As previously reported, the opponent of Kyiv’s “Dynamo” in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League is the Maltese “Hamrun Spartans”.
Hamrun SpartansThey have never played this team or any Maltese clubs in official tournaments. Moreover, the upcoming matchup will only be the fourth encounter in history between Ukrainian and Maltese teams.
The first experience of matches with a representative from Malta was gained by Odesa’s “Chornomorets”, when in the UEFA Cup of the 1995/96 season they defeated “Hibernians” (Paola) — 5:2 away and 2:0 at home.
In the 1998/99 season, during the qualification of the UEFA Cup, the opponent of Donetsk’s “Shakhtar” was “Birkirkara”. Here the advantage also turned out to be on the side of the Ukrainian representative — 2:1 at home and 4:0.
Finally, in the qualification of the same UEFA Cup but of the 2002/03 season, Zaporizhzhia’s “Metallurg” faced “Birkirkara” and advanced, but unlike “Chornomorets” and “Shakhtar”, they failed to win both matches — 3:0 at home and 0:0 in Malta.
We remind you that the first match between “Hamrun Spartans” and “Dynamo” will take place next Tuesday, July 22, in Hamrun, and a week later, on July 29, the opponents will play the return match in Lublin.
