16th September 2019
MFA FA Trophy: Preliminary Round & First Round
The fourteen teams from the Gozo Football leagues of the first and second division practically started their commitments in the football season 2019/2020 with the participation in the first rounds of the MFA FA Trophy. In some cases, Gozitan teams were drawn against other opponents from Gozo, but in most matches, the Gozitan teams were drawn to face opponents from the Third Division of the MFA, so that the matches were also played in different venues in Malta and Gozo.
The outcome of these first two rounds of the second most important competition in Malta shows that only five teams from the Gozitan leagues earned qualification to the second round.
MFA FA Trophy Preliminary Round
In the first matches played at the Gozo Stadium XGHRA United obtained a deserved win over St Venera Lightnings with two goals that arrived during the early stages of the second period, while Gozitan champions Victoria Hotspurs registered a win with a large score in their match against Mdina Knights. The Hotspurs ended the first half with just a one-goal lead but the hoist increased pressure after the break and expressed their superiority by scoring six goals.
In the meantime, Gozo’s Zebbug Rovers remained in contention for qualification in the match against Ghaxaq, that was played at Victor Tedesco Stadium, until the end of the first half but found it extremely difficult to remain competitive after the break and ended conceding two goals that placed Ghaxaq in the first round. Two other matches, that were both played at Sirens Stadium, saw two Gozitan teams win qualification to the first round. The two matches turned up to be very well contested and victory could have gone either way. Munxar Falcons registered a win with the odd goal from three in their match against Ta’ Xbiex, while Kercem Ajax obtained a 3-2 win over Kirkop United despite the fact that they ended the encounter with ten players.
In the match from the preliminary round between two teams from the top fight of Gozitan football, Ghajnsielem obtained qualification with a 3-2 win over SK Victoria wanderers after extra time. The Wanderers scored two early goals but Ghajnsielem recovered the deficit before the end of the first half. For the rest of the encounter, victory could have gone either way. The Wanderers had two attempts on separate occasions that were stopped by the woodwork but Ghajnsielem scored the goal that decided the qualification during the first half of extra time. The last match from the preliminary round of the competition was between teams from each category of Gozitan football. Xewkija Tigers as expected obtain a handsome win against second division side St Lawrence Spurs. The Tigers paved the way to the qualification by scoring four goals during the first half and sealed the win with another goal that arrived on the hour mark of the encounter.
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Fri 6 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
Xaghra United FC – FT (2-0) – Sta. Venera Lightnings FC
Referee: Andrew James Sammut
49’ (1-0) Rafael Rennardy De Souza Ferreira
66’ (2-0) Rafael Rennardy De Souza Ferreira
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Fri 6 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
Victoria Hotspurs FC – FT (7-0) – Mdina Knights FC
Referee: Daniel Portelli
23’ (1-0) Elton Da Silva
48’ (2-0) Elton Da Silva
59’ (3-0) Elton Da Silva
61’ (4-0) Emiliano Lattes
72’ (5-0) Dylan Bellotti
76’ (6-0) Henrique Maciel
87’ (7-0) Emiliano Lattes
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Sat 7 Sept 2019 – Victor Tedesco Stadium
Ghaxaq FC – FT (4-1) – Zebbug Rovers FC
Referee: Kurt Saliba
22’ (1-0) penalty Jurgen Gerada
36’ (1-1) penalty Philco Helleson Honorato
45’ (2-1) Dean Agius
79’ (3-1) Uros Markovic
83’ (4-1) Neil Brownrigg
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Sat 7 Sept 2019 – Sirens Stadium
Ta’ Xbiex FC – FT (1-2) – Munxar Falcons FC
Referee: Mehmet Oral
15’ (0-1) Jose Hinrichs Cleiton
31’ (1-1) Matthew Fenech
69’ (red card) Mark Debrincat (MF)
77’ (1-2) o.g. Roberto Buttigieg
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Sat 7 Sept 2019 – Sirens Stadium
Kirkop United FC – FT (2-3) – Kercem Ajax FC
Referee: Emanuel Grech
4’ (0-1) Borja Polo Longarela
21’ (1-1) Ayrton Buhagiar
30’ (1-2) penalty Sergio Martinez
35’ (1-3) penalty Ali Oularbi
58’ (2-3) Ayrton Buhagiar
87’ (red card) Sergio Martinez (KA)
Photo: Paul Scicluna
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Mon 9 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
SK Victoria Wanderers – FT a.e.t. (2-3) – Ghajnsielem FC
Referee: Ishmael Barbara
5’ (1-0) Igor Misan
13’ (2-0) Igor Misan
24’ (2-1) Michael Bezzina
35’ (2-2) penalty Igor Nedeljkovic
98’ (2-3) Jhon Arboleda Valencia
Photo: Paul Scicluna
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Mon 9 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
St Lawrence Spurs FC – FT (0-5) – Xewkija Tigers FC
Referee: Sabri Goctu
6’ (0-1) Jackson De Lima
14’ (0-2) Rodney Buttigieg
40’ (0-3) Rodney Buttigieg
45’ (0-4) Claudio Daniel Frances
60’ (0-5) Rodney Buttigieg
Photo: Paul Scicluna
MFA FA Trophy First Round
The first matches from the first round of the FA Trophy were both played at the Gozo Stadium. These two matches saw two teams form the first division of Gozitan football obtaining wins with a large score against teams from the second division of the GFA. In the first match Kercem against registered a 5-0 win over Munxar Falcons where Kercem made sure of the qualification with four goals scored during the second period. In the other match Nadur Youngsters obtained a 4-0 win over Oratory Youths with all the four goals scored after the break.
Two other matches were played at the Kercem Ajax Stadium between teams from the second division of the GFA and teams from the third division of the MFA. In the first of these two matches, Sannat Lions were eliminated by Gharghur who registered a 1-0 win through a penalty converted five minutes away from the end of regular time. In the other match Dingli Swallows obtained a dramatic 3-2 win over Qala Saints so that the visitors moved to the next round of the competition. Dingli scored two goals during the first half but Qala had an impressive reaction and recovered the deficit with two goals scored during the last stages of the encounter. However, Dingli managed to score the goal that decided the issue four minutes from the end of regular time and defended the lead until the final whistle.
Gozitan champions Victoria Hotspurs booked a place in the second round of the competition with a 4-0 win over Siggiewi at Sirens Stadium. Victoria Hotspurs practically made sure of the win with three goals scored during the final stages of the first half and made sure of the win with a fourth goal scored minutes away from the end of the encounter.
Two other matches from the first round of the competition were contested by four teams from the first division of Gozitan football. In the first match Xewkija Tigers obtained 2-0 win over Gharb Rangers with two goals scored during the dying moments of the encounter. In the other match Xaghra United obtained a 3-1 win over Ghajnsielem following another interesting match where the qualification remained uncertain until the last phases of the match.
Photo: Paul Scicluna
MFA The Malta FA Trophy. Rd. I – Fri 13 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
Kercem Ajax FC – FT (5-0) – Munxar Falcons FC
Referee: Joseph Scerri
13’ (1-0) Milos Perisic
63’ (2-0) Thomas Vella
70’ (3-0) Borja Polo Longarela
86’ (4-0) Borja Polo Longarela
90’ (5-0) Milos Perisic
Photo: Paul Scicluna
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Rd. I – Fri 13 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
Nadur Youngsters FC – FT (4-0) – Oratory Youths FC
Referee: Aleksandar Jovanovic
48’ (1-0) Johan Alberto Castano
71’ (2-0) Predrag Dordevic
74’ (3-0) Brandon Said
89’ (4-0) Marcelo Barbosa
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Rd.I – Sat 14 Sept 2019 – Kercem Ajax Stadium
Sannat Lions – FT (0-1) – Gharghur FC
Referee: Kurt Saliba
85’ (0-1) penalty Allan Fernandes Moreira
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Rd. I – Sat 14 Sept 2019 – Kercem Ajax Stadium
Qala Saints FC – FT (2-3) – Dingli Swallows FC
Referee: Ezekiel Barbara
11’ (0-1) Gianluca Theuma
27’ (0-2) Daniel Cilia
79’ (1-2) Joseph Owen Borg
82’ (red card) Etienne Farrugia (DS)
83’ (2-2) penalty Frank Azzopardi
86’ (2-3) Dylan Mercieca
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Prel. Rd. – Sat 14 Sept 2019 – Sirens Stadium
Siggiewi FC – FT (0-4) – Victoria Hotspurs FC
Referee: Slawomir Olucha
39’ (0-1) Henrique Maciel
43’ (0-2) Emiliano Lattes
45’ (0-3) Emiliano Lattes
84’ (0-4) Elton Da Silva
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Rd. I – Sun 15 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
Gharb Rangers FC – FT (0-2) – Xewkija Tigers FC
Referee: Aleksandar Jovanovic
78’ (0-1) Claudio Antunes Pavlidis
90’+3 (0-2) Johnny Camilleri
MFA The Malta FA Trophy Rd. I – Sun 15 Sept 2019 – Gozo Stadium
Xaghra United FC – FT (3-1) – Ghajnsielem FC
Referee: Darryl Agius
11’ (1-0) Raffael De Souza Ferreira
34’ (2-0) Rodrigo Ost Dos Santos
36’ (2-1) penalty Igor Nedeljkovic
67’ (3-1) Lago Ander Gonzalo
MFA FA Trophy Second Round
The matches form the second round of the competition will be played on Sunday 27 October 2019. The fixtures for the five teams from the Gozitan first division championship who earned qualification are as follows:
Kercem Ajax Stadium:
13:30 Kercem Ajax vs Fgura United
15:45 Xaghra United vs Victoria Hotspurs
Sirens Stadium:
15:00 Birzebbuga St Peter;s vs Xewkija Tigers
17:15 Vittoriosa Stars vs Nadur Youngsters
0 Comments