Maltese teams heading east

Same destination, new opponents for Marsaxlokk in the European arena as the draw for the first qualifying round of the Champions League left the Maltese champions facing another trip to Bosnia to cross swords with Sarajevo.

A sense of dejà vu is likely to have gripped the Marsaxlokk officials, led by new president Robert Micallef, at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon as their first-round assignment against Sarajevo was confirmed.

Last year, Marsaxlokk travelled to the ex-Yugoslav republic to play NK Zrinjski in the Intertoto Cup first round, losing 4-1 on aggregate.

The first leg of last year's Intertoto Cup match took place in Mostar but this time, Marsaxlokk will figure in Bosnia's capital city. Marsaxlokk will host FK Sarajevo at Ta' Qali on July 18. The second leg will be played on July 25.

"It's a difficult draw for us but we will do our best to give a good account of ourselves," Micallef told The Times in a brief comment from Switzerland yesterday.

As is often the case when Maltese teams are involved in European competitions, the task awaiting Mar-saxlokk in this qualifier is a daunting one, with FK Sarajevo the outright favourites to advance.

Such assertion is strengthened by Marsaxlokk's 4-1 upset to NK Zrinjski last season but perhaps, the Blues can do a lot worse than recall the manner of their defeat in the Intertoto Cup last year.

Three goals inside the opening 45 minutes jolted their chances of going through as Zrinjski took a 3-0 advantage. In the second leg, Marsaxlokk, then under the charge of Oliver Spiteri, created enough chances to re-open the issue but finished the game bemoaning a string of missed opportunities and the dismissal of Cleaven Frendo as the game finished one-all.

Marsaxlokk are a stronger outfit than a year ago and on a high after cantering to their first Premier League title last season.

Like Marsaxlokk, Sarajevo clinched their first title last season, finishing on top of the standings with a three-point lead over Zrinjski.

Another good omen for the southerners is that the core of Malta internationals in their squad have fond memories of their last visit to the Bosnian capital. Earlier this month, Malta produced a commendable display in a 1-0 defeat to Bosnia in a Euro 2008 Group C qualifier.

Last year, Sarajevo recorded a 5-0 win over Andorra's Ranger's in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round but their run was halted in the next stage after a 2-1 defeat to Rapid Bucharest.

The winner of the Marsaxlokk-FK Sarajevo tie will meet Belgium's Genk, Carmel Busuttil's former club, in the second qualifying round.

UEFA Cup

Sliema Wanderers and Hibernians, Malta's representatives in the UEFA Cup, have also been pitted against clubs from eastern Europe.

Sliema, the Premier League runners-up, will face Bulgaria's Litex Lovech while Hibernians, winners of the FA Trophy, must contend with Vojvodina Novi Sad, of Serbia.

It's a tough draw for Malta's two UEFA Cup qualifiers but surely Sliema and Hibs will be aiming to improve on their poor Euro campaigns last season.

Sliema went down to Rapid Bucharest, 6-0 on aggregate, and Hibs lost 9-1 to Dinamo Bucharest.

Litex Lovech finished fourth in the league but qualified to the UEFA Cup after reaching the cup final where they lost 1-0 to Levski Sofia.

Last season, Litex made it to the first round proper of the UEFA Cup after wins over Slovenia's Koper (6-0) and Cypriot team Omonia Nicosia (2-1). They missed out on a berth in the group stage after a 4-2 upset to Israel's Maccabi Haifa.

A third-place finish in the Serbian league, 20 points behind champions Red Star, secured Vojvodina a place in the UEFA Cup. Last year, Vojvodina didn't qualify for any of the three UEFA club competitions.

Sliema are at home for the first leg on July 19 while Hibs play away first.

The second legs, on August 2, will see Sliema face Litex in Bulgaria and Hibs host Vojvodina.

Sarajevo, Litex and Vojvodina have never played against a Maltese side in European competition before.