Mosta 4

Senglea A. 1

Mosta reached the final of the First Division Knock Out when they elbowed out Senglea in style in yesterday's first semi-final.

The final scoreline may be misleading as Senglea were always in the match apart from the final minutes, in which Mosta took completely the upper hand.

The match was rather balanced for long stretches, with Mosta however showing the better ideas. However the turning point was the inclusion of Philip Camilleri early in the second half. The classy Mosta midfielder apart from scoring a brace, proved to be the winning trump as he gave that added flair in midfield.

Ewurun and Deguara were very effective and dangerous in their fast breaks, with young defender Steve Borg playing another great match for Mosta.

Darren Grech was Senglea's best player, but others like Sciberras and Dozie disappointed.

Mosta took the lead on 35 minutes when Anthony Ewurun dribbled past a couple of defenders to beat Attard with a grounder.

In the second half Senglea equalised on 62 minutes when Darren Grech passed to Glenn Bonello who finished off in style after rounding off two Mosta defenders.

Two minutes later Mosta were back in front when Philip Camilleri curled a majestic freekick in the low corner of the net, while Mosta goalkeeper Joshua Galea saved his side with a brilliant save off a Cosaitis scorcher.

On 72 minutes Mosta increased their lead when Ewurun did all the spade work before passing to Philip Camilleri who surprised Attard from an angled position. Five minutes later Senglea finished with a player less when Lawrence Attard handled the ball to stop Ewurun from heading towards goal.

Ryan Deguara crowned a good performance when he scored the fourth and final goal in stoppage time after a fine personal move.

St Patrick 1

Tarxien R. 1

(Tarxien won 5-4 – pens)

The penalty shoot-out favoured the Rainbows with Kurt Coleiro missing his side's only penalty. It was the verdict after two hours of play with neither side capable of toppling the other. The drawn result at the end was the fairest possible, but someone had to encounter Mosta next Thursday in the final, and in the end Tarxien's sharper penalties put them in the final.

Both teams concentrated on defence in the first half with very few scoring chances in the first 30 minutes of the match. The Saints were slightly better on the field with the usual Costa Brazilino and Kenneth Abela in evidence. Shaun Magro was rather subdued on the right flank.

For Tarxien Manuel Caruana was the most effective player in the first half creating the first danger midway through when he severely tested Cassar in the Saints' goal. Minutes later Darmanin trapped the ball but his shot left much to be desired.

St Patrick took the lead on the 35th minute when Kenneth Abela was floored by Francica and from the resultant penalty captain Robert Cassar sent Cini the wrong way.

Just before the end of the first half, Alan Tabone pounced on a loose ball outside the Saints' penalty area, but his dipper slammed against the upright .

Tarxien obtained the equaliser on 70 minutes when Darmanin passed to Simon Shead who was completely unmarked inside the area, and the Tarxien striker beat Cassar with a good angled shot. No goals were scored in extra time and the match went to the penalty shoot out where Kurt Coleiro proved to be decisive again as he was the only player to miss his kick which was saved by Cini. Tarxien scored all their penalties taken by Tabone, Darmanin, Shead, Okoro, and Camilleri. For the Saints Simon Zerafa, Failla, Abela, and Cassar all scored theirs but to no avail.