Unlucky Birkirkara eliminated

by Ayrton Galea - 25th January 2013

High flying Birkirkara received a shocking upset on Wednesday night when last year's beaten finalists Qormi sprung a surprise as they progressed to the quarter-finals of the U*BET FA Trophy after beating Birkirkara with a 2-1 score.

In a match of two halves, Birkirkara must have felt guilty as they failed to make the best out of their total superiority in the first half, coupled with a stroke of bad luck when they hit the goal-frame twice, only to concede the elimination goal by Qormi's Kris Thackray six minutes from the end.

On the other hand, merit must go to Qormi, who after they went a goal down in the early stages, they showed great resilience and they fought back hard and managed to turn the match around.

After seven minutes from the initial whistle, Ryan Camenzuli provided a reminder of his qualities as he veered infield from the left before rifling past Qormi keeper Steve Sultana to open the score.

Qormi's false start left them chasing the game but Abubaker Bello-Osagie's agile movement and pace were causing Birkirkara some problems and on 16 minutes his header crashed against the crossbar.

Play became somewhat nervy but the Stripes' regrouped and their edge upfront was beyond question. That was underlined on 27 minutes when Camenzuli, a constant menace with his runs on the left flank, saw his swerving 20-metre shot crash against the bar, the ball bouncing off the line much to the relief of the stranded Sultana.

Just before half-time, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza released Haruna Shola who headed goal wards but the effort brushed against the upright.

Qormi drew level five minutes after the break.

Kris Thackray's attempt at goal was pushed against the post by Reuben Gauci but the rebound fell kindly to Roderick Sammut who made no mistake from close in.

Birkirkara had the ball inside the Qormi net on the hour when Gareth Sciberras rolled the ball past Sultana and Camenzuli ran through to scramble the ball inside the net.

That brought harsh protests from the Qormi players who contended that Camenzuli was offside. The referee first allowed the goal to stand but then went back on his initial decision and ordered play to start with a Qormi free-kick.

At the other end, Zarate picked out Bello-Osagie who ran through but saw Gauci getting his gloves to the shot.

Then, with extra-time looming large, Thackray popped up with the deciding move. Zarate swung in an inviting ball from the left and the Englishman swiveled to beat his marker before beating Gauci with a fierce shot.

Birkirkara suffered another blow late on when Nikola Vukunac was sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession.

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