Qormi and Hibernians will be contesting the 75th edition of the U*BET FA Trophy as the two teams cross swords in Wednesday’s final, kick-off at 19:30.
This final is a repeat of last year’s final when the Paolites emerged as winners by three goals to one to lift the trophy for the ninth time.
Hibs in fact seek their tenth victory after winning the competition in 1962, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1982, 1998, 2006, 2007 and 2012. They reached this stage after defeating Mosta 2-1 in the third round, First Division side Gudja United 4-0 in the fourth round, Second Division champions Zebbug Rangers 3-0 in the quarter-finals, beating Valletta 3-2 in last Saturday’s semi-final.
Winning the FA Trophy would definitely give the Hibs supporters some satisfaction after the bitter end to the BOV Premier League campaign when they lost the decider to Birkirkara.
Qormi, on the other hand, hope to be third-time lucky after reaching the final on two previous occasions – losing 1-2 to Valletta in 2010 and 1-3 to Hibernians last year. In the third round, Qormi defeated Second Division side Pembroke Athleta 5-2 after extra-time, going on to eliminate champions Birkirkara, beating them 2-1 in the fourth round. They defeated Balzan 1-0 in the quarter-finals and First Division side Lija Athletic 1-0 in the semi-finals.
Qormi coach Jesmond Zerafa has practically a full squad at his disposal but Michael Woods could not count on captain Mario Muscat who was sent off in the clash with Valletta. Daniel Balzan is therefore set to guard the posts for the Paolites.
The two teams met twice this season with Hibernians winning the first round clash 4-2 and Qormi emerging as winners with a narrow 1-0 score in the second round. They went separate ways in the second phase with Hibernians playing in the Championship Pool and Qormi in the Relegation Pool.
In case of a draw, even after extra-time, penalty kicks shall be taken in accordance with the Laws of the Game.
Hibernians supporters will be staying in the West Stand A and Millennium Stand F while the West Stand C and the Millennium Stand D will be reserved for Qormi supporters. Hibs supporters should enter Ta’ Qali from the Mosta road and use the West Stand parking area and the roads leading to it. Qormi supporters should enter from the Rabat road and park their cars in the roads leading from the National Park to the Millennium Stand.
While West Stand A and West Stand C tickets were sold from clubs while Millenium Stand D and Millenium Stand F will be sold from the stadium on match day. Ticket booths open at 18:00.
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