Ħamrun Tre Angeli came from behind to beat rivals Valletta 8-6 to win the Gatorade Knock Out on Friday.
It was a memorable night for Ħamrun as they not only landed their first trophy since the Futsal Malta Association started organising local competitions but also did at the expense of their great sporting rivals.
The match was an exciting affair with Valletta squandering their first-half advantage as the Reds fought back in the second half to grab the all-important goals that secured them the Cup competition.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Valletta as the Cup upset comes just a week after losing the league title to Luxol.
The Citizens were the better side in the first half and could have easily scored more goals had it not been for some fine saves by Ħamrun goalkeeper Matthew Mifsud.
International referee Franco Cachia controlled his last game and prior to kick-off he was presented with a memento by the FMA officials.
Valletta started brightly and took the lead after only five minutes, Raphinha’s grounder having the better of Mifsud.
The Citizens remained in control and it had to be a string of excellent saves from Mifsud to deny efforts from Raphinha, Jovica Milijic and Denis Di Maio.
But on 13 minutes the Ħamrun custodian could do nothing to keep out Milijic’s shot.
Ħamrun looked rattled and they conceded a third goal a minute later following an effort by Di Maio from close in.
Here the Reds called a time-out, and this turned out to be a positive move as on restart they pulled a goal back through Luke Stivala who profited from a defensive blunder by the City defence.
But Valletta remained on top and made it 4-1 following an own goal by Daniele Degennaro.
The Citizens looked to be cruising but two minute from the end of the first half Ħamrun reopened the match with two quick-fire goals from Degennaro and Stivala.
Ħamrun now drove forward with renewed vigour as they looked to turn the match in their favour.
Jason Mifsud was at the right place and at the right time to put the ball behind Stefan Vella and level matters.
Five minutes later, Ħamrun went ahead when Degennaro tapped in a Florin Anton pass to make it 5-4.
The Lilywhites maintained their composure and hit the target twice through Milijic and Aguilera Puerto to go 6-5 ahead.
Despite this setback, Ħamrun continued to attack and goals from Degennaro and Peter Pullicino put them 7-6 ahead.
With two minutes left, Clayton Felice, the Citizens’ mentor, opted for the flying keeper to try and put more pressure on the Ħamrun defence.
But in so doing they left their goal unattended and Reds’ keeper Matthew Mifsud took advantage as he applied the killer touch in the dying seconds of the match to seal the issue for his team.
At the end of the contest, FMA official Mireille Vella and MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo presented the Gatorade KO trophy to Jason Mifsud , Ħamrun skipper.