Ħamrun’s FA Trophy Dream Ended by Late Valletta Blitz
Meridianbet FA Trophy – Quarter Finals Valletta 3 – 1 Ħamrun Spartans
Valletta secured their place in the semi-finals of the Meridianbet FA Trophy after a thrilling quarter-final clash against Ħamrun Spartans, winning 3-1 after extra time. It was a fantastic match in which Ħamrun had the better of the play and created the most dangerous chances, but Valletta showed great heart and never gave up, eventually scoring twice in the dying minutes of extra time to set up a semi-final meeting with Birkirkara.
First Half
The match started in lively fashion with a Jake Azzopardi effort sailing just over, before Ħamrun responded with a Bulevardi shot that went narrowly wide. In the 16th minute, Attard’s effort for the Spartans also went over the bar.
Two minutes later, Valletta had a golden opportunity — a Compri error allowed Yankam to shoot, but Bonello saved. From the rebound, Messias had his effort cleared off the line by Marcelina, and in the follow-up, Andrea Zammit’s shot went just wide.
In the 25th minute, Ħamrun thought they had broken the deadlock through Eleke Blessing, but following a Video Support review, referee Petrovic disallowed the goal due to a foul by Mbong on Mbende in the build-up. In the 40th minute, Ħamrun appealed for a penalty following contact between Mbende and Eleke Blessing, but after consulting the Video Support, the referee judged the challenge to be fair. The half ended with a Mbong effort going just over.
Second Half
The pattern of play remained unchanged in the second half, with Ħamrun continuing to dominate possession while Valletta looked to play long balls in behind for Messias. In the 55th minute, a Bjelicic effort gave the illusion of a goal but the ball struck the outside of the net.
On the hour mark, Valletta took the lead through a move down the right flank, where Tavares anticipated Bonello’s coming out and squared for Yankam, who headed home — 1-0 Valletta.
In the 65th minute, Modica made three substitutions at once, and within seconds two of those substitutes combined to level for Ħamrun. Jonny dispossessed Steve Borg and played in El Fanis, who fired low into the net — 1-1.
Ħamrun continued to push forward and went close from a corner in the 80th minute, with the ball going just wide. In the 87th minute, Carboni squandered a golden chance when he fired over from an ideal position.
Extra Time
The match went to extra time, and eight minutes in Ħamrun created another good chance but Mbong spurned it from a great position.
In the 115th minute, Valletta retook the lead when Paiber found Tavares, who laid it off to Meijer, who poked the ball past Bonello from close range — 2-1 Valletta.
With Ħamrun throwing everything forward, in the 126th minute Jony went down in the box. The referee waved play on, and Brandon Paiber ran the full length of the pitch before slotting past Bonello to seal the tie — 3-1. There was still a moment of late drama as the referee consulted the FVS over the challenge on Jonny, but Petrovic confirmed no foul had been committed, allowing Valletta to celebrate their progression.
Referee: Slobodan Petrovic
Valletta: A. Aguero, M. Ellul, S. Borg (N. Micallef), A. Zammit (V. Meijer), J. Azzopardi, D. Ragala, Y. Yankam (T. Melillo), E. Mbende, Y. Messias (A. Adebayo Basher), S. Radic, J. Mendoza (B. Paiber).
Ħamrun Spartans: H. Bonello, R. Compri (S. Xerri), M. Guillaumier, S. Attard (M. Carboni)(K. Serber), J. Mbong, V. Polito, O. Bjelicic, C. Eleke Blessing (Jonny), D. Bulevardi (M. El Fanis), E. Marcelina, R. Camenzuli (M. Garcia).
