Msida went on top of the relegation pool when they easily disposed of Lija Athletic in a match dominated for long stretches by Msida.

Msida could have easily wrapped the match in the first half were they dictated matters with Rodrick Bajada in splendid form in midfield, well supported by Kevin Sammut who covered acres all over the ground.

Up front Daniel Nwoke and Johann Zammit combined well but found in Simon Agius a brilliant opponent. In fact the Lija goalkeeper kept his side in the game with a string of fine saves.

Porceddu was not at his best yesterday, and was many a-times out of the midst of the action.

Lija were very disappointing in especially in the first half, in which they were always on the receiving end. Barry and Camileri were blotted out out of the game by the Msida defenders led by Manuel Boni.

Gordon Camenzuli was good in midfield but he kept the ball too much, always finishing in his opponents’ trap.

The match started with a good Rodrick Bajada run from his own half, with his final shot slightly missing the base of the upright. Msida were on rampant form in these early stages and Sammut and Nwoke had a good move foiled by Lanzon.

On seven minutes Simon Agius made his first save blocking a fierce drive by Nwoke. Minutes later Bajada floated a good pass Johan Zammit who first timed over the bar. Msida held full control of midfield with Bajada and Sammut above the rest.

Lanzon saved the day for his side with a timely tackle and Simon Agius brilliantly tipped into a corner an Nwoke dipper on 14 minutes.

On 23 minutes Msida reaped the fruit for their superiority when they broke the deadlock. Simon Agius could only partially save a good shot on the turn by Johann Zammit, and Daniel Nwoke was n hand to score from the rebound. Sixty seconds later Simon Agius saved brilliantly on three occasions in the same actions blocking close range shots from Zammit twice, and Nwoke.

On 29 minutes Agius saved again this time blocking a first timer by Daniel Theuma following a Porceddu corner kick. Lija’s first sortie inside Msida’s box came on 32 minutes with goalkeeper Borg diving in Barry’s feet to block.

However Agius was again called in action five minutes from the break when he dived to save a deflected Kevin Sammut shot.

Lija had a better start in the second half with a good Daniel Scerri move who passed to Barry whose low cross was not met by Gatt. Msida gradually lost all their first half flair and Lija started to show the better ideas. Onn 67 minutes Lija almost equalised when a Lanzon header beat Omar Borg but Cachia headed away the danger from the fatal line.

Msida woke from their sleep and Boni missed in front of goal with Agius blocking his weak shot. On 73 minutes Msida seemed to have put the issue beyond doubts when Daniel Nwoke’s point blank shot beat Agius but Daniel Scerri managed to block on the goal line.

Two minutes later Msida did manage to put their minds at rest with a great goal from Rodrick Bajada who beat Agius from the edge of the area.

The match was now won and lost, Msida controlled with ease the last moments of the match even going close to scoring further goals.