Mosta 2
Lija Ath 0
Mosta scored two second half goals to beat Lija Athletic and move to third place in the standings, six points behind league leaders Balzan Youths.
For Mosta it was a return to winning ways after their disappointing defeat against leaders Balzan, as they made a double over Lija. For Lija this could be the end of their promotion dreams as they lost a direct and very important clash. Lija were slightly better in the first half, missed a golden opportunity soon after Mosta’s opening goal, but then they faded away completely.
The first half was very disappointing with both sides unable to produce decent football. To be fair Lija, without their captain Daniel Scerri were more aggressive than their opponents and had a good chance through Antoine Sacco whose header was blocked by Mosta goalkeeper Debono. The same Debono saved a low shot from Dzanovic.
The Blues were without William Camenzuli, and striker Simon Shead was on the substitute’s bench. For Mosta Jonathan Holland was making his debut, with the Blues’ only attempt coming late in the first half with a Mark Briggs freekick going wide.
Things did not improve much on the resumption with Mosta however having more of the ball with Ryan Deguara showing some good flashes on the right flank. On 53 minutes his good run was not met by Gilbert Martin who failed to connect, and minutes later another good cross from Ryan Deguara was headed over the bar by Aboulezz. On the other end the Mosta defence was caught napping but Ayrton Buhagiar’s header left much to be desired.
On 65 minutes Buhagiar missed a sitter when Bogdanovic was dispossessed of the ball inside his own area by Andre Scicluna who crossed towards Buhagiar who failed to score from two metres.
On 70 minutes Mosta took the lead when Gilbert Martin darted inside the area and crossed towards Simon Shead who slammed the ball home from close range. But two minutes later Lija missed a golden opportunity to draw level when a Potezica scorcher was somehow saved by Debono and from the rebound Antoine Sacco failed to score with an open goal at his mercy.
Ten minutes from time Mosta sealed the issue with the second goal when the other substitute Victor Osobu received from Martin and beat Mintoff with a low shot from just inside the area.
In stoppage time Lija should have pulled one back but Borg St. John’s effort was cleared off the goal line by Adrian Borg.
Easy for Melita with first half goals
Melita 2
Msida SJ 0
Melita chalked another win, thanks to two first half goals against sorry Msida side, who remain anchored at the bottom of the table.
The win puts Melita in a comfortable mid-table position within striking distance of the promotion aspirants. Melita were in full control of the proceedings .
Without Gribbon and Julian Galea, Melita surged forward from the very first minute and after three minutes Emilio Carnago San Pedro made his way inside the area but his shot skimmed the crossbar.
Melita took a deserved lead on 18 minutes when a Nigel Rizzo scorcher from well outside the area, completely deceived goalkeeper Alden with the ball finishing at the back of the net.
Ten minutes later Melita had another good move with Nigel Rizzo passing towards Nicolo Baldacchino whose shot was well saved by Alden. Some minutes later Msida had their first attempt at goal with a Chris Zammit shot going inches wide.
Six minutes from time, Melita doubled the score when Luke Micallef dribbled his way inside the area to beat Jeremy Alden for a well taken goal.
The second half was less intense as Melita were in full command easily controlling their opponents who went close on 48 minutes when a Valdo Alinhio freekick slightly missed the base of the upright.
Melita were unlucky on 63 minutes when a Nigel Rizzo header was well saved by Alden and from the rebound Michael Cachia’s header slammed against the crossbar. Luke Micallef almost scored his second goal of the day when he again beat a couple of defenders but this time his final effort was well saved by Alden.