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36 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 MAY 2019 FA TROPHY SPORTS WARREN ZAMMIT ALFRED Effiong scored four times inside the match as well as a decisive penalty during the penalty shoot-out to hand Balzan the FA Trophy. Valletta and Balzan started the match looking to lift the second most prestigious award in Maltese football. For Valletta, a win would mean securing their second consecutive double as they al- ready retained the BOV Pre- mier League. On the other end, Balzan experienced a disappointing season. However, a win in this match meant a place in the Europa League as well as their first ever honour of the season. To make it to the final, Vallet- ta eliminated Gzira United dur- ing the semi-final. Meanwhile, Balzan won against Birkirkara. Balzan created the first op- portunity of the match after less than a minute. Ivan Bozo- vic drilled a powerful shot from distance that was parried by Henry Bonello. Bonello had to be on the alert again to keep Valletta level sec- onds later since from the re- sulting corner, Ricardo Calixto Correa Duarte's delivery went into the path of Effiong whose header forced an excellent save from Valletta's custodian. Balzan's early efforts paid off on the 8th minute. Following a horrific mistake by Rowen Muscat at the centre of the pitch, Effiong ran forward be- fore placing the ball past Bonel- lo. Jacques Scerri was forced to make an early substitution on the 33rd minute. Carlos Fiori Mendes suffered an injury and had to be replaced by Dale Camilleri. Valletta hit back on the 37th minute. Enmy Pena Beltre served Kyrian Nwoko and the latter fired a powerful shot that hit the side netting. This was the prelude for the goal as Valletta equalised three minutes later. This time it was Ricardo Calixto Correa Du- arte's turn to commit a fatal mistake. The Uruguayan's con- trol of the ball inside the pen- alty area left much to be desire. Pena Beltre took hold of pos- session and smashed a power- ful shot from inside the penalty area that gave Sean Mintoff no chance. Balzan regained their lead on the 43rd through a very contro- versial decision. Steven Pisani hit a shot that took a deflection off Steve Borg and went into the path of Effiong who was in a clear offside position. The assistant referee raised his flag for an offside. However, the referee judged the deflection to be a back pass and decided to signal a goal to the disbelief of Valletta's players and technical staff who protested harshly. As expected, Valletta started the second half on the attack and went close immediately. Bojan Kaljevic played Mario Fontanella through on the left side, but the forward found Mintoff in his way. Balzan replied on the 55th minute. Pisani fired a strong shot that was blocked by Bonello. The rebound fell for Uros Ljubomirac whose effort failed to hit the target. Valletta lost a great chance seconds later. Kaljevic received the ball from Fontanella, but finished off target from an ideal position. Balzan threw their lead away once more on the 72nd minute. Bogdan Gavrila's shot from a free-kick was not neutralised by Mintoff. Pena Beltre was at the right place at the right mo- ment again and finished inside the net. On the 86th minute, Santago Malano of Valletta tried his luck from distance, but his ef- fort went over. Five minutes later, Nwoko received a cross from the right and sent a header that was neu- tralised by Mintoff. On the other end of the pitch, Effiong managed to fire a low shot that was saved by Bonello. This was the last chance cre- ated during the regular time as the match went into extra time. Effiong completed his hat- trick five minutes into the second half. Valletta's defence failed to clear Pisani's delivery from a free-kick. The ball fell for the Maltese striker who fin- ished home. Valletta responded four min- utes later. Nwoko's shot was neutralised by Mintoff. Effiong scored his fourth goal on the 105th minute. Ivan Bo- zovic delivered a cross towards the forward who headed past Bonello. A minute later, Mintoff pro- duced great reflexes to deny Nwoko from close range. Fontanella pulled one back for Valletta on the 115th minute. Correa Duarte fouled Pena Bel- tre inside the penalty area and the referee pointed towards the spot. The Italian stepped up and converted. However, Valletta ended up in ten men just three minutes later. Gavrila committed a vio- lent conduct on Sean Cipriott and left the referee with no oth- er option but to send him off. The red card didn't demor- alise Valletta as they equalised on the 119th minute. Joseph Zerafa's long ball found Rowen Muscat whose splendid header hit the upright before ending up inside the net. Both sides didn't have time to react as the match went into penalties. Balzan emerged victorious following the shoot-out. Aleksandar Kosoric, Nenad Sljivic, Ljubomirac, Andrija Majdevac and Effiong scored their penalties for Balzan. Malano, Fontanella, Jean Borg and Muscat scored for Valletta. However, Nicholas Pulis saw his effort from the penalty spot being saved by Mintoff. Following this result, Balzan win their first ever honour and also clinch their space in the preliminary round of the Eu- ropa League. Such result also means that Hamrun will not participate in the Europa League despite finishing fourth in the BOV Premier League as Balzan took their place. Balzan starting line-up: Sean Mintoff, Aleksandar Ko- soric, Nenad Sljivic, Steven Pisani (Sean Cipriott-103), Steven Bezzina (Andrija Ma- jdevac-77), Paul Fenech, Alfred Effiong, Uros Ljubomirac, Ivan Bozovic, Carlos Fiori Mendes (Dale Camilleri- 33 (Justin Gri- oli-105), Ricardo Calixto Cor- rea Duarte Valletta starting line-up: Henry Bonello, Jonathan Caru- ana, Steve Borg (Joseph Zera- fa-72), Santiago Malano, Kyrian Nwoko, Jean Borg, Enmy Pena Beltre (Shaun Dimech-120), Ibrahim Raed Saleh (Nicholas Pulis- 81), Rowen Muscat, Bo- jan Kaljevic (Bogdan Gavrila- 63), Mario Fontanella Referee: Mario Apap Assistant Referees: William Debattista, Paul Apap Fourth Official: Eman Grech Effiong hands Balzan their first ever Trophy Balzan Birkirkara 4 4 PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE BORG