Stripes, City in FA Trophy fourth round showdown
by Ayrton Galea - 20th January 2016
Arch-rivals Birkirkara (holders of the FA Trophy) and Valletta, two of the main contenders for the domestic titles this season, will this evening be going head-to-head in the fourth round of the FA Trophy.
Both teams are expected to come to this match with all guns blazing, as Birkirkara and Valletta are enjoying good runs in the BOV Premier League. The Stripes made them three from three in their last outings, while Valletta extended their unbeaten run to seven matches despite having only to settle for a point in the 1-1 draw against Tarxien Rainbows.
Undoubtedly the most active team during this transfer market, the Stripes, made major changes to their squad. They will be hoping to deliver an early statement of their work in the January Transfer Market where they have revamped their squad during the first three weeks of the month.
The Stripes are expected to have no less than five new faces in their squad. Following the acquisition of Edison Bilbao, who already made his debut, the Club acquired the services of Matthew Guillaumier from St. Andrew's while they signed four new foreigners. These are goalkeeper Miroslav Kopric, defender Christian Bubalovic, midfielder Mislav Andelkovic and the Club's latest signing Goran Mujanovic.
Birkirkara are still searching to beat Valletta this season as the latter have won both matches in the BOV Premier League. In the first-round match, Valletta scored a late goal to emerge as winners with a 2-1 score, while in the second round match, two goals in each half gave them a 4-0 win.
The last meeting between these two sides in this competition was last year, when in the Semi-Final, the Stripes eliminated Valletta thanks to a solitary goal by Paul Fenech in the extra-period. They went on to win the competition by defeating Hibernians 2-0 in the final, to win their fifth FA Trophy in history.
The match will be played at the National Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 20:00.
Come on the Stripes!
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