Citizens ready for Rainbows test as Floriana face underdogs Mosta

The one-off knock-out competition, the National League 100 Anniversary Cup which kicked off in autumn, has now reached a decisive stage and the semi-finals will be played at the National Stadium this evening.

Floriana and Division One side Mosta set the ball rolling in today's opener at 6 p.m. before attention shifts to the tie between Valletta and Tarxien Rainbows, which kicks off two hours later.

Valletta and Tarxien figured in two highly-entertaining matches in the first phase of the Premier League this season. Precious points were at stake before the cut to the Championship Pool but today there's an added incentive of a cup final involved in a tournament organised by the Malta FA to mark the first league championship played on our shores.

In all, Valletta and Tarxien met three times this season with the first two meetings in the league ending in identical 2-2 draws. However, the Citizens were in a class of their own in their second phase encounter, winning it 6-2.

For Valletta, this semi-final comes a few days before the crunch top-of-the-table league clash with Birkirkara on Sunday but coach Ton Caanen is not concerned with having two key matches coming up this week as he believes his team thrives on big challenges.

"These are two crucial matches for Valletta, the outcomes will no doubt have a huge bearing on our season," the Dutchman told The Times yesterday.

"It's only natural that much of the talk at Valletta has been on our next league clash against Birkirkara. However, the Anniversary Cup is a competition we want to win as well and the fans need not worry that we are giving a lot of importance to this semi-final as well.

"We're ready for this double challenge. A top club like us always shows an ambition to figure prominently in all competitions. So, we're determined to go all the way in the Anniversary Cup.

"We've got a full squad available and the players are confident they can do it and reach the final. Valletta beat Tarxien 6-2 in our last match but they're still a tough team to beat."

Tarxien come into tonight's semi-final on a high after a battling 3-3 draw with league leaders Birkirkara on Saturday.

Coach Noel Coleiro is hoping his players show the same fighting qualities today, against a team he reckons are the strongest in the Maltese league.

"I'm aware that we have a very difficult task to reach the final," Coleiro said.

"We all know, Valletta have a formidable squad, backed by the most passionate fans around. We did well against them early in the season so we'll be giving it our best shot once again. Last weekend, we showed we can be a very dangerous team against the big guns in the league.

"The confidence levels are high at the moment and we seem to play our best football when under pressure. It's difficult but we can still cause an upset."

For Floriana, the Anniversary Cup represents their last opportunity of winning some silverware this season. They are firm favourites to reach next month's final at the expense of a modest Mosta side who fared rather inconsistently so far this season.

Floriana coach Zoran Popovic has been boosted by the recovery of various first-team players lately but for this semi-final he will have to do without Christian Caruana. The schemer must serve a one-match ban following a red card in the quarter-final victory over Ħamrun Spartans last month.

Mosta are clearly the revelation of this competition as Oliver Spiteri's team produced the biggest upset so far when they ousted Sliema Wanderers 2-1 from the quarter-finals.

In Division One, the Blues have failed to live up to expectations and launch a serious challenge for promotion even though their performance levels improved considerably lately. Mosta seem to be finding their best form in this final part of the campaign as shown by their recent victories over Mqabba (5-2) and St George's (4-0) and a battling 2-2 draw with Division One leaders Marsaxlokk.

Mosta are the small fry team in this semi-final line-up.

However, with no pressure on their shoulders Mosta will look to maintain their giant-killing act and make more progress in the competition, a scenario no one imagined could happen when the first ties were played in October.