Meridianbet FA Trophy Final Beckons for Gżira and Valletta After Hard-Fought Wins

2025/26 MERIDIANBET F.A. TROPHY 
SEMI-FINALS 
 
Valletta 3-1 Birkirkara 
Earlier today, the semi-finals of the 88th edition of the FA Trophy, once again sponsored by Meridianbet, delivered drama and decisive moments at the National Stadium as Gzira United and Valletta secured their places in next month’s Final. 
 
In the opening semi-final, Gzira United edged past Naxxar Lions with a hard-fought 2-1 victory after extra time, requiring an additional 30 minutes to settle the contest. Attention then shifted to the Valletta versus Birkirkara clash, where Valletta overcame Birkirkara 3–1 in a compelling edition of the “national derby.”  
 
Valletta made the brighter start, enjoying a slight advantage in possession, while Birkirkara remained disciplined at the back and looked to threaten on the counter in a largely uneventful opening half hour. The deadlock nearly broke on 31 minutes when Leandro Lacunza pounced on a loose ball from a corner, striking from distance, only for Valletta goalkeeper Maringa to produce a splendid save. 
 
The Lilywhites responded eight minutes later, with Thaylor Aldama testing Birkirkara’s defence from a Brandon Paiber delivery, but his close-range effort was blocked by Birkirkara goalkeeper Miguel-Angel Martinez. From the resulting corner, Paiber picked out Andrea Zammit, who headed Valletta into the lead. Moments later, straight from the restart, Birkirkara conceded possession cheaply, allowing Zammit to set up Yuri Messias, who calmly beat Coppola and Martinez and doubled Valletta’s advantage. 

As expected, the second half opened up considerably, with chances at both ends. Eleven minutes after the restart, Martinez was called into action to turn a Yannick Yankam effort behind for a corner. Birkirkara responded through Aleandro Garzia, who forced a routine save from Maringa, before Martinez again denied Valletta, this time stopping a diagonal attempt from Diogo Tavares. 
 
Birkirkara struggled to break down Valletta’s resolute defence, but were handed a lifeline on 70 minutes following an FVS review, which resulted in a penalty after Jake Azzopardi fouled Jacques Bayo in the box. Substitute Jere Vrcic converted confidently to reduce the deficit and reignite hope. 
 
The goal sparked sustained pressure from Birkirkara. Bayo came close four minutes later, firing over the bar, while shortly after, a dangerous move involving Vrcic and Bayo ended in a clumpsy collision with Kemar Reid, denying them a clear chance at an equaliser. 
 
As time ran out, Geoffrey Acheampong tested Maringa with a low drive from distance, but the Valletta goalkeeper remained composed. Deep into stoppage time, Valletta capitalised on Birkirkara’s attacking commitment, breaking swiftly on the counter. Paiber applied the finishing touch to seal a 3–1 victory and confirm Valletta’s place in their 30th FA Trophy final in history. 

 
Gzira United 2-1 Naxxar Lions aet 
Earlier this afternoon, Gzira United booked their place in the final of the Meridianbet FA Trophy after a hard-fought 2–1 extra-time victory over Naxxar Lions in Saturday’s first semi-final. 
 
In a tightly contested encounter, the Premier Division’s surprise package Naxxar struck first and held their advantage deep into the second half before Gzira responded late and ultimately prevailed from the penalty spot in extra time. The Maroons, who last lifted the trophy in 1973, will now contest only their second final in the competition’s history. 

Naxxar made a positive start, with captain Edson Farias testing goalkeeper Eduardo Colombo early on. The breakthrough arrived on 20 minutes following a well-worked move initiated by Farias and involving Joao Moura, before Vitinho unleashed a superb left-footed strike into the top corner. 

The Maroons thought they had equalised shortly after the half-hour mark through Andre Carlos, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Gzira came closest before the interval when Luis Riascos was denied by goalkeeper Matthias Debono. 

Not much happened in the nine minutes of stoppage time, given for the time lost after the Naxxar opener as it appeared there were some problems with the FVS system.  
 
Upon resumption, Naxxar nearly doubled their lead through Mark Fenech, whose long-range effort narrowly missed the target. Gzira gradually asserted control but struggled to break down a resolute Naxxar defence until the 76th minute, when Andre Carlos rose to head home from a corner and restore parity. Both sides pushed for a winner in the closing stages, with Debono producing another fine save to deny Johan Bonilla, while Naxxar came agonisingly close at the other end in stoppage time. 
 
The decisive moment arrived ten minutes into extra time, when Mattias Micallef fouled Brooklyn Borg inside the area. Following VAR confirmation, Maxuell Samurai converted the resulting penalty to put Gzira ahead. 

Naxxar pushed forward in search of an equaliser but were unable to breach the Gzira defence. Their hopes were further dented in stoppage time when goalkeeper Matthias Debono was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, as the Maroons held firm to secure their place in the final.