St Joseph’s FC beat Lincoln Red Imps in Pepe Reyes Cup ahead of Thursday’s Play-off

St Joseph’s FC claimed the first trophy of the season with a hard-fought match against last season’s league champions, Lincoln Red Imps, in the Pepe Reyes Memorial Cup. The match, played at the Victoria Stadium, was hampered by the lack of a television rights agreement due to disagreements between clubs, leaving only a small crowd present at the 9 p.m. Sunday kick-off to enjoy the encounter.
St Joseph’s, who last season beat Lincoln Red Imps in their first two encounters, aimed for a repeat performance. They took the lead through Sanchez Lopez in the 42nd minute, and it looked as though the Blues would carry their advantage into the halftime break. However, Lincoln Red Imps, fielding a much-changed side from the one that played against Dinamo Minsk last Thursday, leveled the score through the ever-present Ethan Britto in the 45th minute.
At halftime, Lincoln Red Imps introduced new signing Pozo, giving him his debut for the club. With a crucial Conference League play-off match against Larne on Thursday, where they will play their home leg in Faro, Lincoln was put to the test by a strong St Joseph’s side. St Joseph’s were intent on showing that they are serious contenders for the league title once again this season.
Although there were chances at both ends, with Tjay De Barr coming close to breaking the deadlock—only to be denied by Banda, who made a good stop against his Gibraltar international colleague—the match ended level.
A penalty shootout was required to decide this year’s winners. After the first three penalties were converted by both sides, a failure to score in the final two of the initial five penalties led the shootout into sudden death. The decisive moment came from Paul Curado, who secured St Joseph’s first trophy of the season.
Lincoln Red Imps now turn their attention to their third match in seven days, as they prepare for their Conference League play-off against Larne. Having rested some key players this weekend, Javi Munoz’s side will be eager to return to the group stages of the competition after an early exit last season. Larne, who were beaten by St Joseph’s 1-0 on aggregate in the 2022 Conference League, will also play their home match away from their usual ground. They will have the added advantage of seeing Lincoln forced to play in Portugal due to current restrictions on the license to play beyond the third round in Gibraltar, meaning Lincoln Red Imps will play both legs away from their home crowd.

Images by Christian Correa / C Correa Photography