Another exciting futsal season came to an end with a historical Knock Out Cup Final, between Luxol and University of Malta. In a metaphorically compared challenge to that between David and Goliath, the Universitarian lads succeeded to beat Luxol with the end result of 5-2.

Nermin Hasanbegovic opened the score for the Universitarians after only two minutes of play. The determined white boys kept pressing with wide open eyes against their opponent. In the last eight minutes of the first half, Shawn Deguara and Jose Maria Aguillera Castellano scored two more goals in one minute.

Soon after the break, Luxol’s players led by coach Frane Despotovic, did a thrilling comeback and reduced the gap with two quick-fire goals by Gian Carlo Sammut and Rogerio dos Santos Filho. This moment seemed to affect the intensity of the game as both teams turned on their nerves. This had a negative impact on Luxol as they were made to play with one man down twice; after Rogerio dos Santos Filho was sent off with his second received yellow card and Gian Carlo Sammut with a red card for retaliation.

Finally, Shawn Deguara’s second personal goal together with Alex Ellul’s goal, sealed this historical win for Kyle Sultana’s boys and all their fellow students who came supporting on this big night.

The final whistle kicked off the University of Malta Futsal Team’s well-deserved celebrations, prior to the presentation. The apex of this memorable night was reached when captain and goalkeeper Matthew Gatt, who had a magnificent performance, raised the cup that was presented to him by the FMA’s Treasurer Ms Mireille Vella.

The Universitarians are set for a historic final, after coming out with flying colours against Swieqi United, with the end result of 5-2.

Swieqi United broke the deadlock after only two minutes play, through Chris Cardona. In the 16th minute, Alex Ellul levelled matters after coming in for the Universitarians. With only one minute from half time, the Universitarians were put on the lead through Gary Inguanez.

After the half time break, the whites led by their coach Kyle Sultana, were determined to win this match and ascertain their place in the final. After six minutes play Dusan Rakic scored the third goal and was followed by Shawn Deguara four minutes later. Later Swieqi United reduced the gap with Neil Cauchi putting the ball at the back of his own team’s net. Finally with only 49 remaining seconds, Rodney Debono scored the final goal from a long distance with an empty net and sealed the end result of 5-2.

Luxol will be playing in the final, after eliminating the holders Hamrun Tre Angeli, with the end result of 6-2. Mark Zammit opened the score for Luxol while Stefan Camilleri levelled the matters. All Hamrun’s efforts were in vain, as Luxol added more goals through another one from Mark Zammit, Rogerio dos Santos Filho’s brace and a goal apiece for Andy Mangion and Zvezdan Vukovic. Daniel Mifsud managed to reduce the gap for Hamrun Tre Angeli.

The Knock Out final between Luxol and the University of Malta is set for next Friday at the Corradino Sport Pavillion at 8pm.

Valletta accomplished the Elite title in the second leg final against Luxol. After a goalless first half, the match continued to a much more entertaining second half, the end of which was a penalty shootout.

Valletta broke the deadlock in the fourth minute of the second half, from an inviting cross to Jovica Milijic who put the ball at the back of the net. Five minutes later, Luxol’s Zvezdan Vukovic levelled the matters. With less than two minutes of play, Dylan Musu regained advantage for the Citizens and put their supporters on celebration mode. In the last second Luxol’s Emil Andrei Raducu tested his luck and shot to goal against all odds. This 2-2 tie meant that the winner had to be decided after a penalty shootout.

Valletta’s Gia Nikvashvili missed the first penalty as he was denied by Luxol’s goalkeeper Christian Cassar. Celino Alves who returned from an injury, scored Luxol’s first penalty. Valletta’s Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas scored the equalizer, while Luxol’s Andy Mangion missed the target. Meanwhile Milijic and Raducu netted their respective shots. Finally the Lillywhites shortly resumed their celebrations as Musu scored with Maicon Silva missing the target for Luxol.

It was then time for Valletta’s jubilation which was apexed with their captain Melvin Borg being presented with the trophy by FMA Honorary President Mark Borg and Treasurer Mireille Vella.

Mriehel ESS were declared Division One Champions after beating Tarxien JMI with the end result of 8-7. Mriehel ESS made it through Faisal Alnakuoo’s brace, a goal apiece for Victor Diego Viera Marinho, Essa Benatiya u Ayoub Ahmad and own goals by Radovan Duric, Uros Markovic and Craig Pickard. Tarxien JMI’s scoresheet included braces from Radovan Duric, Armando Djepali and William Barbosa, together with Craig Pickard’s goal.

After the final whistle, Mriehel ESS’ captain Marwan Tellisi was presented with the trophy by FMA Honorary President Mark Borg and Treasurer Mireille Vella.

A very determined and united squad gave Valletta a dominant win against the other title contenders Luxol. The stunning performance throughout the whole season of both teams reached its peak, turning the game into a very entertaining match.

In the twelfth minute Georgian Gia Nikvashvili broke the deadlock and put the Citizens on the lead. A minute later Andy Mangion levelled matters till the end of the first half.

Two minutes from the beginning of the second half, Valletta’s Nikvasvili found the net again. Columbian Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas added another one for the Lillywhites and made them 3-1. It was again Nikvashvili’s turn to add another one for Valletta and mark his personal hat-trick. After various dangerous opportunities from both sides, Dylan Musu sealed the end result of 5-1.

Next week both teams will have to confront each other with either Valletta confirming themselves as Elite Champions, or with Luxol winning the next match. If the latter be the winners, the title will be given in the third and final match.

Mriehel ESS and Tarxien JMI will be Division One finalists, afer respectively beating Pietà Nordiska and University of Malta.

In the first semi final Mriehel ESS had their match winner in the last 30 seconds. Pietà’s Nikolay Filipov opened the score just 20 seconds from the first half whistle. In the second half Mriehel ESS had their equalizer through Christian Micallef. Finally Faisal Alnakoo’s goal ticketed Mriehel ESS’ presence in the final with the end result of 2-1.

The other semi final was a short breathening encounter in which Tarxien JMI won 7-5 after the penalty shoot out. The Universitarians were leading 3-0 with Shawn Deguara’s brace and Jose Maria Aguilera Castellano’s goal.

In the second half Tarxien JMI were transformed completely and reduced the score through Craig Pickard’s and Dylan Cacciatolo’s own goal. Dusan Rakic momemtarily gave hope to his fellow Universitarians. Tarxien JMI levelled the score to 4-4 through Manuel Caruana and Claudio Venuto.

In the penalty shoot out, Radovan Duric, Uros Markovic and Armando Djepali scored for Tarxien JMI. Dusan Rakic found the net for the Universitarians but earlier Jose Maria Aguilera Castellano missed the target from the penalty spot.

Coming fixtures:

Division One Play Offs Final

Thursday 22/3/18

8:00 pm Mriehel ESS vs Tarxien JMI

Elite Play Offs Final Leg 2

Friday 23/3/18

8:00 pm Valletta vs Luxol

Valletta and Luxol confirmed again their presence in the Elite Final, after passing by Hamrun Tre Angeli and Swieqi United respectively.

Valletta initially moved forward and scored through Columbian Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas and Melvin Borg. During the second half the Citizens didn’t cease from scoring and found again the net through Redeemer Borg and Melvin Borg. Two minutes towards the end, Hamrun reduced the matters through Stefan Camilleri and Daniel Mifsud. This led Valletta to ticket their place in the final with an end result of 4-2 and an aggregate of 9-3.

Luxol ascertained their place in the final against Valletta, after beating Swieqi United with 4-1 and an aggregate of 10-2. Zvezdan Vukovic put Luxol on the lead through a sole goal in the first half. Swieqi United made a positive start of the second half as their youngest player Aidan Micallef, son of Christian Micallef who plays Mriehel ESS, levelled the result. Luxol wanted to make sure of being winners of this match, and sealed the result through Andy Mangion’s brace Gian Carlo Sammut’s goal.

Valletta and Luxol will again be contesting the Elite title as from next week in the final played on the best of three matches.

Division One saw the University of Malta playing twice this week against Pietà Nordiska and Qormi.

In their first match the Universitarians consolidated their leadership beating Pietà Nordiska for 7-2. This important victory came from a hat-trick by Jose Maria Aguilera Castallano, Nermin Hasanbegovic’s brace and a goal apiece for Shawn Deguara and Rodney Debono. Meanwhile Sean Vella and Ricardo Ortega Toro scored for Pietà Nordiska.

However in the second match the Universitarians who were leading 3-0, couldn’t make it to beat Qormi. For Qormi this was the fourth consecutive win in their last period. Antoine Galea was Qormi’s main protagonist scoring three times together with a goal apiece for Miguel Alcaraz, Patrick Barbara and Bertram Azzopardi. The Universitarians’ score sheet was made up of Jose Maria Aguilera Castellano’s hat-trick and a goal apiece for Nermin Hasanbegovic and Daniel Zahra.

Division One Standings:

University of Malta 32;Tarxien JMI 30; Pietà Nordiska 27; Qormi 21; Swieqi United U21 & Marsaskala 9; Junior College 0.

Coming fixtures:

Division One Play Offs Semi Final

Thursday 15/3/18

8:00 pm Mriehel ESS vs Pietà Nordiska

9:15 pm University of Malta vs Tarxien JMI

Elite Play Offs Final – Leg 1

Friday 16/3/18

8:00 pm Luxol vs Valletta

In the first Play Offs Semi Final, Luxol continued the winning trend, as they managed to win the first leg against Swieqi United with the end result of 6-1. In the first half Luxol found the net three times, through player coach Frane Despotovic, captain Mark Zammit and Andy Mangion.

In the opening of the second half, Luxol kept their rhythm high with Maicon Da Silva Gaiewski who had a quick fire brace. In a short period of time, Swieqi United reduced the gap through their veteran player coach Boicho Marev. Luxol put their mind at rest in the dying seconds with Andy Mangion’ second personal goal.

In the second Play Offs Semi Final, Valletta and Hamrun offered a very entertaining match, giving the Citizens a win of 5-1. After only 39 seconds Valletta’s Denis Di Maio broke the deadlock and Hamrun managed to keep this result till the end of the first half.

Hamrun’s positive attitude gave Daniel Mifsud the opportunity to level the matters. From that point in time, there was no look back for Valletta and took full control of the match, in order to win this first leg. Denis  Di Maio marked a hat-trick, together with a goal apiece for Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas and Gia Nikvasvili.

Marsaskala ended positively their appearance in Division One, as they won 7-2 against Junior College. This result increased the gap they had with the same Junior College and finished with nine points like Swieqi United U21.

Junior College had a good start, as they had a double advantage through Fabio Miguel Fama Gaspar and Arturo Garcia de Haro. Unexpectedly, Marsaskala came back fiercely through Alessio Restuccia’s brace and a goal from Joseph Mifsud.

In the second half Marsaskala took control of the situation and continued to score more goals through Robert Zammit’s brace and a goal apiece for Josef Balzan and Bernard Sciberras.

Tarxien JMI went up momentarily on top of Division One, after beating Pietà Nordiska 4-2. Tarxien’s goals from Uros Markovic brace together with Raodavan Duric’s goal and an own goal scored by Claude Debono. Sean Vella and karl Sciortino scored for Pietà.

Junior College also ended their first experience in the local futsal scenario but without earning any points at all. They lost their last Division One match against Qormi, with the end result of 4-1. Antoine Galea had a hat-trick and Clayton Borg added another one for Qormi. Junior College’s sole goal was scored by Paul Farrugia.

Luxol ended on top of the Elite’s table after beating Valletta 2-1 in the Pre-Play Offs Decider.

It was quite a balanced game and extremely tactical with both teams utilising the flying keeper. Luxol started immediately with Mark Zammit as the flying keeper and in the second half Dylan Musu took the same role for Valletta.

All goals came in the first half, starting with Valletta’s Shawn Vella who broke the deadlock, Zvezdan Vukovic scored the equalizer and Gian Carlo Sammut put Luxol on the lead.

Tomorrow the Play Offs get started with Luxol playing against Swieqi United and Valletta will face off Hamrun Tre Angeli.

Luxol and Valletta kept winning and sharing the Elite’s leadership before the Playoffs Final Stage. This will lead both teams to play a decider in order to determine the first and second place to be placed in the respective playoff’s fixture. The decider is set for Tuesday 27/2/18 at the Corradino Sport Pavillion and kicks off at 8pm.

Luxol easily made it 6-3 against Hamrun Tre Angeli, who will also be participating in the Elite Play Offs. Luxol’s Maicon Silva proved an outstanding performance and had a hat-trick. Emil Andrei Raducu, Mark Zammit and Andy Mangion added more goals for Luxol. On the other hand Hamrun reduced the matters through Daniel Mifsud’s goal and Stefan Camilleri’s brace.

In another entertaining and balanced encounter, Valletta proved to be the better side against a tough Mriehel ESS. Mriehel ESS had their positive moments but weren’t enough to beat the Citizens. The Lillywhites won for 5-1, including braces from Denis Di Maio and Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas, together with Murtaz Kakabadze’s goal. Mriehel ESS’ goal from a powerful direct free kick outside the penalty area, scored by Essa Benatiya.

In Division One, Swieqi United U21 ended their season’s commitment with a narrow defeat of 3-2 against Qormi. James Tabone, Elvis Pajo and Miguel Alcaraz were on the mark for Qormi, while Matthew Micallef Thompson and Robert Stoyanov scored for Swieqi United’s lads.

Tarxien JMI outclassed Junior College as they won 11-3. Tarxien JMI were leading 2-1 before half time but in the second half took full control of the match. Tarxien JMI’s score sheet was made up of five goals by Craig Pickard, Uros Markovic and William Barbosa braces, Denzil Pisani and Chris Muscat’s own goal. Arturo Garcia de Hora, Fabio Miguel Fama Gaspar and Andrè Ciappara scored for Junior College.

The match between the University of Malta and Pietà Nordiska had to be postponed, due to more leakage from the Corradino Pavillion’s roof.

Luxol and Valletta retained their leading position in the Elite Round round by scoring eight goals each.

Luxol’s encounter with Swieqi United turned out to be an easy win for Luxol; the end result being 8-1. The end of the first half left Luxol leading comfortably with four goals in advance through Rogerio Santos Filho, Maicon Silva, Andy Mangion and Gian Carlo Sammut. This continued during the second half, when the team led by coach Frane Despotovic, scored four other goals through Andy Mangion’s goal, a brace from Maicon Silva and the final goal from captain Mark Zammit. On the other hand, Swieqi United’s consolation goal was scored by Zurab Lukava.

Earlier this week Valletta faced Hamrun Tre Angeli, after their match was postponed due to water seepage from the pavillion’s roof resulting from   heavy rain. Valletta started with a strong outcome of 4-1 in the first half through a brace from Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas; his second one from the penalty spot. Two additional goals came from Mohammed Elamari and Murtaz Kakabadze. As a response Hamrun reduced the arrears through Manuel Jesus Cespedes Gallardo.

During the second half Valletta kept on pushing forward and made the end result 8-2 through goals by Jovica Milijic, Melvin Borg, Gia Nikvashvili and another one from Camilo Andres Gomez Vanegas. Hamrun added their second goal through Daniel Mifsud.

Hamrun Tre Angeli recovered this defeat against Valletta this week, with a win of 8-1 against Mriehel ESS. Hamrun’s score sheet included an autogoal by Marrwan Telisi, braces for Stefan Camilleri and Aleksander Tomin, a goal apiece for Everton Da Silva Santos, Luke Stivala and Frank Paul Azzopardi. Mriehel ESS’ sole goal was scored by Victor Diego Viera Marinho.

Earlier this week Mriehel ESS and Swieqi United also played their postponed match from last week. Mriehel ESS were on the better side as they won 5-0 against Swieqi United. The boys led by coach Eslam Khalifa were on the mark though Marrwan Telisi’s hat-trick and a goal apiece for Ahmed Ayoub and Faisal Alnakua.

In the meantime, despite having to bow to strong opponents Tarxien JMI, the University of Malta still remained leaders in Division One. It turned out to be quite an entertaining and balanced match with the first half ending 3-3. William Barbosa was outstanding for Tarxien JMI as he had a hat-trick, together with a brace from Uros Markovic and Craig Pickard’s goal. The Universitarians were unlucky as they conceded an owngowl by Rodney Debono. Despite the loss of 7-6, Jose Maria Aguilera Castellano continued to excel for the University of Malta by scoring three times. Dusan Rakic, Nermin Hasanbegovic and Shaun Deguara also scored for the Universitarians.

Marsaskala were surpassed by Swieqi United’s Under 21 squad, losing with an end result of 5-3. The Southsiders had a brace from Alessio Restuccia and a fast goal from Khail Drago. Swieqi’s youngsters acquired their merit through Robert Stoyanov’s brace and a goal apiece for Darryl Schembri, Matthew Micallef Thompson and Jamie Mangion.

In their second academic derby of the season, the Universitarians consolidated their Division One’s leadership smashing Junior College for 9-0. The score sheet included a poker by Nermin Hasanbegovic, a brace by Jose Maria Aguilera Castellano and a goal apiece for Neil Cauchi, Paul Scerri and Albert Aquilina.

Ten goals were on the mark between Marsaskala and Tarxien JMI, leaving both teams undecided till 4-4. Tarxien JMI broke the deadlock through Armando Djepali and Marsaskala levelled the matters through Khail Drago. Tarxien were again on the lead through Craig Pickard until John Paul Barabara relevelled the score. Armando Djepali scored again and the Southsiders brought again the equaliser through Antonio Fraschilla. Tarxien JMI went 4-3 as Uros Markovic put the ball at the back of the net. Marsaskala’s Tiwtiw Jr Afifi made it 4-4. Finally Armando Djepali and Radovan Duric sealed the end result of 6-4 for Tarxien JMI.

Despite the positive performance by Swieqi United’s Under 21 squad, Kurt Bartolo’s brace gave a 2-1 win for Pietà Nordiska. Swieqi’s youngsters sole goal was scored by Matthew Micallef Thompson.

Both Elite’s matches scheduled for Friday 9th February were postponed to Tuesday 13th February. The match officials together with representatives from Mriehel ESS, Swieqi United, Valletta and Hamrun Tre Angeli, came to this decision due to heavy rain leaking from the Corradino’s Pavillion roof.

Coming fixtures:

Division One

Monday 12/2/18

8:00 pm Tarxien JMI vs L-Università ta’ Malta

9:15 pm Qormi vs Junior College

Thursday 15/2/18

8:00 pm Marsaskala vs Swieqi United U21

Elite Round

Tuesday 13/2/18

8:00 pm Mriehel ESS vs Swieqi United

9:15 pm Valletta vs Hamrun Tre Angeli

Friday 16/2/18

8:00 pm Hamrun Tre Angeli vs Mriehel ESS

9:15 pm Swieqi United vs Luxol