Balzan Qrendi Qrendi no match for superior Balzan

Balzan:

S. Mintoff, D. Camilleri, L. Micallef (Y. Miyamoto 57), S. Bezzina (G. Camilleri 46), HA Ashcroft, M. Johnson, I. Bozovic, C. De Fiori Mendes, R. Correa, A. Majdevac, M. Lepovic (S. Cipriott 63). J. Farrugia, D. Micallef, M. Farrugia (Z. Bowman 43), B. Bondin, M. Reid (R. Dalli 76), C. Caruana (K. Abela 65), N. Falzon, J. Spiteri, JP Da Silva Vargas, C. Quaranta, J. Silveira Da Silva. Matthew Degabriele L. Portelli, D. Spencer E. Barbara C. De Fiori Mendes 10, A. Majdevac 16, 43, 72, C. Quaranta 25, R. Correa 30. M. Farrugia 38, C. Quaranta 51, D. Camilleri 61.

Qrendi: Referee: Asst refs: 4th official: Scorers: Yellow cards:

Henry Brincat

Balzan found little or no difficulty at all in disposing of first division side Qrendi to advance into the Last 16.

The Premier League side won comfortably 5-1 after leading 4-1 at the interval.

They led 2-0 with goals from De Fiorio Mendes and Majdevac before Qrendi scored their consolation goal through Ciro Quaranta. But it did not take long for Balzan to regain control as they added two more goals before the interval through Correa and Majdevac again.

In the second half, it was Majdevac who found the net again for Balzan to complete a glorious hattrick.

The match was mostly one-sided as first division side Qrendi had to play second fiddle for most of the time.

As widely expected, Balzan took command quickly and did not take long to take the lead.

From then on Qrendi were forced on the defensive for long stretches and although they also managed to score a goal when it was 2-0 in Balzan’s favour, they rarely appeared capable of surprising the Premier League outfit.

In fact, it was no surprise that Balzan went on to add two more goals to lead comfortably 4-1 at the interval.

In the second half, they continued to dominate as Qrendi failed to react.

The first division side had a good start, but gradually, Balzan started taking the initiative.

They opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Lyden Micallef had a shot partially saved by goalie Farrugia, but Carlos De Fiori Mendes was in the right place to hit home from near the penalty spot.

It was 2-0 six minutes later as Lepovic sent Majdevac beautifully through and the latter beat Farrugia with a grounder.

Qrendi reduced the gap on 25 minutes when Ciro Quaranta ran through a standstill Balzan defence to hit past the onrushing Sean Mintoff.

Balzan regained their two-goal cushion on 30 minutes after a fine action which involved De Fiori Mendes, Majdevac and Correa, the latter scoring easily.

It was 4-1 in the 43rd minute. From a Bozovic cross, Bjorn Bondin had the misfortune of sending the ball directly into Majdevac’s feet, who could only say “thank you” before hitting home with ease from three metres.

In the 56th minute, Correa had a humdinger from point-blank range excellently turned to corner by goalie Farrugia.

Balzan scored their fifth goal on 72 minutes. From a Gary Camilleri freekick, it was Majdevac who completed his hat-trick with a header.