Ta' Soldi Rabat 4
Britannia Tours WH 0

Ta' Soldi Rabat relied on their experience and physical prowess to record their second consecutive win in this pre-season competition.

As early as the third minute, White Hart goalkeeper Robert Vassallo Agius was forced to come out of goal to stop an effort by Jason Vella.

Rabat's James Azzopardi then pounced on a short clearance and passed the ball to Josef Antonelli who set up Kevin Micallef. The latter had no difficulty placing the ball in the far corner to give Rabat the lead.

In the 19th minute, Rabat won their second short corner from which they made it 2-0 thanks to a typical Shawn Falzon scorcher.

White Hart pressed forward in an attempt to reduce the deficit and get back in contention. Between the 19th and 22nd minutes, Reno Bianchi and Karl Tua squandered two scoring chances.

White Hart paid the price for these misses as they conceded a third goal from another short corner action. Falzon doubled his tally with another fine strike, this time the ball coming off David Agius's stick to hit the roof of the net.

In the second half, the game was more open. After 12 minutes, White Hart were denied what looked like a clear penalty stroke when Luke Borg Costanzi's dribble inside the shooting area was illegitimately halted by Azzopardi. However, the umpire opted to award a short corner.

In the 61st minute, Kenneth Debattista rounded the scoring for Rabat, pushing the ball past Vassallo Agius after the latter had partially saved from Antonelli.

Rabat's next match will be against Qormi or Sliema Hotsticks who meet on Sunday in a play-off to determine the fourth semi-finalist.

Umpires: E. Hughes, A. Cassar.

Pasta Poiatti Qormi 0
Hunters Tower YS 1

Qormi and Young Stars took the field looking to land a semi-final berth in the Challenge Cup.

Young Stars were once again the more industrious team during the first half. On 15 minutes, they were awarded a penalty stroke for an infringement by Qormi's Joseph Cuschieri on David Evans who was about to flick home. Ivan Magro failed to hit the target from the resultant penalty.

In the second half, Qormi upped their efforts and by the 38th minute, they had won a short corner which forced a good save from Waylin Abdilla.

The Young Stars goalkeeper distinguished himself again soon after with an excellent save from another short corner action.

On 59 minutes, a good run by Gareth Dimech ended with Philip Magri bringing the best out of Abdilla.

Qormi's momentum was disrupted by the loss of three players in a row due to yellow cards and it was during this period that Young Stars scored the all-important goal.

Excellent stickwork along the backline by Chris Bonello paved the way for goal as the latter's pass found the unmarked Magro who promptly rammed the ball past Ramon Chircop.

Young Stars will now face White Hart in the second semi-final on November 11.

Umpires: D. Agius, R. Aquilina.

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