Naxxar Lions booked their place in the Meridianbet FA Trophy semi-finals on Wednesday night, though they were forced to dig deep to overcome a resilient Żurrieq side 2-1 after extra-time.

The Lions appeared set to dominate early on, breaking the deadlock after just seven minutes. Vinicius showcased his pace by sprinting clear of the defense before unleashing a powerful strike that left goalkeeper Jurgen Borg with no chance. Naxxar continued to mount pressure throughout the first half, nearly doubling their lead in the 28th minute when Vitinho’s fierce drive was acrobatically saved by Borg.

The missed opportunities began to loom large in the second half. Shortly after the restart, Gabriel Costa had a golden chance to extend the lead, but his header sailed over the crossbar. Naxxar’s inability to clinicaly finish allowed Żurrieq back into the contest. In the 74th minute, a defensive lapse following a cross saw the ball fall to Wyatt Jon Harding, whose deflected effort found the back of the net to level the score.

Naxxar almost snatched a winner in the dying moments of regulation time, but Borg was once again the hero for Żurrieq, tipping Daniel Letherby’s long-range effort around the post to force the match into an additional thirty minutes.

The Lions maintained their offensive intensity in extra-time. They were inches away from scoring in the 94th minute when Joao Pedro saw his header crash off the woodwork. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 114th minute; Vinicius Ferreira was fouled inside the penalty area, and Vitinho stepped up to calmly convert the spot-kick.

With this hard-fought victory, Naxxar Lions advance to a highly anticipated semi-final clash against Gżira United.