Season 1968-69 brought mixed fortunes for Maltese teams in Europe.

For the first time ever, a Maltese club competed in the Fair Cities Cup which, in those days, was the equivalent of the UEFA Cup. This honour fell to Hibernians and what a start it was for the Paolites.

In those days, the Maltese went to the stadium not only to watch those famous teams in action but also to cheer and support the locals.

Hibs usually did not disappoint their followers. Time and again they emerged with heads held high and with results that greatly embarrassed their opponents.

In 1968, however, things did not go so smoothly. Hibs’ opponents that year were Aris Salonika, of Greece.

In the away match, Hibs lost 0-1, a result that gave them a great chance of qualifying for the next round in the home leg.

But, after building up the expectations of the local fans, Hibs slipped badly against a team of a standard much lower than theirs. The Paolites were humiliated 6-0 at a packed Empire Stadium.

That season, Floriana’s opponents in the Champions Cup were Lahden Reipas, of Finland.

Lahden were certainly not a great team and many felt that Floriana had a good chance of qualifying for the second round.

The first leg, on September 8, 1968, never reached great heights.

Floriana were all over their opponents but a first-class performance by goalkeeper Enchleman foiled all their efforts. At the end, the Greens had to content themselves with a 1-1 draw.

Floriana were optimistic of turning the result in their favour in the second leg. In Finland, however, two goals by outside-left Hannu Holtari ended the Greens’ dreams of victory.

It was by all means a very disappointing result for the Greens. They created a couple of scoring chances but on the whole their performance and commitment left a lot to be desired.

Sliema Wanderers obtained the best result of the first-leg matches when, in Luxembourg, they lost 1-2 to US Rumelange. Therefore, the return tie held bright prospects for the Blues.

Sliema ran on to the pitch on September 29 brimming with confidence. A crowd of over 14,000 was present and this time they were not disappointed.

From the very start, the Wanderers raided their opponents’ penalty area. Wave after wave of attacks were mounted but the goal which finally downed Rumelange didn’t arrive before the 60th minute.

In a melee in front of goal, the ball dropped in front of Frans Falzon who had all the time in the world to hammer low into the net for the winning goal.

Great celebrations

It was a glorious moment. The final whistle was drowned in the pandemonium which followed as the crowd invaded the pitch to carry the players off the pitch in triumph.

The celebrations continued in Sliema. On the way to the club the streets were lined with thousands of delirious supporters.

At the Ferries, the players had to leave their bus as they were carried shoulder-high to the club.

When, in the next round, Sliema were drawn against Danish second division club Freja Randers, hopes were raised of further progress in the competition. However, it was a game of woe in Denmark for the Wanderers.

Hopes were dashed cruelly to the ground when Sliema lost 6-0.

Understandably, Sliema adopted a defensive plan but a couple of minutes from half-time the score was already 2-0 for the Danes.

Then, Joe Cini was sent off for a soft foul and with 10 men Sliema struggled, conceding four more goals through Sorensen, Garander, Lyhke and Anderson.

With this scoreline, the return match was a mere formality.

Only a couple of thousand were present at the stadium to see a depleted Sliema side suffer another 2-0 defeat.