On the upcoming Tuesday, July 22, Kyiv’s Dynamo will play its first match of the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League against the Maltese Hamrun Spartans. The opponent of the “white-blues” managed to advance from the previous stage of the tournament after defeating the Lithuanian Zalgiris, despite losing 0:2 in the first match. To turn around the two-goal deficit, the Maltese needed just one half. The publication SportsDesk analyzed how the “Hamrun Spartans” achieved this.
Hamrun Spartans players celebrate advancing to the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League“In the first match, the Spartans played with a conservative 4−5−1 scheme, but for the return match, the head coach of the Maltese team, Giacomo Modica, opted for his signature 4−3−3 formation, which is more aggressive and attack-oriented, corresponding to the task at hand.
“Zalgiris” maintained the 4−4−2 formation but found itself in defense at the start of the match. Hamrun’s aggressive pressing rattled the Lithuanians.
By the 19th minute, the ball found its way into the visitors’ net, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Nonetheless, this moment indicated signs of improvement in set-piece execution, which had been a weak point for the Spartans in the first match.
In the 22nd minute, Hamrun was forced to substitute Hadji, who got injured, with 21-year-old Senegalese forward Saliu Tioun coming on. He immediately made an impact: his direct runs into the penalty area consistently troubled the opponent, while Eder shifted to the flank, closing off space and demonstrating tactical flexibility and dynamism.
The pressure paid off. In the 35th minute, a well-executed combination led to the first goal. Just six minutes later, Hamrun turned the pressure into a second goal — a decisive moment that changed the course of the match.
The first half of this match showcased the tactical mastery of Hamrun Spartans head coach Giacomo Modica. High-intensity pressing, wide exchanges, quick transitions, and positional flexibility. Considering this was only the second official match for the Maltese team under Modica, while Zalgiris is currently in the midst of their season (the Lithuanian championship runs on a spring-autumn system, — ed.), Hamrun Spartans’ performance appears even more impressive,” the publication stated.
