Preview: FA Trophy Semi Final Valletta vs Balzan Published on: 29-04-2018
Newly-crowned Premier League champions Valletta were handed a difficult path to the FA Trophy final
when they were drawn against Balzan.
The two protagonists of this year’s championship race will go head to head on Sunday.
Still basking from chalking up their 24th championship title at the weekend, the Citizens now have their eyes set on the FA Trophy to complete a league and cup double.
But to reach that objective first they will have to overcome a Balzan team still hurting from Saturday’s
1-0 upset to Hibernians that ended their dream of claiming the league title for the first time in the club’s history.
Valletta coach Danilo Doncic admitted that he would have preferred to face Balzan in the final.
However, he said the match will be a perfect opportunity for his team to show that they are the best
side in the league.
“Personally, I preferred to have played against Balzan in the final... that would also have been the perfect
ending to the season,” Doncic told the Times of Malta.
“Confidence is very high at the moment but we have to put behind us everything that happened at the weekend and focus on this competition.
“Balzan will be very motivated to beat us after their disappointment in the league. I think the pressure
will be more on their side in this semi-final as they would not want to finish the season without a trophy.
“For us winning the league took a lot of tension off our shoulders so we are looking forward to finish
the season in style by winning the FA Trophy.”
Balzan will relish the prospect of taking revenge on the Citizens on Sunday. Coach Marko Micovic
said he won’t have to say too much to his players to bring their motivation back for the cup tie.
“Saturday was a very difficult day for us,” the Serbian said.
“Now we must put that setback behind us and try to end the season on a positive note by winning the
FA Trophy. This will be another tough match against the champions but an ideal opportunity for us to meet the challenge and give the right response to our critics.
“This season Balzan showed they deserve to be among the top sides in the league. We all made a
lot of sacrifices and I think that winning the FA Trophy would help the club make that leap in quality and end the season in the right way.”
Source - Times of Malta
