St Patrick 1

Mqabba 2

Mqabba beat a depleted St Patrick to consolidate fourth place in the table and keep in the hunt with front runners St George’s and Marsa. It was a well-deserved victory, with Mqabba scoring the two goals in a two-minute burst, after the Saints had taken a surprise lead.

The match was very interesting especially in the second half, where the Saints failed to save the match despite their last gasp rally.

Mqabba were by far the better team in the first 45 minutes, creating several scoring chances in the process. The Saints, with a depleted formation, had their good moments in midfield with Costa Brazilino showing some neat touches. However the Saints were absent up front with Thomas Caruana and Carl Micallef completely subdued, and the Mqabba goalkeeper Kris Calleja was never called in action.

Mqabba’s first chance came on 12 minutes when John Paul Muscat, once again one of his side’s best, came face to face with the opposing goalkeeper after receiving from Psaila, but his shot was blocked by Mintoff.

Mqabba’s best chance came just before the half time whistle when Anywanna crossed to John Paul Muscat whose shot was partially blocked by the goalkeeper with the ball finishing against the base of the upright.

The second half started with a good effort from Albert Busuttil from the edge of the area but Mintoff was on the alert to save.

On 56 minutes St Patrick surprisingly took the lead, when a Cassar corner was fumbled by Calleja, and Carl Micallef was on hand to score. Mqabba were back on level terms four minutes later when John Paul Muscat’s first attempt was blocked by Mintoff but from the rebound, the same Muscat made no mistake.

Two minutes later Mqabba went ahead when Albert Busuttil headed home a Pierre Grima corner, with the ball hitting the crossbar before finishing at the back of the net.

The Saints introduced Failla and Gilbert Scerri, and had some good moments pressing hard for the equaliser but the closest they could get was on 82 minutes when a Costa Brazilino dipper was well saved by Calleja. On their part Mqabba could have sealed the issue but substitute Malia hesitated in front of goal and his effort was blocked by the brilliant Mintoff.

Senglea A 0

Marsa 0

Marsa missed another golden opportunity to go on top of the table when they could only draw against Senglea, even missing a penalty in the dying minutes of the match.

The match was a drab affair with scoring occasions very rare. On their part Senglea missed a good opportunity near the end with a Lawrence Attard cleared off the line.

Senglea made some changes from their last outing, with Kenneth Abela relegated to the substitute’s bench. For Marsa, captain Slavchev played in a midfield role with Bencini at the back.

The first half was a bore to watch with Marsa enjoying the lions’ share but never really testing goalkeeper Attard. Their best chance came on 38 minutes with Meilaq heading incredibly wide from close range.

The second half was slightly better with Senglea going near with a Marlow header. On 55 minutes a Gera header missed the target, whilst on the other end a Thomas shot was blocked by goalkeeper Attard.

Six minutes from time Marsa had a golden opportunity to forge ahead when Martin was floored by Lawrence Attard, but from the resultant penalty, goalkeeper Attard saved Martin’s attempt, with the same Martin blasting high the rebound.

Senglea’s best chance came three minutes later when a Lawrence Attard header was blocked off the line by a Marsa defender, with the Senglea players appealing for a penalty.