Hamrun beat Swieqi to go through to the next round

Swieqi made it to the fourth round after defeating Qormi on penalties. This time they had a bigger hurdle since they were up against Hamrun Spartans.

The Spartans are not in their best form; however, they definitely had what it takes to defeat Swieqi United and thus qualify to the quarter finals of the FA Trophy.

This scenario was reflected on the pitch since Hamrun took control of the match and were awarded a penalty after just five minutes. Marc Attard fouled Jorge Soares inside the penalty area and the referee pointed towards the spot. Soares stepped up, but his shot was blocked by Edward Gatt.

However, Hamrun forged ahead on the 17th minute. Matthew Gauci’s cross was met by Karl Micallef who headed the ball inside the net.

The score became 2-0 on the 62nd minute. Soares crossed the ball in the direction of Micallef and the latter saw his header going past Gatt.

Swieqi pulled one back on the 78th minute. Roderick Taliana fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area that sailed inside the net.

Hamrun sealed the issue late in the game. Soares served Nicola Leone and the latter placed the ball inside the net.

Swieqi starting line-up: Edward Gatt, Marc Attard, Kyle Muscat (73’ Liam Grech), Kristian Sultana (42’ Shaun Bugeja), Alan Schembri Wismayer, Felipe Nunes Fernandes, Ibrahim Salis (70’ Tejumola Ebenezer Ayorinde), Melvin Farrugia, Josuel Azzopardi, Roderick Taliana, Dayle Borg.

Hamrun Spartans starting line-up: Manuel Bartolo (76’ Jean Claude Debattista), Alessio Capitelli, Conor Borg (85’ Kieran Higgans), Ailton Jorge dos Santos Soares, Matthew Gauci, Nicola Leone, Darren Borg (90+2’ Nikolai Micallef), Andre Scicluna, Karl Micallef, Valdo Alhino, Mattia Cinquini.

Referee: Slobodan Petrovic
Assistant Referees: Edward Spiteri, Duncan Spencer
Fourth Official: Darryl Agius