Siġġiewi 0
Birkirkara 3
Birkirkara needed three second-half goals to lower the colours of a resilient Siġġiewi and progress to the quarter-finals of the KO competition, last night.
It was a disappointing performance from the Stripes who struggled to impose their game over the Division Two hopefuls as for long stretches of the match Siġġiewi easily contained the threat from the Premier League contenders.
Birkirkara only had a handful of efforts towards goal to show but Ryan Scicluna and Shola Haruna were on target late on to spare their team’s blushes.
Paul Zammit, the Birkirkara coach, fielded several fringe players with Ini Akpan handed a rare start in goal while youngsters Antoine Borg and Kurt Zammit were also included in the initial formation. Dutch striker Nassir Maachi had a low-key first appearance for the Stripes.
Siġġiewi conceded very little space for Birkirkara to manoeuvre and the Stripes had to wait until the 20th minute for their first effort on goal when Edmund Agius’s shot flashed wide.
That was a rare opportunity for Birkirkara who despite their long spells of possession struggled to find any spaces in the Siġġiewi half. On one occasion, Kurt Zammit sent a dipping cross towards Eliandro who headed wide.
Siġġiewi twice came close to an opener on the stroke of half-time.
Eman Ciappara profited from some hesitant defending from Zach Muscat but his shot was pushed away by Akpan. From the corner, Mark Camilleri’s header finished just wide.
On the restart, Zammit withdrew Maachi and roped in Haruna as he looked to infuse more punch up front. However, the match maintained its mediocrity levels with Birkirkara banking on a series of crosses in the Siġġiewi box but with little effect.
Then, Ryan Camenzuli and Paul Fenech were drafted in by Zammit at the expense of Kurt Zammit and Bissi and soon Birkirkara’s pressure earned a breakthrough.
Fenech chipped the ball into the path of Scicluna who stabbed his shot past goalkeeper Warren Cuschieri.
The Stripes added a second on 78 minutes when Scicluna’s cross rolled into the path of Haruna who curled the ball into the bottom corner.
Scicluna notched his second of the match four minutes from time when he hit low past a diving Cuschieri to seal his team’s laborious passage to the last eight.
Siġġiewi: W. Cuschieri, I. Darmanin, E. Muscat, K. Mizzi, E. Bugeja, D. Baldacchino (76 N. Caruana), F. Guihard (82 J. Camilleri), S. Tape, M. Camilleri, K. Buhagiar (85 A. Buhagiar), E. Ciappara.
Birkirkara: I. Akpan, A. Borg, Eliandro, A. Mendoza, N. Maachi (46 S. Haruna), M. Bissi (60 P. Fenech), N. Vukanac, Z. Muscat, E. Agius, K. Zammit (60 R. Camenzuli), R. Scicluna.
Referee: Mario Apap.