Qormi climbed out of the bottom with their first win of the season, hitting three goals against troubled St Andrews, like them winless before yesterday's kick off.

It's always easier to be gracious when your team has ended a run of three successive defeats, but the Qormi coach and players were in no doubt just how important this result was for the remainder of their laborious season.

Jesmond Zerafa's side were painfully sluggish out of the blocks in the initial stages but rediscovered some vigour and verve after taking the lead midway through the first half. Goals from Alessio Cassar and Alex Nilsson gave them a two-goal lead at halftime, and Nilsson added a third through a penalty soon after the hour.

Quality was in short supply for most of the match but the looseness of the game meant both sides got chances.

The Saints' defending had again been woeful and it was not hard to understand why Wayne Attard's side has conceded 14 goals already in the opening four matches.

St Andrews looked quick and direct from the outset. By the sixth minute Guillaumier ran for Farrugia's pass down the right. His shot was fumbled by Qormi keeper Vella and Sidibe cleared.

Past the quarter hour a Camilleri grounder from some distance narrowly missed the target. On 20 minutes the Qormi keeper was forced to stretch himself backwards to tip an Nwoko insidious cross shot over the bar and into a corner.

Qormi, who omitted Emerson Vella and Clifford Gauci from their starting line-up, had rarely looked threatening by then but went close to making the breakthrough two minutes later when Magro's drilling shot from 25metres out rebounded off the post. Hardly a minute later Qormi defender Alessio Cassar was allowed enough space to control the ball, on an Agius low cross from the left, and beat St Andrews' keeper Rossetto with a delicate chip.

Qormi doubled their lead towards the half hour. Alex Nilsson got the better of Andreis' challenge as he advanced from the left, on Micallef's through ball, and scored with a low diagonal drive at the far post.

The Saints fight-back came from a Williams corner and Guillaumier's goalbound effort which was blocked by the Qormi defence to preserve a comfortable two-goal lead by halftime.

St Andrews introduced forward Chris  De Nguidjol for the second half and turned the ball around with some fluency. But it was always Qormi who remained more potent going forward, driven by the poaching qualities of their striker Alex Nilsson, who constantly ruffled St Andrews' feathers.

He tested keeper Rossetti with a powerful shot towards the hour and again went past Johnston on the left but his low shot was blocked by the Saints keeper before procuring a penalty on 63 minutes, when pulled down by Johnston as he tried to go past Andreis inside the St Andrews area. Nilsson himself tucked it away to secure Qormi's first league win so early in the match.