Birkirkara 1 Tarxien 0
49 Mifsud Triganza


Birkirkara’s Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza edged them past Tarxien
Rainbows and earned them a place in the fourth round of the U*Bet FA
trophy.

It was a moment of opportunism from the laky striker that swung this
tie Birkirkara’s way just five minutes into the second half but it was
a deserved success as the Stripes turned in a disciplined and
resilient performance that takes on added value when one considers
that the Stripes played the last 30 minutes with a man short after
Joseph Zerafa’s dismissal.

Scoring chances proved elusive in the opening stages. The first
glimmer of a chance came on 11 minutes when Camenzuli’s ball drifted
towards Mifsud Triganza inside the box but his drive flashed wide of
the near post.

Another long-range attempt this time by Paul Fenech was also off
target but by and large after 25 minutes, the game remained devoid of
creative football.

On the half hour mark, Jhonnattann waltzed his way into the box after
running past Ryan Sammut and David Fenech before crossing towards the
far post. The Tarxien defenders managed to clear but only as far as
Mifsud Triganza who skewed his shot wide.

The Stripes tore into the Tarxien at the start of the second half in
their best move of the game when Fenech engineered the move with mazy
run in the inside-right channel exchanged the ball with Jhonnattann
whose piledriver took a deflection off Evaldo’s hands as it sailed
towards the unmarked Mifsud Triganza who poked the ball home.

Six minutes later, Jhonnattann made another storming run into the box
from the right before pulling the ball back as Mifsud Triganza smashed
a right-foot volley just wide. Birkirkara’s growing optimism was
undermined however, when just before the hour mark, Joseph Zerafa was
expelled after collecting his second booking for a dangerous foul.

The Rainbows were now expected to pile the pressure but their reaction was tame