The Malta FA Jubilee Cup, supported by Enemed, kicked-off this weekend with the first matches from the North Region, South Region and Member Associations.
In the North Region Preliminary Round, Dingli Swallows came back from a goal down to beat Gharghur 3-1 at the Centenary Stadium. The will be facing Msida St. Joseph in Round 1 on Friday.
John Sebastian Montano put Gharghur ahead on 54 minutes but Juan Carmelo Tenorio Viveros equalised on 73 minutes. Andie Sammut made it 2-1 on 82 minutes and four minutes later, Tenorio added another.
In the South Region Preliminary Round, a goal by Matthew Borg on 74 minutes handed Mqabba a narrow win over St. George’s in another match at the Sirens Stadium.
Mqabba will face Xghajra Tornados in the next round.
Meanwhile with regards to the Member Associations, three matches from Round 1 were played between Friday and Saturday.
Malta Veterans defeated MESA 2-1 at the Centenary Stadium on Friday.
Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza was the hero for Malta as he scored twice to turn defeat into victory.
Jean Carlos Ibarra Grueso put MESA ahead on 75 minutes but Mifsud Triganza equalised two minutes later and with three minutes to go, he notched the winner.. This was Mifsud Triganza’s 279th goal in MFA competitions.
Malta Veterans will be facing SWAN in Round 1 on Saturday. SWAN, in fact, defeated GIDA 7-1 at the Centenary Stadium on Saturday.
SWAN dominated right from the start, taking a two goal lead through Auwal Abba within the first ten minutes, with goals on 6 and 10 minutes. Andrea Borg made it 3-0 on 16 minutes and goals by Abba on 25, Jean Christ Buttigieg on 37 and Abba two minutes in added time increased the lead to six goals by the end of the first half. Auwal Abba added another seven minutes in the second half with GIDA, who were being represented by champions MLS United, scoring a consolation goal three minutes from time thanks to Luke Mifsud.
In another match on Saturday, MAFA defeated Masters Football Malta 3-1.
MAFA managed to take the lead after just eight courtesy of Andrew Tortell – top scorer with Balluta Barracudas last season. They were awarded a penalty on 25 minutes but Nikola Neskovic’s effort was neutralised by goalkeeper Yves Stephane Bitseki Moto. A minute later, Masters Football Malta were also awarded a penalty with Firas Aboulezz converting to level matters. However on 66 minutes, Timothy Zammit Lupi made it 2-1 and after Masters Fooball Malta missed a penalty when Abuolezz hit the woodwork, Zammit Lupi sealed the issue with a third goal on 72 minutes.
In Round 1, MAFA will now face IASC who were awarded a bye.