Qormi 1

Tarxien R 0

Qormi were back in the groove yesterday, after their reverse against Marsaxlokk, to make a bold step towards salvation, thanks to a late stunning strike by Jorge Pereira from a direct free kick.

This win, albeit in scrappy fashion, takes them eight points clear above Mqabba (who play Mosta today), in the place above the bottom, as Qormi consolidate top spot in the Relegation Pool.

Buoyed by their win against Mqabba in the previous match, Tarxien looked capable of taking at least a draw from this encounter but were denied towards the end. They themselves were culpable of some profligacy, especially through Bueno in the second half.

Qormi had Roderick Sammut, Kris Thackray and Bello-Osagie back in their starting line-up but were bereft of the injured Mirarchi and named Matthew Bartolo among the substitutes.

Despite their disappointing season, both teams showed willingness to win the game, but for all their genuine efforts, we witnessed a largely sterile encounter.

In fact a tepid first half was devoid of real goalmouth action, as the sides stifled each other once they went over the halfway line. Tarxien were the first to threaten when a deep Mayasi cross from the left fell to De Castro but Bueno arrived fractionally late on his cross shot.

Qormi also squandered their chance on the other end, towards the quarter hour. Chetcuti, standing in front of the Tarxien goal, lofted the ball on Pereira’s testing cross.

On 19 minutes, Pereira’s free kick had the power but lacked precision.

Tarxien suffered a setback just before the break when the injured Anonam was forced to be substituted, making way for Karl Pulo.

Luckily, things improved slightly in the second half, although the quality of football remained scrappy. Both sides were giving away possession too cheaply as the opposition tried to exploit. On 51 minutes, Costa played the ball wide to Bueno who advanced on the right but his shot was turned into a corner by keeper Matthew Farrugia. From the resultant corner, Bueno headed wastefully wide.

The teams went close of breaking the deadlock past the hour. Pereira’s cross from the left fell to Joseph Farrugia who sent the ball towards the middle but Chetcuti’s header was blocked by Mintoff.

A tit-for-tat response by Tarxien had Bueno picking De Castro’s cross, he avoided Buhagiar and Kouadio but sent his effort narrowly wide.

Bello-Osagie failed to put his diagonal shot on target, before Qormi put in Matthew Bartolo for Buhagiar on 67 minutes.

On 70 minutes, Pulo pounced on Bueno’s cross from the byeline but fouled the keeper in the process.

But when the match looked heading for a draw, Qormi struck the fatal blow with seven minutes remaining. Jorge Pereira put his powerful free kick over the Tarxien wall and the ball landed behind keeper Vella to stun Tarxien.

Although they pressed their opponents in the final frantic minutes, the Rainbows failed to summon enough efforts to save anything from the match.

Qormi M. Farrugia, R. Sammut, J. Chetcuti (G. Chircop), J. Farrugia, R. Buhagiar (M. Bartolo), J. Bondin, J. Pereira, K. Thackray, T. Caruana, A. Bello-Osagie (L. Sciberras), V. Kouadio

Coach S. Azzopardi

Tarxien R N. Vella, S. Sadowski, C. Mamo, R. Costa, J. Mayasi (A. Carabott), M. Tanti (S. Giglio), D. Bueno, L. De Castro, O. Anonam (K. Pulo), R. Mintoff, J. Grioli

Coach P. Curmi

Referee K. Azzopardi

Asst.refs A. Grech, D. Sultana

4th official: A. Arciola

Scorer J. Pereira 83

Yellow cards K. Pulo, J. Farrugia

Player of the match Jorge Pereira (Qormi)

TMI top 3 1. R. Costa 2. K. Thackray 3. T. Caruana

Attendance 693