Jubilee Cup – 125 Anniversary – Preliminary Round
Masters Football Malta………1
MAFA………………………….……3
MAFA selection secured their place in the Jubilee Cup semi-finals with a strong 3-1 win over Masters Football Malta.
The match was exciting and included three penalties, two of which were missed. MAFA looked dangerous at times, with Timmy Zammit Lupi and Andrew Tortell from Balluta Barracudas causing problems for the Masters’ defence.
MAFA took the lead early on after seven minutes. A move down the left found league top scorer Andrew Tortell, who calmly scored.
They had a chance to double their lead in the 26th minute when they were awarded a penalty, but Nikola Neskovic’s shot was saved by the excellent goalkeeper Stephane Moto Bitseki.
Just a minute later, Masters got their own penalty after a handball in the box. Firas Aboulezz scored from 11 metres to level the match at 1-1. That score stayed the same at half-time.
In the second half, both teams had chances but the goalkeepers kept the score steady. Then in the 66th minute, MAFA took the lead again when Timmy Zammit Lupi rose highest to head home a cross from the right.
Masters had another chance to equalise in the 70th minute with a second penalty but Aboulezz hit the post.
Two minutes later, MAFA sealed the win with a quick counterattack. Zammit Lupi finished well to make it 3-1 and send MAFA through to the last four.
MAFA will now play IASC in the semi-final on Saturday. The referee was Danilo Francalanza.
GIDA………1
SWAN…….7
At the Sirens Stadium, SWAN dominated their game against GIDA, winning 7-1.
GIDA, represented by their champions MLS, had a terrible start and were three goals behind early on.
SWAN controlled the match from start to finish, led by Nigerian forward Abba Auwal who was unstoppable. Auwal scored five goals, while Andrea Borg and Jean Christ Buttigieg added two more. GIDA scored a late consolation goal through Luke Mifsud.
The referee for this match was Igor Kankaras.
SWAN will face the Maltese Veterans in the semi-finals.
