Tarxien Rainbows beat lowly Naxxar Lions 3-1 to move to second place in the table. Tarxien were worthy winners after dominating completely the first half, even taking a two goal lead. However in the second half the Lions registered a late rally scoring through a penalty and putting the Rainbows under pressure, before Tabone, one of the best on the field of play, put an end to Naxxar's hopes by scoring the third goal.

Tarxien were in a class of their own in the first half, playing constantly in their opponents half. The return of Okoro in midfield was providential for the Rainbows.

Alan Tabone was in devastating form playing behind the strikers Simon Shead and Ryan Darmanin. Steve Sadowski played a blinder on the right flank and his crosses were a constant menace to the Lions rearguard.

Tarxien pushed forward from the very first minute with Naxxar packing their defence in an attempt to keep their opponents at bay.

On four minutes Simon Shead's attempt hit the side netting, and on 11 minutes Tarxien forged ahead. Alan Tabone floated a perfect cross from the right flank and Simon Shead's header anticipated Mercieca's sortie with the ball finishing at the back of the net.

Alan Tabone went close with a dangerous cross shot, and minutes later a Ryan Darmanin shot from the edge of the area went slightly over the bar.

On 43 minutes an Alan Tabone free-kick was beautifully headed by Ryan Darmanin but the Naxxar goalkeeper saved well. Just before the break Tarxien doubled the score when from a corner action, a melee ensued in front of goal with the ball finishing in Omar Grech's path who slammed the ball home with a hard volley.

At the start of the second half Tarxien lost Okoro who was replaced by Stefan Farrugia. Relying on their two goal cushion and banking on their technical superiority demonstrated in the first half, Tarxien left the initiative to their opponents who took control of the midfield sector and pressed forward to get back in the game.

However Naxxar were never dangerous, but on 72 minutes they were awarded a penalty when Schembri handled the ball inside the area, and from the penalty spot Anizoba made no mistake.

This goal gave the Lions new lease of life, with Tarxien starting to panic especially at the back. Tarxien had some half chances in their fast breaks but had to wait till the 93 rd minute to put their minds completely at rest when substitute Melvin Pisani with his first touch of the ball, passed to Alan Tabone who crowned a good performance by scoring the third goal with a grounder.

Senglea A. 1

Hamrun S. 2

Hamrun Spartans beat Senglea in dramatic fashion yesterday with two late goals scored by veteran captain Stefan Sultana. Thus the Spartans kept up the challenge with the top four teams.

The match was rather boring in the first half but very exciting in the second half especially in the dying minutes, where a drawn result would have been a fairer result.

Play was mainly in midfield in the first half with Hamrun showing the better ideas, but with Senglea dangerous in their sorties up front with Dozie and Timothy Thomas keeping Timotic and Aaron Attard on the alert.

Scoring chances were scarce, with the Hamrun captain Stefan Sultana missing two rather easy scoring chances.

On 15 minutes Sultana missed an easy chance when he failed to hit home from close range following a good move by Meilak, and on 30 minutes he penetrated beautifully in the area but his final shot slightly missed the base of the upright.

Senglea's best chance came on 23 minutes with a dipper by Clint Caruana brilliantly saved by Michael Falzon. The same Michael Falzon was again instrumental for the Spartans when he saved his side on two consecutive occasions on shots from Dozie. Just before the break Darren Grech shot well over the bar from an ideal position.

In the second half Bonello had a good effort going wide. Steve Meilak was the Spartans' most effective player, first passing towards Mangion who shot wide from an ideal position, the same Meilak crossed to Briffa whose header was saved by the goalkeeper.

On 72 minutes Senglea appealed for a penalty when Darren Grech was tripped by the goalkeeper Falzon. However eight minutes from time Senglea took the lead when Timothy Thomas took full advantage of an Aaron Attard slip, to beat Falzon.

Four minutes later Hamrun were back on level terms when from a Galea free-kick, Timotic's header hit the upright and Sultana was on hand to slam home the rebound.

On 90 minutes Hamrun turned defeat into victory when Stefan Sultana was again deadly in his finishing when he shot home a short clearance by the Senglea goalkeeper.