Msida St Joseph 0
Sliema Wanderers 3
(after extra time)
\nCup ties are all about surprises, agony and nail-biting moments.
The second FA Trophy semi-final, between Sliema Wanderers and Msida St Joseph, developed into a keenly-contested en-counter that went into extra time after no goals were scored in the regular 90 minutes.
The scoreline remained un-changed at the end of the first half of extra time but five minutes after the changeover, Stefan Giglio broke the deadlock with a fine goal and quickly added another to land the Wanderers a place in Friday's final against holders Hibernians.
Given their rich history and experience, Sliema must have come into this match unfazed by the pressure that less-quoted clubs like Msida feel on such a big day.
With 90 minutes separating the two sides from a final showdown, the Blues, mentored by Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia, had Aleksandar Madzar and Ivan Woods leading their attack but Italian defender Mauro Di Lello was forced to skip the semi-final because of injury.
For their part, Msida may have been hit hard by the departure of prolific striker Daniel Nwoke but Ousseni Zongo and Ibrahim Baba-tunde still posed a formidable attacking partnership.
The Sliema rearguard had a tough time containing the surging runs of these two African strikers yesterday.
Sliema's task was further complicated when, 16 minutes into the game, Farrugia was forced to effect a premature substitution after left-back Jeffrey Chetcuti picked up an injury. He was replaced by David Carabott.
After 18 minutes, Msida's Adrian Farrugia should have done better than miscue the ball after latching on to a through-pass.
Sliema were prominent midway through the first half as Giglio produced a curling shot which Omar Borg did well to palm away for a corner.
Minutes later, Msida were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. Shaun Bajada swung his shot past a maze of players and Murphy Akanji just managed to deflect the shot. The loose ball still looked heading towards Sliema's net but Claude Mattocks reacted quickly to avert danger.
Subsequently, Akanji rushed out of goal and had a heated exchange with Giglio, presumably over the midfielder's lack of adequate cover during the free-kick.
On the half-hour, the Saints pushed forward once again. Zongo did well to guide a cross towards the left where Babatunde controlled the ball, drifted towards the centre of the penalty area and unleashed a central shot that was saved by Akanji.
On 38 minutes, Babatunde's skill and pace proved a handful for the Sliema defence as he stormed into the penalty area before firing a shot from an acute angle that was half-parried by Akanji. Luckily for Sliema, Carabott quickly booted the ball away for a corner.
In the dying seconds of the first half, Roderick Bajada delivered a corner towards the far post where Madzar rose well but his header was touched over the bar by Borg.
Ten minutes after the restart, Msida created a scoring opportunity which could have easily seen them forge ahead.
Zongo darted into the box and slipped a cross towards Babatunde who miscued his kick and shot wide, much to the frustration of his team-mates and fans.
Msida midfielder Karl Ebejer, who had a very positive first half, suffered a head injury and spent a few minutes receiving medical attention before rejoining the fray with a strap around his wound.
It was precisely when Msida were playing with ten men, on 64 minutes, that Sliema nearly took the lead. Woods tried his luck with a stinging shot from the distance but the alert Borg denied the Blues again.
Scoring opportunities proved hard to come by for much of the remainder of the game but seven minutes from time, Msida won a free-kick in midfield after Roderick Bajada floored Shaun Bajada as the latter tried to run clear.
Adrian Farrugia floated the ball into the Wanderers' box but Babatunde's effort was well saved by Akanji.
With the game heading for extra time, Sliema could have snatched victory with virtually the last kick of the ball. Woods powered his way through but his tame cut-back was intercepted by Borg. No other Sliema player was at hand to tap the ball home from close range.
Ten minutes into the first period of extra time, Msida substitute Roderick Baldacchino slipped the ball towards Babatunde whose volley sailed over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Madzar soared into the air to meet Bajada's free-kick despite being closely shadowed by Stefano Grima and Tyrone Farrugia. The resulting attempt from the Montenegro striker failed to trouble keeper Borg.
Early in the second half of extra-time, Msida's set-piece, likely to have been thoroughly rehearsed during training, nearly paid off but Farrugia's free-kick shaved the post.
Then, after 110 minutes of play, the stalemate was finally broken.
It was Sliema who moved ahead, Giglio beating Borg with a perfectly-placed ball after Madzar, whose initial acrobatic volley had been blocked by the Msida rearguard, managed to slip the loose ball towards the former Valletta midfielder.
Shell-shocked by Sliema's sudden opener, Msida were completely swept off their feet when Giglio struck again three minutes later, driving home from close range after receiving from Woods.
Giglio could have ended the evening with a hat-trick but his strike from an excellent position took a deflection for a corner.
In the dying seconds of extra time, Msida, now resigned to defeat, had to endure the anguish of losing their goalkeeper Borg to injury. He was replaced by Manuel Bartolo.
With the clock weighing down, Sliema widened their winning margin when Woods blasted his way past his marker and fired a rasping grounder into the Msida net.
Msida: O. Borg ('119 M. Bartolo), P. Sciriha, J. Mifsud, T. Farrugia, S. Grima, K. Ebejer, P. Fenech, A. Farrugia ('84 R. Baldacchino), S. Bajada, O. Zongo, I. Babatunde.
Sliema: M. Akanji, A. Muscat ('51 O. Anonam), B. Said, C. Mattocks, R. Bajada, J. Chetcuti ('16 D. Carabott), I. Woods, A. Madzar, S. Giglio, I. Ciantar, S. Pace.
Referee: Alan Mario Sant.
Scorers: Giglio 110, 113; Woods 120.
Yellow cards: Giglio; Grima; Said; Bajada; Anonam.