SK Victoria Wanderers will enjoy home comforts for their first-ever FA Trophy semi-final as the Cup giant-killers were drawn to face Floriana at the Gozo Stadium.

Holders Sliema Wanderers were handed a tricky route to a second successive final when they will be up against Tarxien Rainbows at the National Stadium.

Both matches will be played on Saturday and will kick off at 5pm.

SK Victoria’s fairytale run in this season’s competition has caught the imagination of many local followers after the GFA Division One strugglers ousted Premier League sides St Andrews and Pembroke on their way to a first-ever appearance in the Cup semi-final.

However, their task will be anything but easy as they will start as the underdogs against Floriana.

The Greens are desperate to secure European football next summer and the FA Trophy represents their final chance of playing in the Europa League qualifiers.

Angelo Chetcuti, the Malta FA general secretary, said that SK Victoria’s achievements in this year’s competition has vindicated the MFA’s decision to open the knock-out to all clubs who participate in the body’s competitions.

“When the association an-nounced plans a few years ago that it would include teams from the second and third division as well as the Gozitan league, there were a some eyebrows raised. Few believed that we could witness the drama and emotions we experienced this season,” Chetcuti said.

“However, SK Victoria Wanderers’ run this season has vindicated the Malta FA’s decision and whatever is the result of their upcoming semi-final they certainly deserve all the praise for giving a fresh dimension this year’s competition.”

The other semi-final starts on a much-more even keel with Sliema Wanderers, winners of the competition for a record 21 times, bracing themselves for a tough semi-final against Tarxien Rainbows.

Tarxien may have endured a difficult end of season with midfielder Triston Caruana taking the role of player-coach following the departure of Jesmond Zerafa.

However, the Rainbows have made life difficult for the Wanderers in the three league meetings this season as after losing the first round match 2-1 they won the second round match 1-0 before earning a 1-1 draw last month.

With yesterday’s draws coming just over two days from the conclusion of the Premier League, Chetcuti congratulated Hibernians on their league triumph and said that he was now looking forward to next season when the championship will be expanded to 14 teams.

“There has been a lot of discussion on the MFA decision to expand the Premier League to 14 teams, some people were in favour and others not,” Chetcuti said.

“But I think it’s too early to make any judgment. I believe that we should wait until the end of next season when we can analyse on whether the new format worked out or not and see whether new changes need to be implemented.”

MFA probe

Chetcuti was also asked on an incident during the Premier League match between Floriana and Birkirkara at the Hibs Stadium on Friday when one fan clashed with a number of journalists in the VIP area.

“As happens in every similar incidents, the Malta FA always awaits the report of the referee, the match inspector and the police to verify the incidents before taking action,” he said.

“After consulting the police officers we have opened an investigation on the case and the person involved has been summoned to appear in front of the MFA Disciplinary Board in the coming weeks to face a number of charges for improper conduct.”

Also present for yesterday’s news conference was Matthew Paris, the Malta FA vice-president, who spoke about the Malta FA Awards that will be held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on Sunday.

“The MFA Awards will be a celebration that will unite all stakeholders within the local football community,” he said.

“This year, the awards ceremony is being held before the end of the season and hopefully that will enable several foreign players to be present for the ceremony.”

Paris then announced the 10 finalists for the Goal of the Year award that will be voted for by the general public via SMS.

Goal of the year
Jake Grech (Ħamrun vs Hibs – 50615501), Federico Falcone (Valletta vs Pembroke – 50615502), Uchenna Calistus (Valletta vs Balzan – 50615503), Enmy Pena Beltre (St Andrews vs Sliema – 50615504), Mario Fontanella (Floriana vs Valletta – 50615505), Ryan Scicluna (Birkirkara vs Gżira – 50615506), Michael Mifsud (Valletta vs Tarxien – 50615507), Enmy Pena Beltre (St Andrews vs Tarxien – 50615508), Alex Nilsson (Tarxien vs Valletta 50615509), Gilmar (Hibs vs Tarxien 50615510).

Semi-finals
Saturday – Gozo Stadium
SK Victoria vs Floriana - 17.00

Saturday – National Stadium
Tarxien vs Sliema W. - 17.00

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