Naxxar L 0

Vittoriosa S 2

Vittoriosa notched their first victory of the season when they beat Naxxar Lions thanks to first half goals. The match was well balanced but Vittoriosa took the chances that came their way, whilst Naxxar missed some easy chances, mainly through Darren Falzon who also missed from the penalty spot.

The match faded away completely in the second half with Vittoriosa protecting their two-goal cushion, and with Naxxar finishing the match with ten players.

Naxxar Lions had a better start with Bellia’s close range effort saved by Vella. On ten minutes Darren Falzon missed an easy header in front of goal and ten minutes later the same Falzon brought the best out of Vella from a distance.

On 23 minutes Vittoriosa forged ahead against the run of play when a Marcelo Pereira cross from the left was met by Gary Muir who headed home from close range.

On 38 minutes the same Pereira tested Azzopardi from long range and the Naxxar custodian was again called in action to block a Gary Muir freekick. A minute before the break Vittoriosa Stars doubled the score. A Gary Muir cross from the right was partially cleared by Sunday Eboh and Marcelo Pereira was on hand to hammer the ball home.

Just before the break Naxxar had a golden opportunity when Pablo Doffo was floored by Samir Arab, but from the penalty spot Darren Falzon blasted the ball well over the bar.

The match practically lost all its flair in the second half as Vittoriosa controlled with relative ease Naxxar’s feeble reaction. To make matters worse for the Lions they were reduced to ten men with twenty minutes to go when Mattia Del Negro received a second booking.

Naxxar L: J. Azzopardi, L. Micallef, J. Vella, S. Eboh, K. Drago, J. Debono (M. Del Negro 18 min), V. Bellia (G. Camilleri 65 min), P. Doffo, D. Falzon, A. Chimizie Ewrun, I. Serino Junior (A. Rocha Da Silva 73 min)

Vittoriosa S: J.M. Vella, Samir Arab, M. Buttigieg, L. Vella Critien, R. Dos Santos, R. Brincat, A. Spiteri, S. Grech (M. Tabone 61 min), M. Pereira (M. Barbara 85 min), G. Muir, L. Micallef (Siraj Arab 78 min)

Referee: Marco Borg

Pieta H 6

Dingli S 1

Pieta Hotspur had an impressive start to the new season as they demolished ten-man Dingli in a one sided affair. In actual fact Dingli even finished the match with nine players as they even had their goalkeeper sent off on 90 minutes.

The turning point of the match came on twelve minutes when Pieta took the lead through a penalty and Dingli had a player sent off. From then onwards it was plain sailing for Pieta as they cruised past their opponents displaying some first class stuff.

Refalo, Zarate and Mallia were in good form for the winners with Cameroon import Raphaele Alain Kooh Sohna having an outstanding performance.

For Dingli it was a really disappointing start. The sending off of Rodrick Briffa so early in the match proved to be too much for the Swallows.

Pieta were in control from the early stages and on twelve minutes newcomer Raphaele Kooh Sohna surged inside the penalty and was floored by Rodrick Briffa when all alone in front of goal.

Referee Azzopardi awarded the penalty and sent off the Dingli defender. From the penalty spot Quilin Refalo made no mistake. Three minutes later Pieta doubled the score when a Larson Mallia corner was partially cleared by the Dingli defence and Quilin Refalo was on hand to hammer home from the edge of the area.

Dingli were in a disarray and Pieta went close a third on 22 minutes when Grech passed towards Kooh Sohna who fired slightly wide. Two minutes later Dingli goalkeeper Dunstan Zarb made a great save when he blocked a point blank effort from Larson Mallia.

On 29 minutes Larson Mallia passed towards the impressive Kooh Sohna who was denied by another breath taking save by Zarb.

From the resultant corner Ismael Grech’s header was blocked by Zarb with the ball finishing against the post.

On 35 minutes Dingli pulled one back against the run of play. Leontiev Konda passed towards Senior David who slotted low past Montfort. Dingli almost obtained the equalizer minutes later with a long range effort from Konda going wide.

But just before the break Kooh Sohna made it three with a fine solo run and a great finish for a spectacular goal.

On the resumption Pieta scored a fourth goal on 55 minutes when Jonathan Zarate scored a gem of a goal direct from a freekick. The match slowed a lot in the second half with Pieta still in full command. Eleven minutes from time Pieta scored their fifth goal when Cleaven Frendo ripped the Dingli defence apart and passed towards Larson Mallia who easily slotted the ball home.

In the last minute Dingli’s misery was complete when Dunstan Zarb pulled Quilin Refalo and the Dingli goalkeeper was sent off. From the penalty spot Cleaven Frendo beat Leontiev Konda to score the sixth and final goal.

Pieta H: M. Montfort, C. Spiteri (A. Spiteri 64 min), Q. Refalo, R. Kooh Sohna (J. Pisani 73 min), K. Cesare (T. Agius 56 min), L. Mallia, C. Cassar, J. Zarate, I. Grech, L. Mutasi Mba, C. Frendo.

Dingli S: D. Zarb, K. Pace, R. Briffa, R. Micallef (P. Ciantar 80 min), L. Konda, K. Formosa, J. David (D. Cilia 88 min), B. Guga, E. Farrugia, E. Grech, L. Micallef (A. Portelli 59 min)

Referee:Adrian Azzopardi