Qormi 0
St.Patrick 1
A solitary goal scored by Sandro Costa Brazilino early in the second half was enough for St Patrick to beat promotion aspirants Qormi and move to third place in the tables.
Although St Patrick are now with an outside chance of a promotion berth, their opponents Qormi were dealt a severe blow, as leaders Mqabba and Hamrun Spartans are now firm favourites of obtaining promotion amongst the elite of local football.
The Saints fully deserved this victory hitting the post on three different occasions, and showing the better ideas in midfield and in attack.
Martin Gregory's Qormi are losing much of their first round sparkle, having collected only two points from their last three outings. Surely the loss through injury of star Carmel Formosa is having its toll on the side.
The first half was played at a fast pace with Qormi having more of the ball but with the Saints more dangerous in front of goal hitting the woodwork twice in the process.
Qormi coach Martin Gregory fielded Anatole Debono and Borg Olivier in attack, with the former constantly marked by Clayton Micallef.
In Qormi's first real danger Debono was put through by Farrugia but the striker was blocked in time by a timely Micallef intervention.
Brazilian Costa Brazilino was very effective in midfield, with striker Kenneth Abela keeping the Qormi rearguard under pressure.
On 38 minutes Kenneth Abela made a good run on the right flank and unleashed a splendid shot that beat Matthew Farrugia, with the ball slamming against the crossbar. In the final minutes the Saints were again unlucky when a Gordon Failla hit the upright.
The second half started with St Patrick hitting once again the upper part of the crossbar through a Karl Micallef shot following a Qormi defensive lapse.On 53 minutes Talcevski's tame attempt was well saved by goalkeeper Cassar.
A minute later St Patrick scored what proved to be the winner. Credit goes to Kenneth Abela who did all the running on the right flank before crossing to Costa Brazilino who scored from close range.
Qormi tried to save the match introducing the powerful striker Johann Zammit instead of Anatole Debono. However the Qormi forward was not adequately served with high balls from the flanks. The only time he could do some damage was on 71 minutes when his header was brilliantly saved by Cassar
Qormi pressed hard in the last minutes with the Saints defending with all their might. Tempers flared at the end with Qormi's Zuccaro being shown the red card for dissent.