Tarxien Rainbows produced the upset of the MFA Jubilee Cup quarter-finals, eliminating Premier League Top Six side Marsaxlokk on penalties (5-4) after a goalless 90 minutes. The dramatic victory books the Rainbows a semi-final clash against Valletta on Wednesday.

Entering the tie as heavy underdogs—sitting at the bottom of the Premier League table—Jacques Scerri’s Tarxien side showed resilience and discipline against a Marsaxlokk team widely expected to advance. Both coaches deployed full-strength line-ups, underscoring the importance of the one-off knockout competition.

Marsaxlokk started brightly, with José Arias curling an effort narrowly wide inside the first minute. The early exchanges were marked by controversy when Tarxien used their first Football Video Support (FVS) challenge after a foul on Sheldon Mizzi, but the referee upheld the initial yellow card decision.

Despite Marsaxlokk’s control, led by captain Nikolai Muscat and dangerous free-kicks from Leandro Aguirre, Tarxien grew into the contest. Rainbows striker Wallisson forced a fine save from Pablo Sanchez with a powerful header and later sent a long-range attempt just over. Aguirre went closest for the Southseasiders just before the break, rattling the outside of the post.

FVS controversy in second half

The second half saw both sides intensify their efforts and deploy their remaining FVS challenges. Marsaxlokk appealed for a retaliation incident early on, which was dismissed. The biggest drama came in the 66th minute when Marsaxlokk thought they had broken the deadlock through Marcelo Barros, only for Tarxien to successfully challenge the goal via FVS, proving Arias had fouled Mizzi in the build-up, and the goal was disallowed.

As the match remained deadlocked, both teams made substitutions with the inevitable penalty shoot-out in mind. The contest concluded 0-0, leading directly to penalties. Tarxien showed perfect composure, converting all five spot-kicks. Marsaxlokk’s fate was sealed when Leandro Aguirre missed his attempt, sending the underdogs through in a famous victory.

⚽ Match Statistics

Penalty Sequence:

| Marsaxlokk | Tarxien | Score |

| :— | :— | :— |

| Portelli (Goal) | De Oliveira (Goal) | 1-1 |

| Aguirre (Miss) | Tavares (Goal) | 1-2 |

| Muscat (Goal) | Santos (Goal) | 2-3 |

| Dodo (Goal) | Grima (Goal) | 3-4 |

| Fred (Goal) | De Barros (Goal) | 4-5 |

Lineups:

• TARXIEN RAINBOWS: M. Spiteri; W. Filipe, J. Quitongo (63 E. De Oliveira), G. Vella, S. Mizzi, L. Borg (63 K. Gatt), K. Donsu (89 T. Santos), R. Tavares, Wallisson (84 O. De Barros), A. Vella, M. Grima.
• MARSAXLOKK: P. Sanchez; E. Pepe, N. Muscat, N. Portelli, J. Ghio (83 E. Attard), Fred, J. Arias (90 A. Mayok), J. Vella, J. Corbalan, L. Aguirre, M. Barros (83 Dodo).

Referee: Slobodan Petrovic.

Yellow Cards: Ghio, Borg.