San Gwann-Mqabba 5-6 (after penalties)

Mqabba reached the last eight of the competition – the only team from the first division – after beating San Gwann in a penalty shoot-out to the tune of 5-4 for a 6-5 final scoreline.

It was a marathon match which never reached any great heights. Instead, the small crowd present must have never been enthusd with the proceedings with thrills being few and far between.

In the first half, play was more or less balanced but play was mediocre all the way except for two moments when first Sandro Zammit Fava, and later Marlon Briffa, were shown a red card by referee Azzopardi, leaving the two teams in 10 men each.

The only action worthy of note arrived on 20 minutes when Keith Mallia missed a good opportunity for Mqabba, hitting wide from an ideal scoring position.

Mqabba took the lead on 55 minutes when substitute Justin Felice hit home a fine shot from the edge of the area.

But 11 minutes later, San Gwann managed an equaliser when Kurt Micallef crossed low into the Mqabba area and Mark Psaila was unmarked to tap the ball past the helpless Calleja.

San Gwann almost went in front on 75 minutes when Kurt Micallef had an effort turned to corner in style by Calleja. From the same corner, the ball arrived at Achokwu’s feet, but his strike went across goal.

Mqabba replied on 85 minutes with a cross from Hili and a Felice shot that was splendidly saved by Bartolo.

Kevin Azzopardi’s whistle found both teams still on level terms and the match went into extra time which produced no goals. The match then went into the penalty shootout.

For Mqabba, E. Lufi, E. Borg, D. Gatt, A. Busuttil and U. Anywanna converted their spot-kicks. The scorers for San Gwann were T. Saliba, K. Micallef, K. Sciberras, W. Spiteri

M. Psaila and Clint Gatt missed for the Saints while Jean Paul Muscat missed the only shot for Mqabba.