FBK Kaunas complete strangers for confident Blues

Scepticism is normally the order of the day in the build-up to a European match involving Maltese teams.

This negative tendency has its roots in a dismal record on the continent even though the last few seasons have seen a slight upturn in the fortunes of Maltese teams.

Sliema Wanderers advanced to the second qualifying round of the Champions League at the expense of Latvia's FC Skonto last year, a feat erstwhile deemed beyond their reach.

Their confidence emboldened by their success over Skonto, the best team in Latvia, and their domestic league and cup double, Sliema go into their home match against Lithuania's FBK Kaunas cautiously optimistic that they can repeat their 2003 summer achievement.

"Our positive experience in the Champions League last season has given us a significant confidence injection," Sliema coach Edward Aquilina told The Times yesterday.

"Obviously, our elimination of FC Skonto has raised Sliema's standing in European football, surely leading our opponents to treat us with more respect and caution."

Sliema's top placing in the Euro Challenge Cup, the first official competition of the season, ensured an ideal approach for the Champions League commitments but off the field, their start to the season has been full of trials and tribulations.

First, there was the case of Malta striker Michael Mifsud who flew out to Norway to join Lillestrom only to return home two weeks later after Sliema blocked his international clearance.

The differences between Mifsud and Sliema look to have been put aside as the 23-year-old striker was drafted in the starting line-up and scored a penalty in the Wanderers' 3-2 defeat of Marsaxlokk on Wednesday.

Amidst the clatter surrounding Mifsud's abortive transfer to Lillestrom, Sliema found out that their bid to sign Mauro Di Lello as their fourth overseas player was held up by the Malta FA's stringent quotas on non-Maltese players.

The club were hoping to receive the green light for the Italian defender to play in the Champions League for the time being but this has not been forthcoming.

Aquilina is now expected to field a familiar formation this evening with skipper Noel Turner, absent from Sliema's win over Marsaxlokk, coming in for Joe Brincat whose two yellow cards in the same competition last season rule him out of the first leg against Kaunas.

The Sliema coach is looking to the speed and goal prowess of Mifsud and Serbian striker Danilo Doncic to trouble opponents on whom Aquilina has no knowledge at all.

"FBK Kaunas are complete strangers for us," Aquilina said. "Most of the teams nowadays favour a 4-4-2 tactical approach, so we'll probably have to exploit the pace of our strikers, Mifsud and Doncic. I assume Kaunas have sought to gather as much information about us as possible after we knocked out Skonto last year."

Only three weeks have passed since Sliema players reported for pre-season training but Aquilina is pleased about their fitness.

"There are a lot of positives to take from the Euro Challenge Cup," Aquilina said. "We played two games in three days, quite unusual at this early stage of the season, and our performances were satisfactory. In winning this competition, we continued where we left off at the end of last season," Aquilina said.

Last year, Sliema's 2-0 win in the first leg at the Hibernians Ground proved the key to their passage to the next round as Skonto won the second leg 3-1 but bowed out on the away goals rule.

"A solid performance and a sound win at home are a must if we want to stand a good chance of going through," Aquilina said.

But, how optimistic is he?

"My assessment of our chances cannot be complete because as I have already said, we haven't had the chance to watch Kaunas play. However, having held our own against a strong team such as Skonto, I believe the possibility of Sliema making the next round is quite realistic," Aquilina said.

FBK Kaunas

Previously known as Banga, FBK Kaunas were founded in 1993 when a host of firms established the Kaunas Football and Baseball club. New players and coaches were recruited by Kaunas, bearing the name of the second largest city in Lithuania, with a view to build a competitive team in the league.

By 1996, the fast-growing club had earned the right to represent Lithuania in the Intertoto Cup. They were beaten by well-known European clubs like Lillestrom, Herenveen and FC Nantes but won their game against Sligo Rovers, of Ireland.

Kaunas's rapid rise continued, leading to a golden period in their relatively short history as the club have been Lithuanian champions six years in a row (1999-2004).

In the Champions League last year, FBK Kaunas saw off Torshavn, of the Faroe Islands, 5-1 in the first qualifying round but lost to Celtic 5-0 on aggregate in the following round.

Sliema (probable): M. Akanji, C. Mamo, B. Said, J. Chetcuti, K. Laferla, N. Turner, S. Giglio, R. Mangion, O. Anonam, D. Doncic, M. Mifsud.

Referee: Adrian McCourt (N. Ireland).

Kick-off: 6 p.m. - National Stadium.

Champions League

First qualifying round - Playing today

Sliema Wanderers (Malta) vs Kaunas (Lithuania)

Pobeda Prilep (Macedonia) vs Pyunik (Armenia)

Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia) vs Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan)

Playing tomorrow

Gomel (Belarus) vs Tirana (Albania)

KR Reykjavik (Iceland) vs Shelbourne (Ireland)

Skonto Riga (Latvia) vs Rhyl (Wales)

Flora Tallinn (Estonia) vs Nova Gorica (Slovenia)

Linfield (Northern Ireland) vs HJK Helsinki (Finland)

Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) vs Jeunesse Esch (Luxembourg)

WIT Georgia Tbilisi (Georgia) vs HB Torshavn (Faroe Islands)

Second legs - July 21.