Big guns eye QFs as Hamrun have stern test

Three of the country's most decorated clubs will be aiming to book their place in the quarter-finals of this season's FA Trophy competition this weekend.

Valletta, the Premier League pace-setters, and Floriana, their neighbouring rivals, will be highly confident of making smooth progress to the last eight as they must contend with Division One teams Tarxien Rainbows and Senglea Athletic respectively in their second round games but not so can be said of Hamrun Spartans.

Five days after a hard-earned 1-1 draw with Hibs sealed their top-six mission, the Spartans have another tough task on their hands to stay in the cup as they square up to rivals Pietà Hotspurs in the only all-Premier League clash of the second round.

Rightly considered as the highlight of the second round pairings, today's match between Hamrun and Pietà (kick-off 2 p.m.) at the National Stadium lifts the curtains on this weekend's four-match programme.

Judging by the teams' progress in the Premier League this season, Hamrun will be regarded as favourites to see off the challenge of Pietà, one of the four teams in the Relegation Pool, but the Spartans are plagued by deepening injury crisis.

Goalkeeper Michael Falzon, Aaron Attard, Mark Anthony Bonnici and Evano Briffa are sidelined with injuries while veteran Stefan Sultana and fellow striker Gaetan Spiteri are still not 100 per cent fit.

Marco Gerada, the Hamrun coach, told The Times that he will only have 12 senior players in his squad but he is nonetheless backing his team to rise above these difficulties.

"This is another important match because we want to go as far as we can in the competition," Gerada said.

"As far as our main objective for the season is concerned, this has already been achieved after we secured a place in the Championship Pool. Now that we've managed to steer clear of the Relegation Pool, we can afford to experiment and try out new things in the second part of the league trek.

"Everyone is more relaxed after the team came through a tense battle but we must make sure that this sense of fulfilment does not hinder our preparations for the tie against Pietà.

"I've been doing my best in the past few days to motivate the players. The rivalry between Hamrun and Pietà adds more spice to the occasion."

Conscious that his team are heading for a dour relegation scrap over the next two months, Pietà coach Carmel Busuttil is mostly preoccupied with enhancing the Hotspurs' chances of survival rather than success in the cup.

However, the former Malta captain considers today's encounter as a chance for his team not only to fine-tune their preparations for their Relegation Pool but also to gain a psychological tonic.

"My top priority is that my team perform well and boost their morale ahead of the start of the Relegation Pool," Busuttil remarked. "A clash with Hamrun should increase motivation because it's a derby. I hope my team rise to the occasion."

Veteran defender Pierre Aquilina is out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery in Bulgaria but otherwise, Busuttil has no selection problems.

In the first round, Pietà edged St George's 3-2 while Hamrun ousted Mosta 2-0. In the Premier League, Pietà beat Hamrun 3-2 in the first round but suffered a 0-3 upset to the Spartans in the second round.

Battle of high-fliers

This afternoon's second match between Valletta and Tarxien is also shaping up as a duel between the two leading teams in the top two tiers of Maltese football.

The Citizens are heading the Premier League while Tarxien are currently the best-placed team in Division One. Needless to say that Valletta are a better team than Tarxien but KO competitions are famed for producing surprising results, something the Whites will be keen to avoid today.

Paul Zammit, the City coach, can bank on a full compliment as defender Kenneth Scicluna has recovered from the chest infection which kept him out of Valletta's 1-1 draw with Marsaxlokk last week.

"These kind of matches can be very tricky," Zammit said.

"Tarxien have nothing to lose because everyone expects Valletta to win. However, football is not played on paper. There can be no room for complacency. A 100 per cent effort is a must if we want to keep our cup dream alive."

Led by Noel Coleiro, Tarxien are not short of players with Premier League experience with the likes of Nigerian Essien Mbong, formerly of Hibernians, Graham Bencini, who has had spells with a host of top clubs, Angus Buhagiar, on loan from Floriana, and John Paul Muscat, ex-Mqabba, set to lead the Rainbows' quest to upset Valletta's applecart.

Valletta were 4-0 winners over St Patrick in the previous round while Tarxien stole the limelight with a 5-1 rout of Qormi.

Premier League strugglers Mqabba take on Dingli Swallows in tomorrow's opening match at the Tedesco Stadium, kicking off at 9 a.m.

Mqabba gained a much-needed fillip earlier this week when a Marcelo Pereira scorcher gave them a 2-1 win over Msida St Joseph in the Premier League. Bobby Giorev enjoyed an excellent debut as coach, leading Mqabba to only their second win in 18 matches.

Despite their struggles in the top flight, Mqabba still look to have an edge over Dingli who are having a good season in Division One after winning promotion last May.

Giorev is not expected to make changes from the team that came from behind to end Msida's four-match unbeaten run on Monday. Defender Roderick Briffa, signed on loan from Hibs in January, is ruled out by injury.

Dingli will look to their veteran players, the likes of Mark Galea, Jeremy Agius and Uchanna Anywanna, to cajole their team-mates into a gallant performance.

The Swallows will also take heart from their 7-0 thrashing of Marsa in the first round. Mqabba had to fight harder than expected to move past Vittoriosa Stars whom they beat by the odd goal in five.

The last of the four second round matches sees Floriana squaring up to Senglea. These two teams met in the final of the FA Trophy in 1980-81 which went Floriana's way 2-1.

Having qualified for the Championship Pool, the Greens have high aspirations of a good run in the cup but they would do well not to underestimate Senglea who are challenging for promotion to the Premier League.

The Yellow-Reds pulled off the greatest upset of the first round when they eliminated Premier League side Msida St Joseph 4-3 after extra-time.

Guided by the coaching tandem of Ray Camilleri and Richard Mercieca, Senglea have a host of players with considerable Premier League experience. These include Digger Okonkwo, Kenneth Abela and Nigerian striker Anthony Ewurun. Their morale is sky-high after a 4-0 rout of rivals St George's in their last league match.

Nevertheless, Floriana, who drew 0-0 with Birkirkara in their last league outing, will fancy their chances of joining the quarter-final line-up. Danilo Doncic is expected to rest defender Sunday Eboh who is recovering from a hamstring strain.

In the first round, Floriana hammered Division One outfit Mellieha 7-1.