Sasere: Lugano loanee revels in ‘dream’ Hamrun Spartans debut

Franklin Sasere was ecstatic to mark his “dream” Hamrun Spartans debut with a goal in Sunday’s Maltese Premier League triumph over rivals Santa Lucia.

The Nigerian forward, who joined the Maltese elite division side on loan from Swiss Super League outfit Lugano – with the ambition of getting regular first team football – needed just six minutes to announce his presence after replacing Brazil’s Marcelina Emerson in the 39th minute.

Profiting from a cross, the former Sunshine Stars’ man unleashed an unstoppable left-footed shot past goalkeeper Andreas Vella to hand the Spartans an unassailable four-goal lead before the half time break.

Ige Adeshina, Nigerian-born Maltese forward Joseph Mbong and Marcelo Barbosa had given Mark Buttigieg’s men a three-goal advantage before his introduction.

Sasere completed his double in the second-half, but it was ruled out for an offside while Kevin Rosero’s late minute goal proved as mere consolation for Santa Lucia in the 4-1 triumph.

Debut ⚽️ +3punto pic.twitter.com/zrW4RtOjIK

— Sasere Franklin (@saserefranklin9) September 27, 2020

“I’m happy to make a scoring debut today pSunday] and I can boldly say it’s a dream start for me in Malta,” the striker told Goal.

“It is disheartening not to have walked home with a brace because the second was ruled offside, nevertheless, I’m so happy with the general performance of my teammates.

“Playing against the hosts was extremely difficult but we deserved to win because we dominated every department.

“Even though I came here [Malta] few days ago, I’ve been able to settle quick thanks to the support of my teammates and coaches.

“With this win and goal, I am now focused on working hard towards ensuring that I maintain this goalscoring form.”

Thanks to this result, the Victor Tedesco Stadium giants lead the Maltese topflight log with six points after recording two wins out of two games in the ongoing 2020-21 campaign.

Santa Lucia are still without a win and they occupy the 13th spot having garnered just one point from the same number of matches.

Sasere and his Hamrun Spartans teammates would be hoping to continue with their breathe taking start to the season when they host Senglea Athletic in their next outing on Wednesday.