Ħamrun Spartans coach Branko Nisevic heaped praise on the character shown by his players as the 2021 Malta champions beat Velez Mostar, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1-0 to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.

Brazilian striker Jonny grabbed the all-important goal early in the first half that handed the Spartans a 2-0 aggregate win and a place in the third qualifying round of a UEFA club competition for the first time in their club history.

It was far from a comfortable night for the Spartans who had to battle valiantly to see off the stern challenge offered by Velez who produced a much more aggressive challenge than the first leg.

But the Ħamrun players held firm to contain their opponents’ efforts and secure another prestigious result in European football.

“My biggest satisfaction is the fact that we manage to win both legs against Velez Mostar without conceding a goal,” coach Nisevic told the Times of Malta.

“It’s a remarkable feat when you realise that we achieved that with a new squad of players. It’s not easy to amalgamate a new group of players in just a short span of time. But the players seem to have settled nicely together and more importantly they have accepted the team’s style of play.

“So for me, it’s not a surprise that we achieved some good results.”

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