Tarxien Rainbows are now surely one of the favourites for a Premiership berth after beating Marsa in a direct clash to move to second place behind leaders St George’s.

For Marsa, this was the third consecutive defeat, as the Redblues seem to have lost their winning touch.

The result is a bit harsh on Marsa, having enjoyed the lion’s share of the exchanges, even missing a penalty mid-way through the first half.

Tarxien could be heading for their second consecutive promotion after yesterday’s result, however their display yesterday was surely not one of their best. Their goalkeeper Curmi was their best player, with Da Silva playing an important role in midfield.

Tarxien took an immediate lead after only three minutes with a rather lucky goal. Kurt Coleiro’s cross shot hit Slavchev with the ball finishing at the back of the net despite Spiteri’s and the same Slavchev’s attempts to clear.

Marsa without regular goalkeeper Casha, and central defender Bencini, took control of the match after this setback. Tarxien defended for long stretches and operated with fast breaks through Coleiro and Tabone.

Marsa went close on 12 minutes when a Meilaq header following a Slavchev free-kick was tipped by Curmi against the crossbar. Seven minutes later an Alan Tabone freekick missed the base of the upright.

Marsa’s best chance came on 26 minutes when Gilbert Martin was brought down by Zammit and Da Silva with referee Borg opting for the penalty. However Slavchev’s central drive from the resultant penalty was blocked by Curmi.

Just before the break Curmi was again on the alert saving a dangerous curling freekick by Gilbert Martin.

The second half was on the same pattern of the first, with Marsa on the offensive and with Tarxien controlling at the back.

On 51 minutes Gilbert Martin tired his luck from the edge of the area but Curmi was again outstanding denying a certain goal.

Three minutes later in a rare Tarxien attack, a George Cutajar cross-shot landed on the crossbar with Spiteri completely deceived by the flight of the ball.

On 60 minutes a Gilbert Martin cross was headed slightly over the bar by defender Vella.

As time elapsed Molzahn’s boys lost much of their flair and had to resort to solo actions especially through their best player Gilbert Martin.

However this made life much easier for the Tarxien defenders who withstood the pressure and were capable to give the knock out blow seven minutes from time.

Alan Tabone won a ball in midfield and passed to the unmarked Simon Shead who had an easy task shooting home the second goal with a perfect grounder.