Rabat A 1

St Andrews 0

An injury time winner scored by Adam Smeir was the highlight of this boring encounter, an encounter which disappointed those present, especially the numerous St Andrews supporters who lost their first competitive match in their stadium.

This result puts Rabat in second place a mere point behind leaders Pieta Hotspurs.

Both teams were rather cautious in the opening stages, with practically no shots at goal in the first twenty minutes. The Saints had their first attempt when Aldinho Goncalves almost deceived Rabat goalkeeper with a curling shot that missed the upright by a whisker.

On the other end the Saints goalkeeper Daniel Balzan had to rush out of position to stop Arlindo Rustemi who was well served by Ryan Micallef.

St Andrew’s who were playing their first competitive match in their stadium, had more possession of the ball, but just before the break the Magpies went close with a long range effort from Ryan Micallef.

The second half started on the same pattern of the first one, with play mainly in midfield. However on the hour Rabat created their best move with Rustemi passing towards Ryan Micallef who shot wide with only Balzan to beat.

This was practically the best and last chance of the match which dragged on till the final seconds when against all expectations Rabat scored the winner.

It was a well taken goal by Adam Smeir who managed to keep possession of the ball to beat Balzan with a precise lob with the ball hitting the crossbar before finishing at the back of the net.

Rabat A: S. Mintoff, N. Caruana, C. Schembri, J. Cornforth, J. Caruana, A. Smeir, A. Rustemi (W. Caushi), D. Falzon, R. Micallef, D. Azzopardi (Y. Cauchi), C. Gauci.

St. Andrew’s: D. Balzan, B. Diacono, N. Chetcuti, J. Bugeja, B. Said, J. Briscoe White, A. Nakuaa, F. Alkanua, M. Calleja (M. Grima), R. Previ (N. Vella Petroni), V. Aldinho Goncalves.

Referee: Carl Frendo Cumbo.