NK Maribor 2

Birkirkara 1

A 10-man Birkirkara side bowed out honourably of the competition when yesterday they lost narrowly 2-1 against NK Maribor in the second leg in Slovakia.

The Stripes had lost the first leg in Malta 3-0 last week and were therefore eliminated 5-1 on aggregate.

Birkirkara yesterday had to play for a whole 55 minutes in 10 men after Thomas Paris was shown the red card after 35 minutes.

Till the interval, the Stripes maintained a blank scoreline, but the home side took the lead through Mezga on 53 minutes. However, John Buttigieg’s boys fought back to equalise through Michael Galea on 58 minutes. The striker had received a perfect pass from Roderick Briffa, who is reported to have played a blinder.

Maribor obtained their winning goal on the 78th minute through Vranko.

Other results: Klaksvik-Hammarby 1-2; Makedonija-Ethnikos Achnas 2-0; Zestafoni-Tobol Kostanay 2-0; Grbalj Radanovici-Gloria Bistrita 1-1; Dacia Chisinau-FK Baku 0-0; Cork City-Valur 0-0; Vllaznia-NK Zagreb 0-0; Slavija Sarajevo-Sant Julia 0-0; Slovan Bratislava-Differdang03 0-0