Plucky Pieta stun Valletta with late winner
Valletta: N. Vella, I. Azzopardi (S. Bajada), R. Camilleri, R. Fenech, R. Briffa, L. Montebello (A. Nafti), H. Barry, L. Cremona, A. Zahra (R. Kooh Sohna), A. Terra, L. Dimech
Pieta H: D. Cassar, C. Cassar (L. Micallef), C. Grech, L. Fortunato, J. Pisani, R. Rodrigues, N. Tasic (J. Gabriel), K. Cesare (C. Attard), T. Agius, C. Frances, R. Zacarias
Referee: P. Farrugia
Asst.refs: A. Camilleri, D. Sultana
4th official: C. Pisani
Scorers: H. Barry 61, J. Gabriel 68, R.Zaccaria 90
Yellow cards: N. Tasic, H. Barry, K. Cesare
Player of the match: H. Barry (Valletta)
TMI top 3: 1. L. Fortunato 2. C. Grech 3. H. Barry
Attendance: 1,005
Valletta were stunned by newcomers Pieta Hotspurs, conceding twice after taking the lead, to succumb to their third defeat of this campaign.
Poor finishing by Valletta meant that they made heavier work than they should have done against inexperienced opponents like Pieta Hotspurs.
But stout defending, with their excellent two centre backs, Fortunato and Christian Grech, as well as the alert keeper Cassar, industry in midfield and above all self belief, brought about Pieta's first league win to arrest a series of three consecutive defeats.
Valletta made an unsettled start as they looked vulnerable and erratic at the back. Pieta failed to capitalise though. Zaccarias' header on a Frances cross was cleared off the line by Dimech.
A Frances curling shot narrowly missed the target before Valletta looked truly menacing around the half hour. Zahra's cross from the lft was headed out by Grech, the ball fell to Briffa, whose shot from inside the area was blocked.
Pieta's keeper Cassar saved Fenech's insiduous corner with some difficulty and Briffa's rising shot at the top corner, on a Fenech pass, went over as Pieta tried to counter with a Pisani forage down the left ending with a tame shot ably saved by keeper Vella.
Still goalless at halftime, Valletta replaced wide back Azzopardi with Shaun Bajada but that did not change much their tactical set-up. But when Zahra limped off and was forced to be substituted short of the hour, Kooh Sohna, formerly of Pieta, gave Valletta some more attacking options.
Terra's acrobatic volley towards the middle, on a Briffa high cross, was headed inches wide by Montebello.
Valletta finally made the breakthrough past the half hour. A Cremona deep cross from the left travelled across the Pieta area, towards the far end for the unmarked Hamza Barry to power his shot past the helpless keeper Cassar.
Pieta failed to buckle though and their equaliser, seven minutes later, was of perfect execution. Frances started the move from midfield towards Zacarias who laid the ball in the path of the advancing substitute Joao Gabrilel to round defender Camilleri before scoring with a low drive.
It was time for Valletta to put in Abdelkarim Nafti for the last quarter hour as they kept probing for a winner. Ten minutes from time, keeper Cassar denied Dimech with a superlative save, turning into corner his close range shot.
In the late stages, Zacarias thumped his shot against the upright after going past Camilleri. That was a sign of things to come for Valletta. On 90 minutes Bajada's blunder when trying to play the ball across the width of the pitch handed Pieta possession. Rafael Zaccarias advanced unhindered and lobbed the ball over keeper Vella to reward Pieta's bold efforts.
Tarxien hit Birkirkara on the counter
Tarxien R: J. Debono, O. Bugeja, Alvaro Rodrigues (M. Xerri), Cleber Barbosa (K. Farrugia), T. Caruana, F. Aboulezz, W. Lima, R. Sammut, A. Cini, M. Tabone (J. Silva), A. Lopes
Birkirkara: J. Haber, M. Bissi, N. Vukanac, Eliandro Gonzaga (K. Zammit), R. Ledesma, Liliu (A. Borg), P. Fenech, Z. Muscat, R. Scicluna, E. Herrera (L. Grech), E. Agius
Referee: M. Apap
Asst.refs: R. Vella, P. Abela
4th official: A. Arciola
Scorers: C. Barbosa 25, A. Rodrigues 33, 90, Liliu 35
Yellow cards: R. Sammut, F. Aboulezz, O. Bugeja
Player of the match: Cleber Barbosa (Tarxien R)
TMI top 3: 1. C. Barbosa 2. Liliu 3. T. Caruana
Tarxien Rainbows pulled a surprise win against Birkirkara yesterday after suffering a late defeat against Balzan the previous week.
Well drilled in defence, the Rainbows used their counter attack as a lethal weapon to beat disappointing Birkirkara, who looked a pale shadow of the side that beat Mosta with such conviction on Sunday.
Birkirkara were undone by the eager running of Cleber Barbosa and Alvaro's slippery movement when Tarxien countered with their killer-instinct against a three-man backline. For all Birkirkara's possession, the inspiration and penetration of their previous outing were missing.
Tarxien were hampered by the absences of the injured Manuel Caruana and the not fully fit Jorge Santos, as well as the suspended playmaker Carlo Menendez Hevia.
As expected, an unchanged Birkirkara side did the early running, winning several corners and freekicks which all proved unproductive. Quicker and nippier on the ball, the Stripes enjoyed more of possession, however they failed to make it count as they were too erratic in the final third.
Tarxien, playing on the counter, took the lead midway through the half against the run of play. Cleber Barbosa picked a Lima through ball inside the Birkirkara area, and drove low it low past the stretched keeper Haber, with the ball taking a deflection off an opponent.
Tarxien doubled their lead on 33 minutes, with another fast break as Cleber Barbosa galloped down the right and Alvaro Rodrigues connected to his low cross to steer the ball in.
Birkirkara's immediate response enabled them to reduce the deficit two minutes later, Liliu hitting in Muscat's cross from the left.
Birkirkara kept up the initiative in the second half but Tarxien kept them at bay. Bissi's blistering free kick from a distance was repelled by keeper Debono but Eliandro hit the loose ball wide.
The Stripes introduced Leighton Grech for Herrera on the hour but laboured to breach Tarxien's organised defence. They only went close with a Bissi headed effort off a Ledesma free kick.
Tarxien were not without a threat, especially through the lively and effective Cleber Barbosa and rightly deserved a third goal on 90 minutes when Alvaro Rodrigues ran down Birkirkara's exposed right flank and beat the onrushing Haber with a delicate chip.
Scerri goal hands Sliema second consecutive win
Sliema W 1
Zebbug R 0
Sliema W: G. Zammit, L. Martinelli (I. Meli 85 min), J. Mintoff, M. Scerri, M. Mifsud, A. Pisanu (P. Xuereb 89 min), C. Gatt Baldacchino, F. Mangia Casale, K. Gnabouyou (F. Talato 28 min), P. Barbetti, S. Bianciardi.
Zebbug R: J. Farrugia, M. Gauci (M. Ciantar 81 min), C. Gauci, J. Diaz Serrano, J. Borg, M. Mucchiardi, C. Monti, M. Bartolo (R. Mandic 76 min), Y. Camilleri, M.R. Britto, B. Mamic (J. Nwoba 67 min).
Referee:Marco Borg
Ass. Referees: Ingmar Spiteri, Sammy Attard
4th Official: Adrian Azzopardi
Scorers: M. Scerri 19 min,
Yellow cards: A. Pisanu, M. Mifsud, P. Barbetti, M. Bartolo, C. Monti, C. Gauci, F. Mangia Casale, G. Zammit,
Player of the match: Mark Scerri (Sliema)
TMI Best three: 1. S. Bianciardi 2. M. Mucchiardi 3. M. Scerri
Sliema Wanderers registered their second consecutive victory of the season beating promoted Zebbug side thanks to a Mark Scerri first half goal.
For Jesmond Zammit's side this was the fifth defeat so far this season as the side is still search of the first Premier League victory.
To be fair, Zebbug did not deserve to leave the field empty-handed as they shared the exchanges in the first half and were the better team in the second part of the game.
The match was a scrappy affair with Sliema grabbing the points in one of their few scoring chances which came their way.
The Zebbug defence which so far suffered 21 goals, showed signs of great improvement, with Michael Mifsud nowhere to be seen, but it was still not enough for them to grab at least a point from this match.
The Wanderers on their part should be happy with the result but surely not with their opaque performance.
Sliema did the early running with Michael Mifsud having the first attempt at goal after a good Sliema move, but Zebbug went close to the opener on 15 minutes when Bartolo passed towards Britto whose shot from the heart of the penalty area smashed against the crossbar.
Four minutes later Sliema took the lead when captain Mark Scerri shot low into the net after a good move between Gnabonyou and Mangia Casale. Zebbug's reaction was a timid one with a Monti freekick sailing over the bar on 32 minutes.
Minutes earlier Sliema coach Greco surprisingly made the first substitution introducing Talato for Gnabonyou. Talato was quite dangerous in the dying minutes of the first half having two attempts at goal, the second one well saved by Farrugia.
The first shot at goal of the second half came from a Mucchiardi freekick that was easily saved by Zammit. Four minutes later Britto dribbled past a defender but his shot was blocked by Zammit.
In the last minutes Zebbug increased the pressure as, with the inclusion of John Nwoba, the Rangers had more punch upfront, but they still failed to create danger for Zammit in the Sliema goal.
Qormi: M. Farrugia, B. Bondin, A. Quatrochi Santos, J. Chetcuti (C. Farrugia 80 min), D. Pisani, J. Bondin, M. Latini Mazzetti, Z. levniac, E. Vella (S. Agius 73 min), A. Effiong (P. Viggiani 77 min), F. Temile.
Mosta: M. Bernal, T. Farrugia, M. Micallef, R. Ekani, A. Borg, D. Falzon (K. Zammit 42 min), R. Grech, N. Milovanovic (F. Paim 54 min), K. Magro, D. Bueno, P. Calcado.
Referee: Fyodor Zammit
Ass. Referees: Edward Spiteri, Thomas Debono
4th Official: Chris Lautier
Scorers: E. Vella 48 min, F. Temile 55 min, 64 min, A. Effiong 61 min
Yellow cards: E. Vella, F. Temile,
Player of the match: Alfred Effiong (Qormi)
TMI Best three: 1. A. Effiong, 2. F. Temile, 3. J. Chetcuti.
Attendance: 583
Qormi demolish Mosta in second half
Qormi demolished Mosta with a five star performance in the second half to grab their second victory of the season and condemn Mosta to their second successive defeat.
It was a more than deserved victory for Josef Mansueto's side with Alfred Effiong and Frank Temile proving to be too much for Mosta's defence which left much to be desired yesterday. The first half was balanced, with Qormi showing the better ideas and missing a couple of glaring scoring chances.
At the start of the second half, Qormi who had not scored a goal in their last three outings, had a magic burst, scoring four goals inside the opening 20 minutes to give Mosta the knockout blow.
On six minutes Kurt Magro had the first attempt with Farrugia blocking his shot. On the other end Alfred Effiong missed a sitter after winning a tackle with Adrian Borg, and the same Borg was on hand a few minutes later to block a dangerous Effiong header.
On 27 minutes Qormi missed another glorious chance when Joseph Chetcuti passed towards Temile whose shot was partially saved by Bernal and from the rebound Chetcuti shot incredibly wide with an open goal at his mercy.
On 29 minutes Qormi went close again when Quatrochi gave a glorious pass towards Effiong whose shot was blocked by Bernal, but again Qormi failed to capitalise when Temile hit the rebound wide. On 35 minutes it was Mosta's turn to go close with a good move between defenders Tyrone Farrugia and Adrian Borg with the latter's header going inches wide.
Three minutes into the second half Qormi opened the score when Chetcuti passed towards Emerson Vella who managed to score from an acute angle. Qormi should have doubled the score on 52 minutes when Chetcuti passed towards Effiong who darted inside the box but his shot was blocked by the Mosta custodian.
But on 55 minutes Qormi managed to double the score when Frank Temile fired a great shot that finished in the top corner of the net. On the hour Alfred Effiong put the game to bed when he robbed Magro of the ball in midfield, advanced and fired low into the net to make it three.
Three minutes later Qormi even scored a fourth when Joseph Chetcuti passed towards Frank Temile who all alone in front of Bernal made no mistake to score his second of the match.
In the remaining minutes Qormi missed some other scoring chances, with Mosta trying to no avail to score a consolation goal.