Melita were made to fight harder than expected to eliminate Rabat Ajax and advance to the semi-finals of the women's KO competition last weekend at the Pace Grasso Ground.

The same could not be said of Mosta though. They took sweet revenge for the league upset to Raiders the week before to book their place in the last four with a sound 5-1 win.

Rabat failed to win a single point in the national league which came to a close the week before. However, in this preliminary round tie they forced Melita to extra-time after a goalless draw in normal time.

Melita had various chances to open the score but somehow Daniela Micallef and Maria Coppola failed to find the Rabat net from ideal scoring positions.

Rabat were on the defensive for most of the match but could have grabbed a surprise goal themselves had it not been for the Melita woodwork which came to goalkeeper Tagliaferro's rescue on shots by Dorita Agius, in the first half, and Bonello, 12 minutes from time.

Five minutes into extra time, Melita finally found a breakthrough when Maria Azzopardi released Nadia Gauci who calmly took a touch before firing past goalkeeper Galea.

The opening half between Mosta and Raiders was a balanced affair. A cute Deborah Briffa lob put Mosta in front early on but Raiders drew level five minutes from half-time when Natasha Calleja was on the right spot to blast home a Maria Abdilla cross.

Raiders lost their pace after the break and conceded two quick goals, one from a Jane Coates penalty and the other from Tiziana Fenech.

Karen Lia then made it 4-1 and Coates rounded the score with her second goal of the day in the last minutes of the match.

Mosta's task in the semi-final will be much harder though. For the second successive year, they were drawn to meet favourites Hibs.

Semi-final pairings

Sunday, May 16 - 9 a.m. Melita vs Birkirkara; 11 a.m. Mosta vs Hibernians.