Holders Floriana YS make it to the KO semifinals

Floriana Young Stars 3 – The LightshopHotsticks 2 (after extra time)

Young Stars and Hotsticks were drawn against each other in the preliminary round fixture to determine who will go on to play White Hart in the Knock out semifinal.

This fixture has this year provided all sorts of results throughout the previous encounters this season and so it was difficult to predict who will come out on top.

Floriana started well, putting on a certain degree of pressure on the Sliema rearguard.

It was as early as the 5th minute when Luke Borg Costanzi managed to round off a Sliema defender before entering the D on the right and finding the space to flick the ball over Emile Borg in goal.

Sliema tried to get back into it but Floriana YS took further advantage of their sharp start when Ralph Agius Fernandez passed a bouncing through ball into the circle which Luke Borg Costanzi converted with a reverse hit.

Sliema started to go about their business better but their short corner routine was not working well. That was until Chris Agius picked the ball up from a rebound to slot home and open the game up again.

With the half time score 2-1 in Young Stars’ favour, Sliema tightened up their defence in order knowing that at one point or other they will get a chance to level the score. This they did when Chris Agius scored again from another penalty corner.

The game opened up but at the same time it ended up a scrappy affair with both teams losing possession easily. As the game wore on, both sets of players had their nerves frayed, and then settled for extra time.

The first half of extra time did not create any clear chances except when Ryan Seychell of Young Stars fluffed his lines when on free run through the centre of the park.

However, Luke Borg Costanzi managed to score his and Young Stars’ third goal after receiving at the edge of circle and beating the Sliema goalie at the far post.

Sliema tried to save the game with frantic efforts but their final effort was thwarted by the Young Stars goalie James Mizzi.

Floriana Young Stars now play White Hart in the semi-final on Sunday at 11am. The other semifinal will be played between Qormi and Rabat at 9am on the same date.