions to play for more than an hour with one player less.
That turned out to be an insurmountable hurdle as the Spartans struggled to impose themselves in the match and conceded a late third goal that condemned them to a disappointing defeat.
Ħamrun defender Ognjen Bjelicic said that the defeat was a tough pill to swallow for his team, particularly given how the match panned out.
However, the game provided further evidence that the Spartans have the necessary talent to be competitive in the League Phase of the UEFA Conference League.
“The result may not have been in our favour, but this match has again shown that we have the pedigree to compete at this level,” Bjelicic told the Times of Malta.
“Today we have shown that we can fight, attack and score goals and hopefully we can continue on this path. We don’t have much time to think about this setback as in two days we have another difficult match against Birkirkara.
“Matches against Birkirkara are derbies and we need to reset quickly and recover all our energy as we need to take all three points to boost our title hopes.”
Thursday’s clash was marred by a number of controversial decisions by Czech referee Marek Radina who awarded the hosts an early penalty for a Vincenzo Polito penalty and then dismissed Mbong, in what was seen as another harsh decision.
“It was clear that all 50-50 decisions didn’t go in our favour but for the other team,” Bjelicic said.
“Obviously, that made things tougher for us but we tried to fight but was not enough.”
Asked what were the instructions of coach Modica at the half-time interval, Bjelicic said.
“His message was clear – to fight for every ball, try and win as many second ball as possible, try to play simply, and to try and score so we could back into the match.
“We did try our best, but the conditions were very tough.”
Bjelicic said that the European campaign is over, the focus has clearly switched to another very important goal – to successfully defend the title.
“All our attention now will turn on trying to successfully defend our status as Malta champions,” the Serbian defender said.
“It’s a major challenge, particularly that we have another game coming up in two days’ time. But after that we have a short break, where we can rest and prepare ourselves for the rest of the season.
“I don’t need to be motivated to win the league title as we know how important it is for the club and its future, and if we are not fully motivated, then we don’t deserve to successfully defend our league title.”
Nikolai Micallef was one of the new faces in the Spartans’ starting formation on Thursday following the injury of Ryan Camenzuli.
The young defender said that the team had started well but Mbong’s dismissal completely changed the game.
“It was a tough match,” Micallef said.
“We started well, but when Joseph Mbong was sent off, it completely jeopardised the match.
“The coach’s instructions were clear to try and push more forward and put pressure on our opponents, but it was always going to be difficult with a player less, particularly when you play on these kind of pitches.”
Asked whether he believes that Ħamrun Spartans’ achievements this season in Europe could open the door for other Maltese teams to follow their example and go far on the continent, Micallef had a clear response.
“One hundred per cent yes. For us at Ħamrun Spartans our goal now is clear to try and win the league title and push again to reach the League Phase of the Conference League or even the Europa League.
“Such achievements provide a major boost for the Maltese football movement and I hope more clubs show the ambition to follow in our footsteps.”
