Sliema Wanderers 3
Mifsud Triganza 4, 66; Barbara112;
Birkirkara 3
Vukanac 45; Babatunde 55; Galea 118;
(aet; 90 mins: 2-2; Birkirkara win 3-1 on pens)
Manuel Bartolo was Birkirkara’s hero yesterday as he managed to save two penalties against Sliema Wanderers to help his team book a place in the semi-finals of the U*Bet FA Trophy.
The Birkirkara no. 1 produced a string of fine saves to keep Sliema at bay, especially during the first half, but his most telling contribution came in the penalty shoot-out when he parried away the efforts of Mark Scerri and Roderick Bajada while Jackson Lima hit the upright.
The result was a cruel blow for the Wanderers who had one foot in the semi-finals when leading 3-2 with a few minutes left in extra-time but Michael Galea’s last-gasp goal forced the shoot-out.
Here, Emiliano Lattes, Paul Fenech and Ibrahim Babatunde all scored from the spot for Birkirkara but Galea, who had missed a penalty late in the first half, again saw his effort from the spot hit the upright. Veteran Noel Turner scored Sliema’s only goal in the shoot-out.
The Wanderers had made a bright start and in their first raid they took the lead. Bajada fed Etienne Barbara down the right and his ball to the edge of the ball found its way through to Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza who slotted home from close in.
The goal rocked Birkirkara on their heels and it was all one-way traffic as Sliema sought to kill the tie off early in the match.
On 13 minutes, Failla was allowed time and space to turn b ut shot over. After 21 minutes, Galea led the Stripes with an angled effort but the ball hit Steve Bezzina in the face. From the ensuing corner, Bartolo denied Sliema a second when he blocked the effort of the goal-bound Mifsud Triganza.
In the 37 minute, Paul Zammit went into damage-limitation mode as he replaced Joseph Zerafa with half-fit Rowen Muscat in a bid to shore up the midfield.
Yet Sliema continued to create chances to exploit their opponents’ shaky defence. Cutting in from the right, Obinna Obiefule profited from a gap in front of the defence before unleashing a low drive but Bartolo made a magnificent one-handed save to block the ball.
But Sliema almost paid for their profligacy when on 40 minutes, Josef Mifsud was judged to have pushed Galea in the area but from the resultant penalty Galea’s shot came off the upright.
Yet there was no reprieve for Sliema on the stroke of half-time when Vukanac soared to meet Galea’s cross and make it 1-1.
Birkirkara were transformed by the goal and they now had a more convincing look about them.
However, on 55 minutes they were gifted their lead with a calamitous piece of defending from Mifsud.
Galea’s cross looked harmless enough until Mifsud inexplicably flicked the ball backwards looping over Bonello and fell perfectly for Ibrahim Babatunde to nod home from an open goal.
Sliema, though, also rode on their slice of good fortune to equalise after 66 minutes in similar bizarre circumstances. Mifsud Triganza’s shot was speculative at best, yet it finished into the net after taking a crucial deflection off Andrei Agius.
At this point Birkirkara pressed hard for a winner but Sliema refused to lie down. With the score locked at 2-2 after normal time, the game drifted into extra-time. After a rather uneventful first period, the game burst into life again with two goals at the change of ends.
Sliema thought they had snatched victory when Barbara fired a thumping shot that gave no chance to Bartolo and put Sliema 3-2 ahead.
But as the clock ticked around to 120 minutes, Galea was Birkirkara’s saviour again when his drive from inside the area flew past Bonello and into the net.
It set up a dramatic penalty shoot-out, with Bonello capping his five-star performance during normal time with two crucial spot-kick saves.
Sliema
H. Bonello, J. Mifsud, S. Bezzina, C. Gatt Baldacchino, J. Lima, O. Obiefule, C. Lachkham (66 M. Scerri), R. Bajada, C. Failla, E. Barbara (115 N. Turner).
Birkirkara
M. Bartolo, T. Cilia (65 E. Lattes), N. Vukanac, A. Agius, J. Zerafa (37 R. Muscat), A. Buhagiar, P. Fenech, I. Babatunde, M. Galea, A. Decesare, S. Bajada (59 R. Scicluna).
Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Zerafa, Mifsud Triganza, Barbara, Lackham, Vukanac.
Missed penalty: Galea (B) 40.
Penalty sequence: M. Galea (B) saved 0-0; Turner (S) scores 0-1; Lattes (B) scores 1-1; Scerri (S) saved 1-1; Fenech (B) scores 2-1; Lima (S) off target 2-1; Babatunde (B) scores 3-1; Bajada (S) saved 3-1.