Holders Mtarfa FC retained the Roger Strickland Cup after defeating Marsaskala on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the final at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Monday.

There was hardly any difference between the two teams during the first half as the two teams played good football.

Ten minutes into the second half, Mtarfa captain Roderick Sammut was sent off but the two teams continued to share the exchanges, creating several goal-scoring opportunities.

Four minutes from time, Mtarfa were awarded a penalty after Francesco Azzopardi was brought down inside the area. Omar Smeir made no mistake from the penalty spot.

However two minutes in added time, Eboa Ahmadou headed high following a corner to level matters for Marsaskala.

With the score 1-1, penalties had to decide the issue.

Giorgio Cumbo, Omar Smeir, Jean Paul Ciantar, Julian Fenech and Jeffrey Azzopardi scored for Mtarfa with Francesco Azzopardi missing the only one. Horace Pace, Felix Peplow, Ennio Desira, Jonathan Debono and Eboa Ahmadou scored Marsaskala’s penalties while Anthony Zahra and Adrian Domenicus missed. Mtarfa therefore won 7-6.

Meanwhile in the final for third place, Swieqi United defeated Qrendi 3-1 thanks to a brace by Ivan Scicluna and a goal by Timothy Hampton. Julian Camilleri scored the only goal for Qrendi.

All matches were played at the Victor Tedesco Stadium under the auspices of the MFA. This tournament is organized by Swieqi United together with Mtarfa FC and sponsored by Roger Strickland.

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