Leaders B'Kara drawn with Valletta in U*BET FA Trophy quarter-finals

Leaders Birkirkara were paired with Valletta in the quarter-finals of the U*BET FA Trophy while holders Sliema Wanderers were drawn with Hamrun Spartans. The draw was held during the programme MFA Magazine on Smash Television on Thursday.

In the other two matches, Hibernians take on Qormi while Tarxien Rainbows face the only First Division side in the draw – Balzan Youths.

Balzan Youths, Hamrun Spartans, Qormi and Tarxien Rainbows survived the first two rounds of the competition while Valletta, Birkirkara, Hibernians and holders Sliema Wanderers were seeded.

The draw was as follows:
Hamrun S. vs Sliema W.
Valletta vs Birkirkara
Hibernians vs Qormi
Tarxien R. vs Balzan Y.

In the previous rounds, Hamrun Spartans defeated two First Division teams – St. George’s 3-0 and Marsaxlokk 1-0. Hamrun and Sliema met twice this season with the Wanderers winning 5-0 in the first round and the Spartans claiming a 3-0 win in the second.

Valletta and Birkirkara met three times. The Citizens registered a 2-0 win in the Euro Cup. In the BOV Premier League first round, Valletta won 3-1 but the second round clash ended in a 1-1 draw.

Qormi made it to the quarter-finals after beating Mqabba 3-0 and St. Patrick 5-1, both from Division 1. Hibs and Qormi met four times so far. Following a 3-1 win for Qormi in the Premier League first round, Hibs beat Qormi on penalties in the National League 100 Anniversary Cup third round. The two teams shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League second round while in the third round, Hibs won 1-0.

To reach this stage, Balzan Youths defeated two Premier League sides – Msida St. Joseph 5-0 and Dingli Swallows 2-1 after extra-time. On the other hand, Tarxien Rainbows beat First Division side Mosta 5-1 and Floriana 4-1 after extra-time.

The quarter-finals will be played on Saturday 3 and Monday 5 April.

The semi-finals are scheduled for May 17 and 18 while the final will be played on May 23.