Valletta 2
Birirkara 0
Valletta reached their first FA Trophy final in eight years after they charged past Birkirkara in yesterday's first semi-final at the National Stadium.
Goals from Ian Zammit and Doding Priso were enough for the Citizens to book their place in the final for the first time since they beat Birkirkara 3-0 in 2001 on way to completing a memorable en plein of six honours in one season.
Yesterday's win was sweet revenge for the champions whose hopes of a league and cup double last season were shattered by Birkirkara. The latter inflicted a 4-2 defeat on the Citizens in the 2008 semi-finals before going on to lift the FA Trophy after a 2-1 win over Hamrun Spartans.
The Citizens rarely looked in danger of suffering the same fate as last year in yesterday's tie as they put in a strong performance. They took control of midfield through Gilbert Agius and Jamie Pace and at the back, Luke Dimech was as solid as a rock, thwarting the Stripes forwards time and again.
Zammit and Priso, Valletta's scorers yesterday, also deserve credit as they posed a constant threat to the Birkirkara defence.
The referee's final whistle was greeted with joyous celebrations by the City fans who are hoping that their team can complete a remarkable treble this season by adding the FA Trophy and the Premier League to the BOV Super Cup they won in the first match of the season.
Valletta coach Paul Zammit was forced to make do without midfielder Edmond Agius, suspended, while striker Sebastian Monesterolo and Stefan Giglio, another midfielder, are recovering from injuries.
John Buttigieg, the Birkirkara coach, selected only one foreign player in his starting line-up, Danish defender Ronnie Hartvig, as Ivaylo Sokolov and Kirill Dimitrov-Mihaylov missed out due to illness while Italian defender Mauro Di Lello and Krasen Valkov started on the bench.
Di Lello's omission raised a few eyebrows as Buttigieg opted to deploy Joseph Zerafa alongside Hartvig in the heart of the defence. Birkirkara striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza was ruled out with a one-match suspension.
The opening stages of the match saw both teams opting for a prudent approach as they tried to acclimatise with the gusty conditions.
It was Valletta who created the first scoring chance on ten minutes when Zammit evaded his marker and unleashed a powerful low drive that rolled just wide.
Birkirkara's response arrived four minutes later when Angus Buhagiar's rising shot finished just over.
On 28 minutes, Priso combined well with Pace before the Cameroon forward served Dyson Falzon inside the area. The latter's grounder was blocked by Paris.
Four minutes later, the Valletta fans were screaming with joy when Falzon's cross from a free-kick was met by Priso who deflected the ball past Bernard Paris. However, their celebrations were cut short by the sight of assistant referee Philip Agius's raised flag to signal an offside infringement.
Eight minutes from the break, Birkirkara came agonisingly close to taking the lead. Michael Galea nodded the ball into the path of Martin Anastasi who turned past Kenneth Scicluna before firing a low drive that beat the diving Hogg but luckily for the Citizens, Dimech was in the right place to clear the ball off the line.
A minute later, Thomas Paris sent in a teasing cross from the right and Buhagiar's header was dropped by Hogg but the City defence somehow cleared the danger.
Just when it seemed as though the first half was going to end goalless, Valletta broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time.
Zammit picked up the ball some 25 metres out and rifled a powerful but central shot. Birkirkara goalkeeper Paris looked well placed to save but the ball spun off his gloves and dropped into the net, much to the delight of the City fans.
There were no changes after half-time with Birkirkara looking to step up a gear in search of an equaliser and Valletta eager to kill off the match with a second goal.
It was the Citizens who almost reached their objective a minute into the second half when Falzon's corner was met by Pace whose rising shot finished over the bar.
However, this was only a temporary reprieve for Birkirkara as five minutes into the second half, Valletta struck their second goal.
It came from a quick counter-attack following a Birkirkara corner with Dimech powering his way out of defence before releasing Priso who sprinted into the Stripes box and placed the ball past the onrushing Paris.
Buttigieg effected his first change on 58 minutes. He withdrew the ineffective Alan Tabone in favour of Bulgarian striker Valkov in a bid to add more punch to his team's forward line.
Frustration was now showing on the faces of the Birkirkara players who were struggling to cause any problems to a disciplined Valletta side.
Fifteen minutes from time, Galea dribbled his way past his marker and raced into the area before squaring the ball towards the unmarked Valkov. But, the excellent Dimech saved the Citizens as he anticipated the Bulgarian and cleared the ball away for a corner.
A minute later, Hogg dived to his right to push away Shaun Bajada's long-range drive.
However, that was the closest Birkirkara came to pulling a goal back as Valletta easily preserved their lead in the final minutes to secure their place in the final where they will meet either Marsaxlokk or Sliema Wanderers.
Valletta: A. Hogg, J. Grioli, K. Scicluna, L. Dimech, S. Bezzina, J. Pace, R. Briffa, D. Priso, G. Agius ('87 D. Grima), D. Falzon'('73 C. Frendo), I. Zammit ('82 P. Massaro).
Birkirkara: B. Paris, T. Paris, R. Hartvig, J. Zerafa, P. Fenech ('73 T. Cilia), G. Mallia, A. Buhagiar ('85 L. Sciberras), M. Anastasi, S. Bajada, M. Galea, A. Tabone ('58 K. Valkov).
Scorers: Zammit 45; Priso 50
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow card: Agius.