Holders Stripes face Sliema Wanderers
by Ayrton Galea - 7th May 2016
Holders Birkirkara FC will continue their bid of defending the second prestigious honour on the island, the FA Trophy, when this evening they take on Sliema Wanderers FC.
Birkirkara are undoubtedly on a high having peaked in their performance in the last weeks. After holding Valletta in a goal-less draw, and beating Hibernians with a dramatic late goal, the Stripes ended their league commitments with a 1-1 draw against Balzan.
On the other hand, Sliema Wanderers had mixed fortunes during the last weeks when they picked two victories from their last three league outings, but conceded a 1-0 defeat to Qormi between their victories.
The Stripes had to go through a difficult challenge to reach this stage. After easily beating Kirkop United with a 6-0 score in the third round; they eliminated Valletta with a narrow 1-0 score in the fourth round of the competition. In the quarter final match, the Stripes faced a strong Floriana side but thanks to one of the best performances this season, they emerged as winners with a 2-0 score thanks to an own goal and a goal by Mauricio Mazzetti.
On the other hand, Sliema Wanderers eliminated Vittoriosa Stars with a narrow 1-0 score in the third round and they registered another narrow victory in the fourth round when they eliminated Gharghur with a 2-1 score. In the quarter-final match, the Wanderers once again had to rely on a narrow win when they eliminated the only Premier League side they faced so far, St. Andrew's, with another narrow 2-1 score.
Head Coach Mr. Drazen Besek will be unable to field his best formation as left-back Joseph Zerafa is suspended. However, on the plus side, the Stripes will be boosted with the return of the on-form Frank Temile after he missed the last league's match due to a one-match ban.
The match will be played at the National Stadium and it will kick off at 17:00.
We would like to encourage you to come to the stadium and support our beloved team.
Come on the Stripes!
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