The Gżira United players and staff got a heroes' welcome from numerous supporters who made their way to the Malta International Airport after Thursday’s dream performance against Hajduk Split.

Maroons’ man of the night Hamed Kone starred once more as supporters crowded the player to get their commemorative photos and show their appreciation towards the Ivory Coast forwards’s performance against the Croatian heavyweights away from home.

The 31-year-old played a vital part in Thursday’s fixture as he scored two spectacular goals in the 3-1 victory, one of which a bicycle kick which went viral on social media.

Kone is one of Gzira’s new signings after joining the Maroons last month following a successful few weeks of training.

Speaking to the Times of Malta, Kone said he was happy with his performance and that this win was a massive lift for both the team and everybody involved at the club.

“We are a new team and we are building ourselves up. It’s good that (with this win) people know about Gzira,” Kone said.

The win came on the back of a 2-0 loss in Malta last week against the Croatian side and until Thursday morning, it looked to be too huge a mountain to climb.

Gzira United supporters pose for a selfie with goal-scoring hero Hamed Kone.

However, it was the determination of coach Giovanni Tedesco who Kone said was the reason behind their great comeback.

“This win was orchestrated by our Mister,” Kone said. “He made a very compact defence and a very good team.

“(In Malta) we lost 2-0 but we were very unlucky. We knew that we had a good team so we wanted to go there and play football. We had to take our chances and believe in ourselves. We were going there not just for a round trip but to win and we made it.”

The result brought joy to the Maroons’ contingent who rushed onto the pitch at the final whistle but the same cannot be said about the Hajduk supporters who expected their players to get another comfortable victory at their home stadium.

On the contrary, members of the Torcida Split, one of the oldest supporters group in the world made their disappointment very clear, some of whom stormed onto the pitch from the stands to confront their own players. The club also terminated coach Siniša Oreščanin’s contract following this humiliating loss.

Gżira United club secretary Ian Micallef, who was present at the stadium, explained how the ruckus made them fear for their players’ safety.

“At first we thought it was aimed towards our players but instead, the supporters coming from the Torcida side turned towards their own players,” Micallef said.

“Obviously they weren’t satisfied with the result – it was a shock to them, especially after the local media had plastered their expectations of Hajduk Split, which were to crush us and score a lot of goals.

“Some even said it would be more likely to get invaded by aliens than for Gżira to qualify for the next round.”

Following this confusion, Micallef expressed his gratitude towards the authorities and the Croatian club for their efforts towards the safety of Gżira United.

“We found protection from the police and the riot squad who advised us to retreat to a secluded area of the stadium. We were then escorted to Zagreb and the airport after everything had cleared out,” Micallef explained.

The Maroons now face FK Ventspils in the next qualifying round, with the first leg scheduled for Latvia on Thursday, kicking off at 4.45pm.