Gzira United held UE Sant Julià in a goalless draw in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League at the Estadi Nacional in Andorra La Vella on Thursday.
The hosts were clearly a better side throughout the ninety minutes with the Maroons constantly on the receiving end.
Thiago Espindola was making his debut for Gzira along with Clive Gauci who was included as a substitute.
Early in the game, Haber performed good saves on Checa Cano and Njie Kambi. The Gzira goalkeeper once again neutralised an attempt by Njie Kambi on the 14th minute.
Checa Cano tested Haber once again on the 66th and one minute later, Makoube Ebongue was unlucky to hit the woodwork.
On the 75th, Justin Haber came to the rescue with a save on Bouekou and after neutralising a Njie Kambi effort on the 89th, Gzira had a first attempt on goal with Jefferson tested goalkeeper Ignacio Zabal. Deep into stoppage time, Zabal parried another Jefferson effort.
The second leg will be played at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday 15, kick-off at 20:00.
The winner of this two-legged clash will be facing HNK Rijeka of Croatia in the second qualifying round of the competition.
SANT JULIA Ignacio Zabal, Ion Echaide, Bubucar Njie Kambi, Oscar Garcia Gonzalez (90+1′ Bedsente Gomis), Pau Cendros, Dani El Gonzalez (46′ Nils Bouekou), Izan Checa Cano, Albert Makoube Ebongue, Jordan Tawaba, Frederic Nimani (72′ Valentin Rizzo), Fabrice Begeorgi.
GZIRA Justin Haber, Gabriel Bohrer Mentz, Steve Borg, Nikolai Muscat, Zach Scerri (58′ Steve Pisani), Dexter Xuereb, Martin Davis, Ricardo Correa Duarte (70′ Jefferson de Assis), Maxuell Maia da Silva (82′ Clive Gauci), Thiago Espindola de Paula, Jackson Usuga Mendoza.
Referee: Haris Kaljanac (BIH)
Assistant referees: Amer Macić, Goran Dujak (BIH)
Fourth official: Antoni Bandić (BIH)
Source: Malta Football
