Ħamrun Spartans booked their place in the FA Trophy quarter-finals with a commanding 5–0 victory over Fgura United at the Centenary Stadium.
Despite the emphatic scoreline, the Challenge League side proved stubborn in the opening stages and created a number of chances in a lively first half. Fgura’s resistance, however, was effectively broken when Samuel Buhagiar was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, a turning point that allowed the Spartans to take full control of the contest.
Ħamrun made a bright start and took the lead after six minutes when Matthew Guillaumier played in Daniel Bulevardi, who finished clinically past Yenz Cini.
Fgura responded positively and came close to an equaliser when Karl Formosa’s cross slipped through Ħamrun goalkeeper Celio’s hands, only for Lee Pisani to blaze over. Celio was again called into action on 16 minutes, producing a fine save to deny Dylan Caruana, before Buhagiar headed narrowly wide from the resulting corner.
The Spartans thought they had doubled their advantage on 31 minutes when Bulevardi struck again after a scramble in the box, but the goal was disallowed following a Football Video Support review for an offside in the build-up.
Fgura’s task became even more difficult shortly before the interval when Buhagiar was dismissed, leaving his side a man down for the entire second half.
After the restart, Ħamrun raised the tempo and quickly made their numerical advantage count. Shaisen Attard went close early on, but moments later he found the net after being set up by Eder, firing a powerful shot beyond Cini.
The Spartans added a third soon after, with Bulevardi turning provider this time to pick out Attard on the edge of the area, the young forward completing his brace with another well-struck effort.
With the outcome effectively decided, Ħamrun continued to press and further extended their lead on 77 minutes when Guillaumier delivered a low cross that Jonny finished from close range. In stoppage time, Ryan Camenzuli supplied a precise cross for Damir Ceter, who headed home to complete the rout.
Ħamrun Spartans will now await the winner of the tie between Valletta and Tarxien Rainbows in the quarter-finals.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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