Spartans, Greens chase final berth

Floriana and Ħamrun Spartans will be looking to move a step closer towards their first major honour in more than a decade when they face each other in the first FA Trophy semi-final at the National Stadium this evening (kick-off: 7.30).

Although neither Floriana nor Ħamrun can qualify for European football next season, since both clubs do not have a UEFA licence, the prospect of winning their first major domestic title in almost 15 years is a great source of motivation for these two clubs.

The winner of today's match will face either Valletta or Birkirkara in the final.

The last time Floriana lifted a major trophy was in season 1993-94 when they beat rivals Valletta 2-1 in the KO competition final. Ħamrun's last success in the upper echelon of Maltese football also came in the FA Trophy when, in the 1991-92 final, they won the cup after beating Valletta 2-1 in a replay following a 3-3 draw in the first match.

Danilo Doncic, the Floriana coach, is looking forward to today's semi-final.

"We are all geared up for our semi-final against Ħamrun Spartans," Doncic told The Times.

"For a glorious club like Floriana, winning a major domestic honour would be a huge boost, one that could also lay the foundations for more success in the future. Fourteen years have passed since Floriana last won the Trophy and the players are all determined to go all the way.

"The team is passing through a positive spell. We had good performances against Birkirkara and Sliema Wanderers in our last two league games but now it's important to keep the momentum going against Ħamrun."

Doncic has a few injury problems for today's match as Christian Caruana has yet to shake off an ankle injury while Serbian duo Darko Krsteski and Zoran Levnaic are not 100 per cent fit. Striker Ryan Darmanin is recovering from a facial injury that required five stitches.

Ħamrun coach Marco Gerada has no major selection worries with Evano Briffa the only absentee from his squad as he is recovering from a cruciate operation.

Veteran Stefan Sultana is the only player in the current Spartans squad who enjoyed success with Ħamrun during their golden era in the 1980s and 1990's. Sultana, the all-time leading scorer in Maltese football, is relishing the prospect of contesting another final in the closing stages of his illustrious career.

"Our club had two major objectives this season, the first to qualify for the Championship Pool and the second, to progress to the final stages of the FA Trophy," Sultana said. "We have achieved our goals but we have no intention of stopping here. Our aim now is to reach the final and we firmly believe that we've got the ability to beat Floriana.

"This season, Ħamrun have proved time and again that we can match any team in the league. It's important that we settle down quickly in the semi-final and avoid conceding an early goal as that would make our task more difficult."

Ħamrun finished sixth in the league this season, a commendable feat for a team that was only promoted to the top flight at the end of last season. Floriana occupied the fifth position in the final league classification on 22 points, seven more than the Spartans.

Head-to-head record this season: Ħamrun vs Floriana 1-1, 2-1, 1-1, 1-2.