Malta FA Jubilee Cup Review: Veterans make it through, Dingli and Mqabba secure spot in First Round

MALTA FA JUBILEE CUP PRELIMINARY ROUND

NORTH GROUP

Gharghur 1-3 Dingli Swallows
In yesterday night’s late kick-off at the Sirens Stadium, Dingli Swallows came from behind to beat a battling Gharghur 3-1 in the Malta FA Jubilee Cup, supported by Enemed, a new and one-off competition being organised to mark the 125th anniversary of the Malta Football Association. It was the last match of five Preliminary round games being played over the weekend.

Compared to last season, both sides fielded a transformed starting eleven. With Nicolai Caruana’s Dingli, only goalkeeper Adam Benjelloun and centre-back Jake Bugeja were regulars with the Swallows las year, while Gharghur will be mostly playing their youngsters this season with perhaps captain Jamie-Georgie Zammit and the returning Johann Zarb as most familiar faces.

Play remained rather balanced in the opening half with the Gharghur youngsters, now coached by Alan Friggieri, giving a good account of themselves, keeping the more experienced counterparts of Dingli at bay thanks to an organized structure, literally fighting for every ball. Goal-mouth action was scarce however, with perhaps Max Borg-Bartolo’s free-kick half way the 1^st period as best opportunity, paraded in style by former Dingli goalkeeper Gianluca Pisani.

Nine minutes after the break, Gharghur took the lead thanks to a wonderful Sebastian Montano top corner free-kick, which left Benjelloun without a chance. Minutes later, the Dingli defence failed to stop an individual effort by Aaron Doda in the box, with the close-range effort of the debutant going millimetres wide.

But Dingli turned the match around in the last period of the game. On 73 minutes, Juan Camilo Viveros took full advantage of some indecision in the Gharghur defence, with the Colombian equalising. The efforts of the Swallows paid off further in the 82^nd minute when substitute Andie Sammut scored the 2-1 at the second post. Four minutes later, Viveros added the third goal which sealed the outcome of the match.

Dingli are now facing Msida St Joseph in the first round, a match that will be played Friday night at the Centenary Stadium.

SOUTH GROUP

Mqabba 1-0 St George’s
In the Sirens Stadium opening match on Sunday night, Mqabba had to dig deeper then expected to shake off the resistance of St George’s, who played a decent match and look ready to challenge for the honours in the National Amateur League II campaign. The all-important goal arrived deep into the second half through newcomer Matthew Borg, formerly of Kirkop United.

Mqabba coach Claudio Calleja gave starting berths to Jeremy and Melvin Busuttil, two former Vittoriosa Stars defenders while on midfield, apart from Borg, Quelin Micallef, another ex-Kirkop player made his debut. Up front, the ever-energetic Saturday Nanapere made his 300^th official appearance ever-since his arrival in Malta in 2012. With the Bormla side, there were debuts given out to defenders Andrea Hammett (ex-Zejtun) and Jean-Luke Polidano, formerly of Santa Lucia. Up front also three newcomers in Jamiu Hassan (ex-Mtarfa), the much-travelled Yuya Emura and Ryan Dalli, with the latter facing his former team.

In the goalless first half, St George’s started the better team in the opening phase but Mqabba should have taken the lead on 21 minutes when Micallef was left unmarked in the six-yard box but his free header went wide. Towards the end of the half, Mqabba gradually saw more of the ball with Juan Andres Viveros hitting the post on 42 minutes.

After the change of ends, play remained balanced with perhaps Kenneth Aquilina having the best chance to break the deadlock for St George’s, but found Mqabba goalkeeper Mario Bartolo on his way with a fine interference on 69 minutes.

Five minutes later, Borg scored the winner with a lovely 20-meters distance grounder with had the better of Clive Caruana. With five minutes regular time left, Viveros should have added Mqabba’ second but somehow failed to find the net from an ideal angle.

Mqabba are back in action on Saturday night at the Centenary Stadium, facing Xghajra Tornados in the first round, another interesting encounter.


MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

MESA 1-2 Malta NT Veterans
Prolific striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza was the undisputed hero for the Maltese Veterans as he netted a brace to hand his side a 2-1 victory over the Malta Employers Sports Association. This match, played on Friday night at the Centenary Stadium, was the opening match of the Jubilee Cup.

MESA 1-2 Malta NT Veterans - 29.08.25 - Photo: Malta FA

In the first half, the Veterans dominated possession while MESA, who fielded the maximum number of five foreign players in their starting line-up, tried to threaten with occasional counterattacks. Despite the balance of play, it was MESA who broke the deadlock in the 75th minute through Colombian striker Jean Carlos Ibarra, who made a fine run into the box before beating goalkeeper Matthew Camilleri.

The Maltese Veterans produced an immediate response, equalizing four minutes later when Mifsud Triganza shook off his marker and slotted past custodian Jurgen Cilia with a precise shot into the corner. That goal spurred Joe Micallef’s team on, and Mifsud Triganza struck again to secure a dramatic winner, scored following a corner when the former Birkirkara, Sliema and Valletta player reacted on a loose ball and fired into an empty net to seal the victory. This was Mifsud Triganza’s 279th goal in all MFA competitions.

MESA 1-2 Malta NT Veterans - 29.08.25 - Photo: Malta FA

GIDA 1-7 SWAN
In the first Sirens Stadium clash on Saturday night, SWAN completely dominated their tie against GIDA, cruising to a 7-1 victory.

GIDA, represented by their champions MLS, endured a disastrous opening quarter, finding themselves three goals down early on. SWAN controlled proceedings throughout, spearheaded by Nigerian forward Abba Auwal, who proved unstoppable for the GIDA defence. Auwal was the undisputed star of the match, netting five goals. Andrea Borg and Jean Christ Buttigieg added the other two for SWAN, while GIDA managed a late consolation through substitute Luke Mifsud.

The SWAN selection are now playing in the first round against the Malta Veterans in the first match of the Mosta Ground next Saturday, kick off 18h.

Masters 1-3 MAFA
The Malta Amateur Football Association (MAFA) selection booked their place in the 1^st round of the first phase of the Jubilee Cup after an impressive 3-1 victory over Masters Football Malta. It was an entertaining encounter, marked by three penalties, two of which were missed. MAFA threatened in various moments of the match, with Balluta Barracudas duo Timmy Zammit Lupi and Andrew Tortell causing problems for the Masters’ defence.

MAFA took the lead after just seven minutes when a move down the left found league top scorer Andrew Tortell, who calmly slotted the ball home. The Amateurs had the chance to double their advantage in the 26th minute when they were awarded a penalty, but Nikola Neskovic saw his effort saved by former Mosta goalkeeper Stephane Moto Bitseki, who played 28 matches for the national team of Gabon between 2010 and 2020.

Just a minute later, the Masters were awarded a spot-kick of their own after a hands-ball in the box. From 11 metres, Firas Aboulezz converted past Jianiro Camilleri to level the score at 1-1, which remained the result at the interval.

The second half saw chances at both ends, but both goalkeepers stood firm. However, in the 66th minute MAFA regained the lead when Timmy Zammit Lupi rose highest to head home a cross from the right. However, the Masters were given another golden opportunity to equalise in the 70th minute after being awarded a second penalty, but this time Aboulezz struck the post. Just two minutes later, MAFA sealed the win when a quick counterattack found Zammit Lupi, who finished clinically to make it 3-1 and secure their passage to the last four.

MAFA will now face an IASC selection in the first round in the second game at the Mosta Ground on Saturday.