The quarter-finals draw of the 2018/19 FA Trophy will take place on Tuesday (tomorrow) with eight clubs progressing to the Last Eight from the fourth-round ties played last weekend.
Cup holders and current champions Valletta kept their FA Trophy defence on track after brushing aside first division side Lija Athletic 7-1 on Sunday. Mario Fontanella and Miguel Alba scored two goals in Valletta’s victory over Lija. Defender Jonathan Caruana opened the scoring with Bojan Kaljevic and Matteo Piciollo getting the other goals. Erjon Beu scored Lija’s consolation goal. Hibernians also strolled into the Last Eight after a 4-0 victory over neighbours Fgura United on Saturday. Tiago Adan Fonseca scored a brace for the Paolites who also had Taylon and Dunstan Vella on the scoresheet. Hibernians were joined in the quarter-finals by rivals Tarxien Rainbows who proved too strong for first division side Żebbuġ Rangers, beating them 5-0. Italian striker Michele Paolucci stole the limelight for Tarxien after scoring a hat-trick. Siraj Arab and Jens Alexander Wemmer grabbed the other goals for the Rainbows. There were also an emphatic win for Balzan who overpowered Gozitan side Xewkija Tigers 6-1. Daniel Bogdanovic put Xewkija ahead at the National Stadium but Balzan made a strong reaction, scoring three times in the first half through Riccardo Duarte Correa, Aleksandar Kosoric and Andrija Majdevac to go in for the break with a 3-1 lead. Correa struck two more goals to complete his hat-trick with Steve Pisani also finding the net after the change of ends. The all-Premier League clashes were tight affairs. Mosta edged out Sliema Wanderers 2-1 with goals from Kyle Frendo and Davy Angan N’Guessan, the latter hitting the target early in the second half after Younes Marzuk had levelled for Sliema. Birkirkara came from a goal down to overcome Ħamrun Spartans in an action-packed match at the National Stadium. The Spartans took an early lead when Eduardo Ferreira appeared to deflect the ball into his own net but the Stripes fought back to overturn the deficit with second-half goals from Jorginho and a Marcelo De Siqueira penalty. Gżira United also advanced after beating Melita 4-2 with Haruna Garba scoring a hat-trick. Andrew Cohen was also on target for the Maroons who had fallen 2-1 behind after Michael Cachia and Andrew Spiteri had given Melita a 2-1 lead. Pietà Hotspurs scored twice in the second half to see off the tough challenge of Żejtun Corinthians at the Hibernians Stadium. Christian Degabriele and Paul Chimezie were the scorers for the Hotspurs.