June 10, 1973 is etched in letters of gold in the history of Gżira United.
That day, Gżira won their first and only major honour to date after capturing the prestigious FA Trophy, seeing off the more-quoted Birkirkara 2-0 in a second replay after the previous two matches had ended goalless following extra-time.
This feat has been crystallised in a wall mural inside Gżira United’s clubhouse which has been exquisitely refurbished on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Maroons’ Trophy triumph.
Featuring enlarged newspaper cuttings of the best moments in the club’s history, the mural is inevitably awash with pictures and reports of the 1973 FA Trophy success.
One of the pictures shows the captains of the two finalists, Gżira goalkeeper Michael Sultana and Charles Spiteri, the Birkirkara centre-half, referee Joe Cassar Naudi and Gżira fan Claude Cuschieri, the younger brother of former club president Ronald Cuschieri, who was only eight at the time.
Forty years on, these four men were reunited at the Gżira clubhouse in Manoel Island on the initiative of the club committee.
“I was appointed to referee the third game which was to be decisive,” Cassar Naudi recalled.
“I don’t remember anything else really but it was certainly a special day for Gżira as they achieved the biggest honour in their history.
“Football in those days was different... it was a lot tougher.”
Sultana recounted a curious episode.
“After the first game, we stopped for a drink at the Sunshine Bar in St Paul’s Bay only to discover that the Birkirkara players had arrived there before us,” he said.
“We left the place immediately. If memory doesn’t fail me, we went to the Lancer Hotel.”
Led by the late Salvinu Schembri, Gżira United knocked out Ħamrun Spartans and Hibernians on their way to the final.
“The big teams eliminated each other in the FA Trophy com-petition that year,” Sultana said.
“We dictated matters from start to finish in the second replay but the first two games belonged to Birkirkara.
“Winning the Trophy brought immense joy to the Gżira United fans. The celebrations went on for a month, from the day we won the cup until the parish feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel in July.”
“It was a unique final as it was decided after three games,” Spiteri, the captain of Birkirkara that season, reminisced.
“We played on a Saturday, Wednesday and Sunday. We dominated the first two games but Gżira were the better team in the third.
“That season, we were also involved in a crucial league match against Floriana.
“The title race was decided in the last game of the season as the situation at the top of the table was very tight and complicated.
“If that final game had ended in a draw, four teams, Ħamrun Spartans, Sliema Wanderers, Floriana and Birkirkara, would have finished the season on equal points (25).
“The winner would secure the title outright while the losing side would slip to fourth place.
“A week before the Trophy final, we lost 1-0 to Floriana (Birkirkara finished level with Valletta on 24 points.”
Cuschieri, the young escort who walked on to the pitch with Sultana, said Gżira’s FA Trophy success inspired his dream to play for his hometown club.
“I was only eight at the time,” Cuschieri said. “My brother (Ronald) was the club president.
“We lived near the Empire Stadium and football was always present in our lives... we watched the games from the roof of our house.
“My uncle, George Cuschieri, played in that 1973 final. After the third game, I joined the Gżira United nursery and made it all the way to the senior team.”
Flashback
1972-73 FA Trophy final (second replay)
Played at the Empire Stadium on June 10, 1973
Gżira United 2
Caruana 33; Schembri 60;
Birkirkara 0
Gżira United
Sultana, Bartolo, Mulligan, Cuschieri, Caruana, Zammit, Schembri, Borg, Vidal, Cristiano, Bonello.
Birkirkara
Calleja, Bonello, J. Saliba, Spiteri, Pisani, C. Saliba, Pace, Calleja (Sammut), Bugeja (Gatt), Borg, Monreal.
Referee: Joe Cassar Naudi.