Tarxien, Floriana fly Premier League flag

The 2008-09 U*Bet FA Trophy competition kicks off this afternoon when the first two ties from the opening four-match programme are played at the Centenary Stadium.

Division One clubs take centre-stage today as the two matches will be contested by teams from the second tier of Maltese football.

The curtain-raising game, starting at 1.30 p.m., is between Mosta and Vittoriosa Stars.

These teams experienced contrasting fortunes in the group stage of the Division One Knock-Out.

Mosta, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season after losing a play-off against Qormi on penalties, have advanced to the semi-finals of the Division One KO after finishing second in Group Two on eight points, one behind St Patrick.

Not so for Vittoriosa Stars whose dismal tally of one point from four matches in Group One left them bottom of the five-team standings in the KO.

St Patrick take on Senglea Athletic in this afternoon's second match (kick-off 3.30 p.m.).

The positive results obtained by the Saints in the KO will have raised optimism about their prospects of avoiding another grim fight against relegation as was the case last season.

Furthermore, the team from Żabbar will be heartened by the 4-0 rout of Senglea, their opponents today, in their last outing.

Premier League teams will make their debut in this season's 2008-09 FA Trophy tomorrow.

Tarxien Rainbows, buoyed by their 3-1 win over Marsaxlokk in the league last weekend, will surely fancy their chances of easing past Mqabba who were relegated from the top flight last season.

Mqabba have failed to reach the semi-finals of the Division One Knock-Out after ending their group commitments with two wins and two defeats to finish third.

Like Tarxien, Floriana also come into their KO clash with Division One side Dingli Swallows in high spirits after their 2-1 win over Hibernians in the league.

For their part, Dingli will be looking to build on their positive start to the season, having secured qualification to the semi-finals of the Division One KO after topping Group One with 10 points from four matches.