Maltese champions Hamrun Spartans reached the second qualifying round of the Uefa Champions League for the first time on Tuesday – but they did it the hard way in a tie that went to extra time and then featured 28 penalties in a shootout.
The Spartans went into the second leg 2-0 down to Lithuanian champions Zalgiris but scored twice in six first-half minutes to draw level.
Zalgiris had defender Vasilije Radenovic sent off in the 114th minute for a second bookable offence before the real drama of the evening ensued.
After a pair of misses, the teams were locked at 4-4 and the shootout went to sudden death.
Both goalkeepers – Spartans captain Henry Bonello and Zalgiris’ Carlos Olses – scored their penalties.
Zalgiris midfielder Ebenezer Ofori missed the crucial spot-kick, with Jovan Cadenovic scoring the winner to give Spartans a 11-10 victory.
Malta international Bonello, 36, became the hero for Spartans by saving two spot-kicks, while Olses saved one and four more penalties missed the target.
Where does it rank?
Opta says the biggest penalty shootout by score in a European competition is Belfast club Glentoran’s 14-13 defeat by Malta’s Gzira United in Conference League qualifying in July 2023, which also featured 28 spot-kicks.
That ranks just ahead of Ajax’s 13-12 penalty win over Panathinaikos to reach the Europa League qualifying play-off round in August 2024.
That shoot-out featured a remarkable 34 penalties.
Spartans and Zalgiris sit joint third on the list in terms of highest score but joint second in terms of number of penalties taken in a European competition.
The world record for a shootout is believed to be the 56 penalties taken by Israeli sides SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv in May 2024 in a semi-final promotion play-off, as both sides took 28 before SC Dimona prevailed 23-22.
Highest-scoring penalty shootouts in European competition (featuring 20+ successful spot-kicks)
1 Gzira United v Glentoran (14-13) – Conference League qualifying phase – 20 July 2023
2 Ajax v Panathinaikos (13-12) – Europa League qualifying phase – 15 August 2024
3= Shamrock Rovers v Ilves (12-11) – Europa League qualifying phase – 27 August 2020
3= Wisla Krakow v Spartak Trnava (12-11) – Conference League qualifying phase – 15 August 2024
5= Skonto Riga v Olimpija Ljubljana (11-10) – Champions League qualifying phase – 1 September 1993
5= IK Start v Drogheda United (11-10) – UEFA Cup qualifying phase – 24 August 2006
5= Villarreal v Manchester United (11-10) – Europa League final – 26 May 202
Related topics
- European Football
- Football
Source: BBC
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