Da Silva Pereira leads Hibernians to fifth consecutive win

Hibernians    3

Pieta H.         1

Hibernians: H. Bonello, R. Gomes, R. Soares, T. Tabone Desira, A. Cohen, B. Kristensen, C. Failla, CJ. Lima, A. Agius, E. Luis dos Santos (J. Degabriele), J. Da Silva Pereira.

Pieta H.: D. Cassar, C. Attard, C. Grech, L. Fortunato dos Santos, J. Pisani, C. Cassar, N. Tasic (G. Da Silva), T. Agius, C. D Frances, R. X. Zacarias, R. Rodrigues da Silva.

Referee: S. Spiteri.

Asst refs: L. Portelli, D. Sultana.

4th official: A. Azzopardi.

Scorers: J. da Silva Pereira 2, C. Failla, X. Zacarias

Yellow cards: N. Tasic,

Player of the match: J. da Silva Pereira

TMI Top 3: 1. J. Da Silva Pereira, 2. E. Luis dos Santos, 3. L. Fortunato dos Santos

Attendance: 727

Jorge da Silva Pereira led Hibernians to a comfortable 3-1 victory over bottom club Pieta Hotspurs yesterday.

The in form Brazilian striker scored two goals to pave the way for his club´s win and become the Premier League´s top scorer on five goals. Another goal by Failla midway through the second half made the victory more resounding even if Zacarias pulled one back for the Hotspurs ten minutes from the end.

The Paolites have thus extended their winning run to five games at the start of the season and now enjoy a comfortable three-point lead over Birkirkara at the top of the standings.

As for Pieta, they remain anchored to the bottom with just one point, but they simply collapsed in the second half yesterday after a most encouraging first half.

In the first period, the Paolites went all out in search of an early goal but could not get past a solid-looking Pieta defence in which Leonardo Fortunato dos Santos was outstanding.

The Paolites were so much inclined to attack that they left their backdoor wide open at times, but Pieta failed to profit from two most favourable occasions which came the way of Zacarias.

For these lapses, the Hotspurs were made to pay dearly as the in form Jorge da Silva Pereira struck just before the interval to give the Paolites the lead.

In the second half, Hibs maintained their domination and they turned their superiority into goals – another from Pereira and the other coming from Failla.

That goal from Zacarias not only was a gift goal from the Hibs defence, but it proved to be little consolation for the Hotspurs.

Hibernians were dominant right from the start and by the sixth minute, they already went close twice through shots from da Silva Pereira and Failla.

On the 12th minute, from a good Cohen cross, it was Pereira who headed wide from a favourable position.

Four minutes later, it was goalie Cassar who blocked a Pereira shot with an extended foot.

At the other end, in a fast breakaway, Frances set Rafael Xavier Zacarias who outsped the Hibs defenders only to see his effort blocked by the onrushing Henry Bonello.

In the 22nd minute Hibs replied with a Cohen pass to Pereira, but the Paolites´striker´s effort went just wide.

In the 33rd minute, Kristensen´s pass to Andrei Agius was short. Zacarias pounced on the loose ball and advanced unhindered, but once again saw Bonello blocking his rather feeble effort.

At the other end, in the 37th minute, it was Jackson Lima who tested goalie Cassar, but the Pieta goalie was equal to the task and turned to corner in style.

A minute from half time, Pereira set Luis dos Santos in the Pieta area. The latter rounded a defender but was unlucky to see his effort hitting the crosssbar.

The Paolites, however, were not to be denied as in their next attack, they finally found the net to open the scoring. It was dos Santos who served Jorge da Silva Pereira. The latter rounded the goalie and headed into the empty net.

The score became 2-0 in the 57th minute. Pereira set Dos Santos on the right for the latter to return the compliment with Pereira giving Cassar no chance -- a beauty of a goal.

In the 64th minute, it was Failla who netted the third goal – another beauty – as he fired a fine rising shot from an angle.

With 10 minutes to go, Agius sent a short back pass to Bonello. Zacarias took control of the ball, went round the Hibs goalie and planted the ball in the empty net.

In added time, Pereira was thwarted from a hat-trick as he advanced into the Pieta area, but goalie Cassar blocked his effort to a corner.

Zebbug again come from behind to snatch another point

Floriana   3

Zebbug R.         3

Floriana: V. Senatore, A. Scicluna, E. Marcelina, C. Borg (S. Pisani), V. Plut (A. Samb), M. Piciollo, E. Briffa, B. Farrugia (J. Borg), G. Muir, S. Borg, S. Bonnici.

Zebbug R.: J. Farrugia, T. Paris (M. Ciantar), M. Gauci, R. Mandic, Y. Camilleri, J. Diaz Serrano, M. Mucchiardi, J. Nwoba, C. Monti, C. Gauci, B. Mamic (MR Britto).

Referee: A. Arciola

Asst refs: E. Spiteri, W. Debattista

4th official: M. Borg.

Scorers: B. Mamic, V. Plut 2, C. Monti pen, Britto,

Yellow cards: J. Diaz Serrano, S. Pisani, S. Borg, A. Samb, M. Piciollo

Player of the match: E. Marcelina

TMI Top 3: 1. E. Marcelina, 2. B. Farrugia, 3. C. Monti.

Henry Brincat

For the second consecutive time, newly promoted Zebbug Rangers once again came back from 3-1 in arrears to snatch a deserved point from a 3-3 draw with Floriana.

This was a keenly contested match and near the end, soon after Zebbug´s third goal, there were several tense moments which marred proceedings, though to be fair, there was nothing serious.

All in all it was a fair result with the Rangers obtaining their second point and confirming there the gap between the usual top clubs and the so-called smaller teams is getting smaller and smaller every season.

The Rangers showed yesterday that they are gaining ground in the Premier League. With more experience they can look forward with optimism towards more positive results.

 After last week´s win against Pieta, Floriana were expected to confirm their winning form, but a late equaliser by the Rangers thwarted them.

The first half was perhaps equally shared though the Greens might have enjoyed slightly more possession.

The Greens had a fiery start and seemed to be overwhelming the other Greens from Zebbug, but Jesmond Zammit´s boys defended with purpose and never gave away an inch so much so that their post never appeared to be collapsing.

In fact, shots at Farrugia´s direction were scarce if there were any.

On the other hand, Zebbug operated on the break and it must be said that they created much more goal scoring opportunities than Floriana who appeared shaky in defence.

In the second half, Floriana appeared to have taken command when they scored twice to take a 3-1 lead.

But Zebbug were awarded a disputed penalty soon after the third goal and with Monti converting in style, the Rangers were back in contention. 

And it was no surprise that they also managed to score what proved to be a deserved equaliser near the end to obtain their second point of the season.

The match was barely five minutes old when Floriana almost opened the scoring. From a Muir good pass, Plut was face to face with Farrugia but he miskicked the ball which eventually beat the goalie but was cleared from over the line by Yessous Camilleri.

However, it was Zebbug who opened the score on 23 minutes. From a Monti freekick, it was Mamic who rose above friend and foe to head the ball past Senatore.

Three minutes later, it was the Floriana goalie who saved the day for his side as he intercepted a dangerous low cross from Matthew Gauci just before Nwoba could connect.

In the 34th minute, Floriana replied through a Matteo Piciollo incursion which ended with his effort being deviated to a corner by a Zebbug defender.

Three minutes later, Nwoba advanced from midfield and passed to Mucchiardi, who lifted his effort well over the bar.

Floriana eventually equalised on the 42nd minute. In a confused action in the Zebbug area, it was Brooke Farrugia who headed goalwards and Plut anticipated goalie Farrugia to head into the net. Zebbug protested hotly, though in vain, claiming the goalie was pushed by Plut.

Just before the interval, Floriana goalie Senatore was prominent as he flew spectacularly to turn to corner in style a Mucchiardi effort after the latter was set by Nwoba.

Floriana started the second half on a top note. It was Marcelina who crossed perfectly to the other side for Brooke Farrugia. The latter pinpointed a low cross in the area where Plut was on hand to flick the ball neatly past the helpless Farrugia.

In the 55th minute, it was Gary Muir who tried his luck from outside the area, but his effort went well over the post.

In the 58th minute, Floriana scored a third goal and it was another well executed goal. It was again Marcelina who pinpointed a good pass to Steve Pisani who controlled the ball before firing it past Farrugia.

Soon after, at the other end, Nwoba appeared to have been floored by a Floriana defender and the referee, with a bit of a delay, ordered a penalty, from which Carlo Monti scored to make it 3-2.

On the 75th minute, Zebbug were close to equalising when Monti went round a defender at the far end, only to see his shot just missing the target.

Two minutes later, the Rangers again threatened when following a good pass by Gauci to Mandic, the latter crossed into the area and substitute Britto saw his header just missing the post.

Zebbug went all out in search of an equaliser and their persistence was rewarded in the 87th minute when Britto found the net after a confused action in the Floriana area.

The goal was followed by some tense moments after a Zebbug player was seen on the ground. Some of the players almost came to blows, but order was restored quickly for the match to finish without further incidents.

Birkirkara bounce back thanks to Ryan Camenzuli

QORMI-               0

BIRKIRKARA –    2

Qomi: M. Farrugia, B. Bondin, A. Quatrochi, J. Chetcuti (R. Micallef), D. Pisani, R. Sammut, S. Agius, Z. Levnaic, A. Bruce, P. Viggiani (A. Effiong), F. Temile

Birkirkara: J. Haber, M. Bissi, E. Costa Morais, N. Vukanac, V. Shevchenko (R. Ledesma), A. Mendoza, P. Fenech, Z. Muscat, R. Scicluna (K. Zammit), A. Borg, R. Camenzuli

Referee: M. Apap

Asst.refs: A. Camilleri, C. Francalanza

Addional asst.refs: F. Zammit, M. Spiteri

4th official: S. Attard

Scorers: R. Camenzuli 83, R. Ledesma 90+

Yellow cards: A. Bruce, B. Bondin, N. Vukanac, M. Bissi

Player of the match: M. Bissi (Birkirkara)

TMI top 3: 1. M. Bissi  2. A. Mendoza  3. A. Quatrochi

Attendance: 943

Ryan Camenzuli’s defiant strike from a distance, seven minutes from normal time, finally ended the resistance of plucky Qormi to pave the way for a 2-0 win with substitute Rafael Ledesma scoring a second goal deep into six minutes of added time, and put the Stripes back on track.

This was far from a vintage performance by Birkirkara who were  rewarded for their perseverance with late goals in a tightly-fought game.

Qormi may feel aggrieved that they conceded the first goal when producing their best football, especially after the introduction of Alfred Effiong and Ryan Micallef had provoked danger on speedy overlaps. But coach Josef Mansueto  may be happy enough with his team’s containment policy and, sure enough, their attacking approach, which unfortunately yielded no rewards.

 Birkirkara’s confidence looked shattered after their shock defeat against Balzan the previous week and took time to recover. Coach Paul Zammit deemed it fit to make three changes, dropping foreigners Rafael Ledesma and Eliandro Gonzaga as well as Edward Herrera. Alejandro Mendoza and Antoine Borg were handed starts as the Stripes also gave a debut to new Ukranian signing Vjacheslav Shevchenko in attack.

After a goalless draw against Sliema Wanderers, Qormi made four changes yesterday, with only five players on the bench, among them Alfred Effiong and Ryan Micallef, as the injured Emerson Vella and Jonathan Bondin were not included in the squad.

Joseph Chetcuti, Roderick Sammut, Steve Agius and Pietro Viggiani started instead.

Holding on to possession for long stretches, Birkirkara rarely threatened in the first half though and Qormi kept them at bay quite comfortably. Birkirkara only looked menacing from dead ball situations, with a couple of Morais ‘Liliu’  inswinging free kicks, repelled by the Qormi keeper Farrugia, and two close efforts by defender Bissi, one blocked on the line by keeper Farrugia and the other blocked into a corner by the crowded Qormi defence.

Qormi put in Alfred Effiong for Viggiani for the second period as they began to harass the Birkirkara backlinne with more frequency although remaining too erratic in their finishing.

Birkirkara also substituted Borg with Leighton Grech on 55 minutes, giving them more attacking options, but Qormi reinforced their growing optimism when a Quatrochi goal was rightly disallowed for offside and then Ryan Micallef made his appearance as an extra striker on the hour.

Birkirkara went close  with a Bissi headed effort, saved by keeper Farrugia, on yet another Morais free kick.

The teams were looking too stretched by then, with huge gaps opening in midfield.

Muscat’ s tackle on Effiong inside the area after 72 minutes left the referee unmoved despite Qormi’s claims for a penalty.

The Stripes effected a double substitution on 75 minutes, putting in Kurt Zammit and Rafael Ledesma and they soon crafted a good opportunity with Zammit shooting off target.

Qormi also failed to find the target when Bruce played a good ball to Effiong, but the latter’s  squeezed shot from inside the Birkirkara area went into a corner.

The dam had to break though and Birkirkara capitalised on 83 minutes. Ryan Camenzuli picked his spot from outside the Qormi area and beat keeper Farrugia with a defiant low strike to release all the pressure.

With Qormi rattled and Birkirkara relieved, substitute Ledesma warpped it up for the Stripes into three minutes of added time, picking Muscat’s long ball inside the area and beating the helpless Qormi keeper with a low diagonal shot.

Tarxien secure first league win

TARXIEN RAINBOWS-   2

NAXXAR LIONS-              1

Tarxien R: S. Cini, K. Farrugia, M. Caruana, O. Bugeja, A. Rodrigues (C. Barbosa), T. Caruana, W. Lima (R. Sammut), C. Hevia, A. Cini, M. Tabone (J. Silva), A. Lopes Pereira

Naxxar L: J. Azzopardi, A. Scicluna, I. Edet, V. Bellia, T. Vella, M. Del Negro, P. Gueye, G. Ribeiro, R. Cassar (A. Buhagiar), D. Reano, U. Eminike

Referee: C. Pisani

Asst.refs: M. Scerri, R. Vella

4th official: P. Farrugia

Scorers: A. Rodrigues 58, M. Del Negro 65 og, I. Edet 70

Yellow cards: M. Tabone, C. Hevia, I. Edet, A. Lopes, A. Rodrigues, G. Ribeiro

Player of the match: Alvaro Rodrigues (Tarxien R)

TMI top 3: 1. A. Rodrigues 2. C. Hevia  3. I. Edet

An opportunistic strike by Alvaro Rodrigues and an own goal by Naxxar’s midfileder Mattia Del Negro helped Tarxien Rainbows to their first BoV Premier League win in the new campaign and left their opponents reeling and winless after five matches.

Both teams have made an unconvincing start to this season and their first four league games had yielded only four points for Tarxien and, worse still, two for Naxxar. The sides were again woeful for long periods yesterday.

The sides effected one change each from their previous outing. Naxxar’s Terence Vella, the man who came off the bench to score his side’s late equaliser against Mosta the previous week, was yesterday rewarded with a first-team call as Kane Farrugia replaced Ryan Sammut in Tarxien’s starting line-up.

The teams gave another subdued performance, their build-ups being extremely predictable. For most of the first half hour, Tarxien drafted several long balls forward, by Caruana and Hevia from midfield, for front runners Alvaro Rodrigues and Wesley Lima to chase.

Naxxar fashioned most of their attacks down the flanks, with Emenike on the left and Gueye on the right delivering the crosses for Terence Vella to exploit.

Things did not work out as good as expected with a Scicluna header going over the bar from a Gilmar free kick and a Caruana shot deflected into a corner, being the  two most noteworthy episodes inside the first half hour.

After that, a  snappy run by Lima from the right, after playing a deft one-two with Alvaro, was halted by Cassar’s timely tackle.

On 36 minutes Edet’s cross from the right fell to the unmarked Gueye, whose goalbound effort was blocked into a corner by the Tarxien defence.

The Rainbows improved slightly after the break and showed more bite with a Hevia free kick rebounding off the Naxxar wall and as the ball rolled invitingly to Alvaro, the Naxxar keeper Azzopardi  footed out the danger.

With Naxxar remaining stodgy in midfield and devoid of ideas going forward, their wide player Gueye went for goal, beating two opponents, but his cross shot, once inside the area, was headed into a corner by Lopes.

Jorge Silva’s inclusion on 55 minutes, helped Tarxien to the lead. Lima had already cut through the middle and tested keeper Azzopardi with a stinging shot before two minutes short of the hour, Alvaro Rodrigues anticpated the Naxxar keeper on a low Jorge cross to hit the ball in at the near post.

Tarxien’s second goal seven minutes later came in a rather fortuitous manner as Farrugia played tha ball forward to Lima, whose cross shot was deflected in a decisive manner by Del Negro into his own goal.

Naxxar put in Pablo Doffo for Reano and when there seemed little prospect of them being able to pick a way through a Tarxien defence, which had looked unruffled, the Lions were handed a lifeline on 70 minutes. Vella played a corner from the right across the face of the Tarxien goal and Ibok Edet rose to score with a lobbed header at the far post.

The tense final minutes almost brought a third goal for Tarxien but Jorge’s low shot clipped the upright.

Naxxar’s probing for an eventual equaliser continued until the end, but well-drilled Tarxien seldom looked in jeopardy to help themselves to a first league win.