MOSTA 1 VALLETTA 3

Lateef Elford-Alliyu stole the limelight as his well-taken brace helped Valletta to a 3-1 victory to put them into the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.

Less than two minutes into the game, Hamza Barry stole possession in the centre of the pitch and served Abdelkarim Nafti at the centre before the Tunisian player unleashed a shot that brought a good save from Mosta goalkeeper Omar Borg.

Borg need to enlist the help of team-mate Rodriguez Ekani at the resulting corner, with the defender clearing Elford-Alliyu effort off the line before the keeper once again reacted well to deny Ian Azzopardi.

But it was clear the Mosta defence was creaking and Bajada finally found a way through when he put Valletta ahead in shy the half hour mark. A ferocious shot by Briffa was repelled by the Mosta backline but Bajada resolved a goalmouth melee by rifling the ball home. 

But their advantage lasted for only nine minutes as Mosta’s livewire winger Ekani weaved into the penalty area and went down under a challenge from Ryan Camilleri. The Irish referee Ben Connolly pointed to the spot and Gary Roberts sent goalkeeper Pietro Marino the wrong way with a perfectly-executed penalty kick.

Mosta went a man down four minutes from half-time, when Ousman SM Koli clattered into the advancing Briffa. The referee ran towards the Gambian midfielder and brandished a second yellow card.

Valletta stayed in command after the interval and soon made their superiority count when Barry’ series of stopovers bamboozled Karl Pulo on the right flank before the Gambian winger squared for Elford-Alliyu to prod the ball into the net.

It was no long before Valletta made it 3-1. This time, the build-up was even slicker than for the second goal with Barry and Elford-Alliyu once again involved with the Englishman curling in an excellent shot inside the box.