Last week's Shadows from the Past made interesting reading. I was present for those particular games mentioned as a 10-year-old boy. From that day onwards, I took Melita FC to my heart.

What perhaps people do not know is that that game was no flash in the pan for the Amateurs. A year later, in 1939-40, Melita FC were again finalists in the FA Trophy, also against Sliema Wanderers.

But on that occasion, Sliema showed more respect and beat Melita 3-2.

Due to injury, Melita finished the final with nine players. In that particular period no substitutions were allowed.

Incidentally, the FA Trophy final of May 28, 1940 was the last competitive game of that year as on June 10, 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and competitive soccer stopped at the Stadium.

It only made a comeback with the Malta Cup on February 13, 1944 when Melita FC drew with Sliema Athletics (ex-Wanderers) 3-3.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.