Qrendi surprise Qormi to reach 4th round

In this all-first division affair, Qrendi surprised league leaders Qormi to reach the Last 16 stage of the competition.

Strikes from Dhonattan Santos da Hora in the first half and Petar Mrvic in the second were enough for a win which will certainly help them to build morale in their efforts to stave off relegation.

This was the first defeat for Qormi after a nine-match unbeaten run in the League.

The first half was yawn laden as neither side managed to take control of midfield where most of the play ensued.

Qormi were expected to take command considering that they have more experience in such matches than their rivals, but Qrendi not only defended well but were also able to take the lead which they kept intact till the interval.

In the second half, Qrendi showed more determination even if they were forced to defend for long stretches, especially after scoring a second goal which gave them a somewhat healthy cushion. After that they controlled the situation admirably.

Actions were few and far between. On eight minutes, Qormi’ s Adamec had a low shot going wide.

At the other end, in their first real attack, Qrendi took the lead after a fine move involving Sammut and Abela which ended with a fine back heel from Santos da Hora which completely beat goalie Dejan Vukovic.

Qormi reacted and on 39 minutes, it was goalie Julian Azzopardi who denied Matombo as the Qrendi goalie rushed out of his charge to save.

And just before the interval whistle, it was Jose Lucas da Silva who tried his luck with a low shot, but the ball ended just wide.

Qormi came out on attack in the second half and Adamec had a freekick saved by Azzopardi.

At the other end, Dasser Sammut went agonisingly close to adding a second for Qrendi with a shot on the turn that just missed the target.

But Qrendi found the Qormi net a second time on the hour courtesy of a direct freekick by Peter Mrvic.

Till the end, Qormi were unable to pierce the Qrendi defence although on one occasion, Caetano Da Silva had a close range header well saved by Azzopardi.