Hamrun Spartans

Maltese Premier League
8 Nov 2026
Sunday
Process
14 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

20 days out for Michele Carboni after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hamrun Spartans will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

Both of them Damir Céter's — 9.08

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.08, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Match

Hamrun Spartans refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 16 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

The dugout

Célio says Hamrun Spartans went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

9 unbeaten for Hamrun Spartans

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Hamrun Spartans did not have in the autumn.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Rafael Compri

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Damir Céter sends Hamrun Spartans past Birkirkara

It finished 2‑1, and it was Damir Céter’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Hamrun Spartans.

The terraces

One of their own: Cheick Kone

He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Squad

A row about effort at Hamrun Spartans

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jake Grech was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

Back issues
13 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Michele Carboni out for 27 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hamrun Spartans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Eder Bruno wins it after the whistle should have gone

97 minutes played. Eder Bruno found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Naxxar Lions went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Player ratings

Rafael Compri was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Player ratings

Ryan Camenzuli goes up and wins it — 7.76

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.76 for the rest of it.

Match

8 unbeaten for Hamrun Spartans

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Hamrun Spartans did not have in the autumn.

Squad

A muscle injury and 15 days out for Ognjen Bjeličić

The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Hamrun Spartans will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Squad

Ognjen Bjeličić falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Eder Bruno the difference as Hamrun Spartans beat Naxxar Lions

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eder Bruno. 2‑1 against Naxxar Lions, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

10 new faces, and Hamrun Spartans are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

In brief

12 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

35 days out for Michele Carboni after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hamrun Spartans will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

Kléri Serber runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

7 unbeaten for Hamrun Spartans

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Hamrun Spartans did not have in the autumn.

Squad

A row about effort at Hamrun Spartans

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ognjen Bjeličić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

A falling-out at Hamrun Spartans

Matthew Guillaumier and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Cheick Kone signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Cheick Kone and Hamrun Spartans agree another 3 years.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Giovanni Cassar was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Hamrun Spartans dressing room was either.

Player ratings

Ognjen Bjeličić shuts the door

Defensive actions: 13, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Hamrun Spartans and Valletta cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Valletta came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

In brief

11 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Michele Carboni out for 42 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hamrun Spartans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Kléri Serber beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Nobody wants to play Hamrun Spartans right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Tobias Bjørnstad signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tobias Bjørnstad and Hamrun Spartans agree another 3 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Hamrun Spartans

Matthew Guillaumier and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match

Hamrun Spartans get the job done against Tarxien Rainbows

A 2‑1 win over Tarxien Rainbows, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

A row about effort at Hamrun Spartans

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jake Grech was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jake Grech

Marked 8.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

The dugout

Giovanni Cassar: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.

In brief

10 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Michele Carboni breaks a bone — 50 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Damir Céter sends Hamrun Spartans through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Damir Céter obliged against Zabbar St. Patrick. 4‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Hamrun Spartans.

Match

Hamrun Spartans march on in the cup

Zabbar St. Patrick are out and Hamrun Spartans go through, 2‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Squad

3 goals for Damir Céter

The match ball belongs to Damir Céter, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Player ratings

A debut Dominic Mangion will not forget — 7.22

There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 0 on the scoresheet, 7.22 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.

Squad

Célio stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Eder Bruno yet — 8.23

At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.23 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Match

Damir Céter among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Damir Céter on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Hamrun Spartans and Zabbar St. Patrick.

Player ratings

Damir Céter was on a different afternoon to everybody else

9.71. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

In brief

9 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Michele Carboni out for 57 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hamrun Spartans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

5 matches without a win for Hamrun Spartans

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Hamrun Spartans are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Ognjen Bjeličić falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Matthew Guillaumier in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hamrun Spartans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ipalibo Jack

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Kléri Serber

7.74, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Hamrun Spartans had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Player ratings

Rafael Compri runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Kléri Serber rescues a point for Hamrun Spartans

It needed Kléri Serber to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Floriana, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout

Giovanni Cassar on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Giovanni Cassar after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

In brief

8 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Michele Carboni out for 65 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hamrun Spartans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

4 matches without a win for Hamrun Spartans

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Hamrun Spartans are no longer polite ones.

Squad

A falling-out at Hamrun Spartans

Kléri Serber and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Kléri Serber was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Words at Hamrun Spartans training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jake Grech is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Hamrun Spartans and Hibernians take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

The dugout

Emerson Marcelina gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Giovanni Cassar chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.

Squad

Kléri Serber scores his first for Hamrun Spartans

The one goal every signing is asked about until it comes. It has come, and a press-conference question has been retired.

In brief

7 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

72 days out for Michele Carboni after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hamrun Spartans will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kléri Serber

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Ognjen Bjeličić falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Hamrun Spartans cannot find the net

3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ian Bugeja

Hamrun Spartans asked and Floriana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Noel Formosa steps up from the Hamrun Spartans academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Noel Formosa has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Hamrun Spartans promote Stephen Ellul from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Stephen Ellul has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

The dugout

No hiding place for Cheick Kone

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cheick Kone, and the manager let it.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Giovanni Cassar chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

6 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

79 days out for Michele Carboni after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hamrun Spartans will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

Kléri Serber runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Hamrun Spartans say no — this time

The offer from Valletta for Matthew Guillaumier was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Boardroom

Hamrun Spartans close the window on a squad of their own making

14 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Squad

Ognjen Bjeličić falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Hamrun Spartans rebuffed over Gabriel Mentz

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Gzira United have kept their man, and Hamrun Spartans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Hamrun Spartans come up short against Mosta

Mosta left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Matthew Guillaumier

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

10 new faces, and Hamrun Spartans are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

In brief

  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Squad The formation has left Cheick Kone behind
  • Looking ahead A reunion for Cain Attard
5 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Aaron Saliba out for 19 days

19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hamrun Spartans lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Transfer targets

Stefan Portelli will not be coming to Hamrun Spartans

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Birkirkara is saying, and nobody at Hamrun Spartans is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Cheick Kone arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Cheick Kone has, at Hamrun Spartans, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Player ratings

Kléri Serber was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Transfer targets

Sliema Wanderers tell Hamrun Spartans: Adam Magri Overend is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Matthew Guillaumier in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hamrun Spartans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Damir Céter

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Marsaxlokk take the points off Hamrun Spartans

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Jake Grech falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

4 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Aaron Saliba

26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hamrun Spartans lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Sekala Guehi rejects the move

Hamrun Spartans had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Naxxar Lions, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

Ognjen Bjeličić falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Words exchanged at Hamrun Spartans

Célio and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Transfer targets

Hamrun Spartans try to borrow Stefan Portelli

Birkirkara have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Squad

Godwin Spiteri signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Godwin Spiteri and Hamrun Spartans agree another 3 years.

In brief

3 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Aaron Saliba out for 33 days

33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hamrun Spartans lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Words at Hamrun Spartans training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Bjeličić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Hamrun Spartans rebuffed over Nicholas Gatt

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hibernians have kept their man, and Hamrun Spartans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

2 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Kléri Serber in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hamrun Spartans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

No deal for Julani Archibald at that price

Hamrun Spartans offered $8.0K; Valletta said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Transfer targets

Juventud tell Hamrun Spartans: Alejo Cruz is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Market

Hamrun Spartans promote Timothy Zammit from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Timothy Zammit has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Godwin Spiteri steps up from the Hamrun Spartans academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Godwin Spiteri has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Jake Scicluna steps up from the Hamrun Spartans academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jake Scicluna has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Peter Zammit steps up from the Hamrun Spartans academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Peter Zammit has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Squad

Hamrun Spartans are still strangers to each other

8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

Squad

Zachary Brincat signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Zachary Brincat commits to Hamrun Spartans for another 3 years.

In brief

1 Edition

The Hamrun Spartans Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Ognjen Bjeličić signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ognjen Bjeličić and Hamrun Spartans agree another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Hamrun Spartans

Kléri Serber was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Hamrun Spartans training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Bjeličić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Bristol Rovers tell Hamrun Spartans: Shaq Forde is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Laurenţiu Brănescu needs a bigger stage

He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Hamrun Spartans know which stage they are at.

Transfer targets

Hamrun Spartans ask about Jakob Cioffi

A loan enquiry to Floriana: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

In brief