Melita 1

St George’s 2

Glenn Bonello was the Saints’ hero yesterday when he scored a second half brace to give his side the third successive victory from the start of the season, putting them them on top with maximum points

The turning point of the match was Luca Martinelli’s sending off seven minutes before the break. At that stage Melita were leading their opponents by a Matthew Borg goal and looked solid enough to control the match.

But it was a completely different story in the second half as St Georges made full use of their numerical superiority exerting relentless pressure on Melita’s defence, a pressure which yielded the desired result.

St Georges were the better team in the early stages but Melita started to come to life after a cautious start. Play was mainly in midfield and scoring chances were rather scarce.

The Saints had a Ruiz effort going wide and Melita hit back with a good Julian Galea move that was finished off by Kane Micallef.

On the half hour Melita broke the deadlock when Kane Micallef’s shot was partially saved by goalkeeper Galea and Matthew Borg drove the ball home from the rebound.

Seven minutes later Melita were dealt a severe blow when Luca Martinelli was sent off after receiving his second yellow for a foul on Brazilian Ruiz.

The Saints should have equalized a minute later when a Glenn Bonello freekick was met by Anthony Bonello whose header went off target from an ideal position. Three minutes from the break Melita had a good opportunity in a fast break. Maxime Batel passed towards Julian Galea whose effort from an acute angle was well saved by Galea.

In the second period the Saints pushed everything forward and Melita had to defend for long stretches. On 52 minutes Glenn Bonello’s shot on the turn was well saved by Zahra and a minute later Gary Inguanez headed slightly over the bar from a very good position.

The Saints finally leveled the score on 57 minutes when the Melita defence was caught napping and Glenn Bonello had all the time to trap the ball and place it behind a bewildered Zahra.

Melita never recovered as the Saints were all over them in search of the winner. Glenn Bonallo headed wide following a corner action and fifteen minutes from time the same Glenn Bonello obtained the winner with a good personal move and a precise lob that gave Zahra no chance to save.

Melita – K. Zahra, L. Martinelli, G. Gribbon, L. Micallef (T. Terpougoff), A. Caruana Scicluna, K. Micallef (S. Galea), M. Borg, K. Vella Petroni (M. Mamo), J. Galea, J. Mifsud, M. Batel

St. George’s – T. Galea, A. Bonello, D. Zahra, E. Sevasta, G. Inguanez, E. Amaira, B. Fenech (T. Farrugia), J. Ruiz, G. Bonello (L. Bonne), C. Grech (R. Sell), L. Stivala.

Referee – Alan Mario Sant