Big guns on collision course

Easter weekend will make or break the hopes of eight Premier League teams vying for a place in the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.

As the eight teams in the KO competition are all members of the elite division, it was inevitable that the quarter-final draw would throw up some intriguing ties.

Expectations have been exceeded, what with two of the quarter-finals pitting the leading four teams against one another.

Marsaxlokk, the league leaders, will square up to Valletta (fourth in the league) tomorrow while today's second quarter-final is a clash between Sliema Wanderers and Birkirkara, second and third respectively in the Premier League.

These two matches are the most attractive of this weekend's quarter-finals but the possibility of a cup upset makes the other two last-four ties no less interesting.

Hibernians will be looking to strengthen their chances of retaining the FA Trophy by beating Marsa in today's curtain raiser while Msida are up against Pietà tomorrow.

Marsaxlokk and Valletta are widely tipped to produce a compelling quarter-final tie tomorrow.

If the teams' positions in the league table are anything to go by, Marsaxlokk start as favourites as they are top of the heap with a six-point lead over Sliema. Yet, the southerners' erstwhile invincible aura was punctured after they went down 4-1 to Sliema last weekend, Marsaxlokk's first defeat in 22 matches.

Mounting speculation that Victor Sciriha, Marsaxlokk's vice-president and chief benefactor, may revive his interest in joining the administration of Valletta next season, will not have gone down well with the Blues' fans, besides giving tomorrow's tie an extra edge.

Marsaxlokk may not have had the best of build-ups but assistant coach Peter Hartshorne believes that a knock-out match will ensure that the team's focus is on pure football matters.

"It's going to be a difficult match for us," Hartshorne told The Times.

"Suffice to say that the quarter-final draw resulted in two matches involving the leading four teams in the Premier League.

"The Trophy is the second most prestigious competition in Maltese football and our objective is to go all the way.

"Coming after our first league defeat in 22 matches, I believe that the timing of this quarter-final is right for us.

"We have to forget last weekend's defeat and concentrate on this match, knowing that failure to win would send us out of the competition.

"With regards to our league defeat last Sunday, we envisaged that, at some point, our unbeaten run would come to an end but obviously, we would have preferred not to lose against our nearest rivals."

Apart from defender Steve Wellman, who is still recovering from a wrist operation, coach Brian Talbot has a full complement at his disposal for tomorrow's match.

Marsaxlokk will be making their first appearance in this season's FA Trophy as they were awarded byes in the opening two rounds on the strength of their top-four finish in the league last season.

Not so for Valletta who have reached the last eight after difficult wins over Division One sides San Gwann (1-0) and Mqabba (3-2).

With success in the FA Trophy top of Valletta's priority list, the Citizens would rather have avoided Marsaxlokk at the quarter-final stage but coach Paul Zammit reckons his team must see off the strongest teams if they are to win this competition.

"The FA Trophy is our main target now and if we have aspirations to advance, we must be positive about our chances of beating any team that stands in our way," Zammit said.

"Needless to say that our quarter-final is going to be very hard as we're going to face the Premier League leaders."

Valletta's hopes of progressing to the semi-finals are boosted by the return of skipper Gilbert Agius and Serbian defender Branko Nisevic.

Suspension forced Agius to miss last weekend's 1-1 Premier League draw with Msida whereas Nisevic skipped the match due a slight hamstring injury.

Zammit, who has no selection worries, is wary of a Marsaxlokk backlash after the latter crashed to their first defeat in 22 matches last weekend.

"It's impossible to predict what effect last weekend's loss could have on Marsaxlokk," Zammit said.

"That defeat could spark a bold reaction from Marsaxlokk as they look to make a quick return to winning ways. Inversely, Marsaxlokk's morale and confidence may have been dented as a result of their heavy 4-1 loss to Sliema."

"Whatever Marsaxlokk's riposte to their defeat, my task is to prepare my team in the best possible way for the match. A top-notch performance from Valletta is a must if we are to surpass this tough hurdle," Zammit added.

For Valletta to gain access to the semi-finals, they will have to break their duck against Marsaxlokk this season after the latter won all three of their league meetings so far - 2-1, 1-0 and 3-1.

Sliema vs Birkirkara

Spirits are high in both the Sliema and Birkirkara clans ahead of their quarter-final encounter this afternoon at the National Stadium (kick-off 5 p.m.).

On Sunday, Sliema maintained their slim title hopes alive with their rout of Marsaxlokk and, the day before, Birkirkara made it three wins out of three since John Buttigieg took over as coach with a 2-1 defeat of Hibernians.

Out of contention for the league title, Birkirkara's only hope of silverware is the FA Trophy competition. Sliema may still be in the title race but with Marsaxlokk six points clear at the top, they are well aware that the Trophy represents their most realistic chance of winning an honour this season.

Sliema coach Ray Farrugia and Ronald Vella, his right-hand man, must make one change from the team that started the match against Marsaxlokk.

Veteran midfielder Joe Brincat faces another spell on the sidelines after suffering a thigh injury in the first half of Sliema's 4-1 victory. His place in the team is likely to go to Orosco Anonam.

Apart from left-back Lino Galea, still nursing a hamstring injury, coach Buttigieg has no other selection problems. Some Birkirkara players were hit by a bout of flu during the week but all should be fit to play today.

In the league this season, Sliema and Birkirkara have won a game apiece after their first encounter ended in a 3-3 draw.

Sixth in the Premier League and virtually out of the race for a Euro spot, Hibs know that the only way they can rescue an otherwise disappointing season is by defending their FA Trophy title.

Coach Robert Gatt must be relieved to have all his leading players available for this afternoon's quarter-final against Marsa.

Ndubisi Chukunyere, Andre Rocha Da Silva and Edmond Agius are back in the frame for the Paolites after suspension ruled them out of their team's upset to Birkirkara. Striker Terrence Scerri is expected to lead the Hibernians' attack after serving his five-match ban.

Bottom of the Premier League and all but doomed to Division One, Marsa are likely to view their presence in the FA Trophy quarter-finals as a chance to keep their season alive. To do that, Edmond Lufi's team must pull off a giant-killing act for Hibs are big favourites to advance.

Marsa, who are at full strength today, have made it to the last eight of the FA Trophy after surviving two penalty shoot-outs against Qormi and Tarxien Rainbows of Division One.

In the league, Hibs have a perfect record against Marsa this season after 3-1 and 4-0 victories.

Another team from the Relegation Pool, Pietà Hotspurs, will be gunning to create an upset to the detriment of Msida SJ in tomorrow's opening match, starting at 3 p.m.

For their part, Msida will be deadset on boosting their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Cup by booking a place in the last four of the FA Trophy.

Pietà coach Carmel Busuttil, the man credited with the team's marked improvement over the last two months, is expected to field his best formation.

Msida coach Patrick Curmi is concerned about the fitness of Nigerian Ibrahim Babatunde and Burkina Faso forward Ousseni Zongo.

The Saints reached the quarter-finals after straightforward wins over Naxxar Lions (2-0) and Mosta (5-1) whereas Pietà obtained narrow victories over Vittoriosa Stars (1-0) and St Patrick (3-2).

In the Premier League, Msida did the double on Pietà, beating them 3-0 and 3-1.