Mosta 2

Qormi 0

Two consecutive wins have lifted Mosta from the abyss of relegation. Yesterday’s victory against Qormi, courtesy of two second half goals, after Qormi had a player sent off early in the second half and had also missed a penalty, takes them into third place of the Relegation Pool, a point above Tarxien Rainbows and two above Mqabba.

This was another flat performance by Qormi after their win against Mqabba. Yesterday, they were missing their most creative force in midfield Joseph Farrugia, through injury, as well as the striking force of Bello-Osagie through suspension.

Mosta, tried to make the best of the circumstances by holding to possession, taking a more cautious, at times robust, approach and allowing their opponents little comfort on the ball.

In fact scoring opportunities remained much at a premium during the first half, with Mosta rarely troubling Matthew Farrugia in the Qormi goal.

Obiefule, scorer of four goals in the previous match against Marsaxlokk, was starved of service as Qormi stifled the supply from Gilbert Martin and Dyson Falzon to good extent.

Not that Qormi were much better, although they went close with a couple of free kicks by Jorge Pereira and another shot by the Brazilian from the edge of the area that skimmed the post.

Before the half was over, Qormi were forced to substitute their defender Bondin who was injured in a collision with Obiefule.

Luckily, things improved in the second half, although play remained mostly chaotic as Mosta put in Raimy for Mirceta and the match soon took twists in either favour. On 48 minutes Martin foraged down the left flank, went inside the Qormi area but put his shot over.

Caruana’s inswinging free kick for Qormi four minutes later was tipped over the bar by the Mosta keeper Debono and on 55 minutes, Qormi were down to ten men. Luke Sciberras marred a good performance with a reckless tackle on Tisbi in midfield that earned him a straight red card.

Three minutes short of the hour, Qormi were awarded a rather debatable penalty when Pereira bundled himself into Tisbi inside the area. The Mosta keeper though produced a smart save to hold out Thackray’s shot.

Mosta also won a penalty on 65 minutes after Sammut fouled Martin inside the area. This time Obinne Obiefule beat keeper Farrugia to give Mosta the lead.

Suddenly Qormi were back pedalling. They put in Wellman for Sammut and went close with a Chircop shot just wide and a Caruana powerful strike that keeper Debono turned superbly into a corner.

But with eight minutes remaining, Mosta could have sealed the issue. Obiefule’s cross was not cleared by the Qormi defence, the ball fell to the unmarked Bajada who hesitated too long and keeper Farrugia blocked.

That gave Qormi only brief relief though. On the stroke of full time, Kurt Magro darted past his opponent on the right and unleashed a diagonal shot past the helpless keeper Farrugia to make sure of the points.

Deep into five minutes of added time, the Mosta keeper denied Qormi a consolation goal, repelling Caruana’s shot to end up his side’s hero on the night.

Mosta J. Debono, A. Borg, F. Tisbi, Y. Ossok, A. Cini, J. Bajada, K. Magro, P. Mirceta (F. Raimy), D. Falzon (F. Aboulezz), G. Martin (I. Zammit), O. Obiefule

Coach S. D’Amato

Qormi M. Farrugia, R. Sammut (S. Wellman), M. Bartolo, J. Chetcuti (R. Buhagiar), L. Sciberras, K. Scicluna, J. Bondin (G. Chircop), J. Pereira, K. Thackray, T. Caruana, V. Kouadio

Coach S. Azzopardi

Referee F. Zammit

Asst.refs P. Apap, R. Vella

4th official M. Borg

Scorers O. Obiefule 65 pen, K. Magro 90

Yellow cards P. Mirceta, F. Tisbi, R. Sammut, G. Martin, A. Borg

Red card L. Sciberras

Player of the match J. Debono (Mosta)

TMI top 3 1. J. Debono 2. T. Caruana 3. G. Martin

Attendance 1,093