MOSTA.............1
BALZAN............3

Mosta: Y. Cini, R. Ekani, T. Farrugia, O. Guobadia, D. Falzon, H. Yau, S. Chukwide (S. Fidelis 82’), M. Micallef, R. Grech (F. Abel 38’), I. Zammit (J. Brincat 83’), E. Murga

Balzan: V. Senatore, M. Focsa, E. Serrano Valero, C. Brincat (A. Vujacic 58’),J. Grioli, D. Grima, L. Micallef (T. Agius 61’), E. Bilbao Zarate, L. Sciberras, G. Mensha, A. Effiong (S. Cipriott 90’)

Scorers: A. Effiong 26’, 59’, 86’ (B), M. Micallef 45’(M)

Yellow Cards: H. Yau 34’, R. Ekani 87’, E. Murga 90’ (M)

Red Card: D. Falzon 90’ (M)

Referee: Andre Arciola

Assistant Referees: Edward Spiteri, Mitchell Scerri

BOV Player of the match: Alfred Effiong (Balzan)

Attendance: 611

In an entertaining match, Balzan are joint leaders with Hibernians after they defeated Mosta 3-1 thanks to a hattrick by Maltese striker Alfred Effiong. Balzan deserved maximum points as they were a bit better than their opponents but credit goes also for Mosta for giving a good challenge. 

Mosta coach Ivan Zammit made only one change from their draw against Birkirkara as Dyson Falzon replaced Saviour Fidelis. On the other hand Balzan had to do without the services of Steve Bezzina for the second consecutive game while Ryan Fenech and Bojan Kaljevic are still on the sidelines. Spiteri made three changes from their last game as Senatore returned in goal instead of Christian Cassar, Clive Brincat replaced Samir Arab while Luke Sciberras was giving a starting berth ahead of Terence Agius.

The first action to note came on the 14th minute when a shot by Ian Zammit was easily saved by Senatore. Balzan broke the deadlock on the 26th minute when Mensha passed to Effiong who managed to slot past Cini in his left corner.

Seven minutes later a personal action by Lydon Micallef finished with a shot, but his effort finished off target.Mosta equalised just before the half time when Mano Micallef caught Senatore off guard and with a cross-shot lobbed over the Italian goalkeeper.

Yenz Cini had to dive on his left side to save a free-kick on the 53rd minute by Justin Grioli and two minutes later on the other side, a shot by Edin Murga finished over the bar. Balzan went again in-front on the 59th minute with a great action. Vujacic passed to Bilbao Zarate who with a clever pass opened on the right side to Alfred Effiong who beat Yenz Cini with a powerful shot.

Mosta’s reaction came on the 69th minute when Yau passed to Fredrick Abela but his effort wasn’t successful. Balzan could have closed the affair on the 75th minute when Mensha crossed to Effiong but his header was incredibly saved by Cini. A minute later Mensha took  advantage from an indecision by Cini but his low shot was cleared off the line by Tyrone Farrugia.

Mosta could have equalised on the 81st minute but Valerio Senatore made a miracle to save the shot from few metres away by substitute Saviour Fidelis. Balzan sealed the deal on the 86th minute when Mensha stole the ball from Yau and passed to Effiong who managed to put past Cini with a powerful shot that hit the upright before entering the net. Mosta also finished the game with ten men after Dyson Falzon was sent-off for a straight red card.

QORMI             1
BIRKIRKARA   2

Qormi: A. Vella, A. Cassar, O. Sidibe, N. Ojuola, S. Agius, B. Berntsson, K. Magro (G. Azzopardi), C. Monti, C. Gauci, R. Micallef (T. Vella), A. Nilsson

Birkirkara: J. Haber, C. Attard, Z. Muscat, M. Emerson, J. Zerafa, G. Sciberras, P. Fenech, R. Muscat, F. Miccoli (E. Agius), E. Liliu, V. Plut (J. Barroso)

Referee: I. Griffith (Wales)

Asst.refs: J. Bryant, I. Bird

4th official: R. Stewart

Scorers: V. Plut 29, F. Miccoli 44 pen, A. Nilsson 87

Yellow cards: O. Sidibe, C. Attard

Player of the match: P. Fenech (Birkirkara)

TMI top 3: 1. V. Plut  2. R. Muscat  3.N. Ojuola

Attendance: 1,093

SILVIO VELLA

A match high on industry but low on intensity and quality, between two teams who had drawn their previous league match, went Birkirkara’s way as anticipated.

Vito Plut and Fabrizio Miccoli gave Birkirkara a double lead in the first half and they were capable to control the proceedings after the restart with relative ease.

Qormi kept faith in the same eleven who worked out a draw against Sliema Wanderers in midweek  but their hopes of repeating that result were dashed after  practically the first 45 minutes when they trailed their opponents by two goals.

Qormi’s challenge in the second half was to find a way to get their creative players more involved in the game from open play, particularly Carlo Monti and Clifford Gauci, who had a quiet game by their standards yesterday.

Injury to Vukanac and suspension to Mazzetti, forced Birkirkara coach Giovanni Tedesco to reshuffle his defence, with Emerson Marcelina and Zach Muscat their central defenders. Joseph Zerafa and Cain Attard were given the nod as wide backs. Gareth Sciberras and Fabrizio Miccoli were also given starts.

But the flow of play suggested those absences might not hinder them as Qormi proved toothless.

The Stripes soon settled upon a more standard 4-1-3-2, with Liliu more closely partnering Vito Plut.

They made the breakthrough with practicaly their first genuine attack short of the half hour. A low ball from the byeline on the right was fumbled by Liliu as he tried to steer it towards the middle and as the ball travelled in front of the Qormi goal, Vito Plut tapped it in.

Birkirkara, who kept their stranglehold in midfield, rarely allowed their opponents any comfort on the ball and with Miccoli roaming around the Qormi box with intent, Qormi’s defence was looking uncomfortable.

With halftime looming, keeper Andreas Vella produced a good save on Miccoli’s close effort before the Stripes were awarded a penalty. Miccoli was through inside the area but defender Cassar held the ball with his hand as he tried to tackle the Birkirkara Italian striker.

Miccoli himself tucked it away to give Birkirkara a comfortable two-goal cushion at halftime.

Qormi introduced Terence Vella for Micallef at the start of the second half. They soon posed a threat to the Birkirkara defence when Nilsson swivelled in front of Marcelina. His low diagonal drive ended inches wide.

Birkirkara continued to toy with their opponents even after the interval. On 65 minutes Miccoli whipped a rising shot from outside the area for keeper Vella to tip into a corner before Miccoli was substituted.

The game descended into complete slumberness before Qormi clinched a late consolation goal against the run of play three minutes from normal time.

Lack of concentration in their defence between Marcelina and keeper Haber, who both missed possession, allowed Alex Nilsson to steer the ball over the line. But that served only for statistical purposes.

ST.ANDREWS...........0
SLIEMA W................1

St. Andrews: K. Calleja (D. Rossetto 25’), C. Cumbo (M. Desira Buttigieg 79’), J. Williams, M. Johnson, N. Andreis, D. Camilleri, M. Guillaumier, L. Cosmai (M. Grima 67’), J. Farrugia, K. Nwoko, C. de Nguidjol

Sliema: G. Zammit, A. Muscat, B. Essel (P. Xuereb 65’), M. Mifsud, P. dos Santos Calcado, R. Ledesma, C. Gatt Baldacchino, J. Bezzina (M. Potezica 57’), K. Souza (A. Friggieri 83’), G. Muir, L. Dimech

Scorers: N. Andreis o.g 45’ (S)

Yellow Cards: M. Potezica 57’ (S), J. Farrugia (SA)

Referee: Glen Tonna

Assistant Referees: Duncan Sultana,Luke Portelli

BOV Player of the match: Alex Muscat (Sliema Wanderers)

Sliema Wanderers claimed the fourth consecutive positive result when they defeated St. Andrews with a lonely goal just before the half time. The Wanderers again failed to impress after their draw against Qormi, but they grabbed the most important thing; the win. St. Andrews made some improvement as they at least try to put some pressure on their opponents but they still finished the game empty handed.

Before the game, a presentation was held to commemorate the record breaking Stephen Azzopardi who was making the 316th appearance in the Premier League surpassing Robert Gatt.

St. Andrews coach Wayne Attard continued to experiment with his starting line-up in search of his best eleven. In fact, Attard made use of two substitutions from his last games as Matthew Guillaumier and Kyrian Nwoko replaced Nicky Vella Petroni and Wade Moodley respectively. On the other hand, Sliema coach Stephen Azzopardi made only one change from their draw against Qormi as Benjamin Essel returned in the starting line-up after three games to fill the void of Stefano Biancardi.

St. Andrews started the game on the attack and had an effort by Luca Cosmai that finished over the bar. Three minutes later Wayne Attard’s team almost took the lead in a surprising effort as what looked a poor low shot by de Nguidjol almost finished in the net but Glenn Zammit was ready to tip into a corner.

Sliema started to take control of the game but their first action to goal came on the 19th minute when in a well planned action Alex Muscat crossed a low ball to Kerlon in front of goal but his effort was deflected to a corner. Ten minutes later a low shot by Gary Muir finished off target and on the 32nd minute Sliema had their best action when Kerlon crossed from the left across the post but Ledesma from an ideal position wasted a good opportunity as his shot finished off target.

Sliema were awarded a penalty on the 40th when referee Glen Tonna ordered a penalty for a hands ball in the penalty area. But from the penalty spot Gary Muir didn’t even hit the shot on target. The missed penalty was forgotten just before the half time as Sliema opened the score. It was a cross by Gary Muir from the left flank to Alex Muscat who tried with a header, but the attempt was deflected with another header by Nicola Andreis and finished past the substitute Rossetto. 

The second half kept the same rhythm of the first 45 minutes and the first action came twenty minutes into the half when a shot from Kerlon hit the side netting. Eleven minutes later a shot from outside the box by substitute Marko Potezica finished off target. On the 81st minute, Gatt Baldacchino almost sealed the match but his header was too central and Rossetto saved in two attempts.

St. Andrews tried their last efforts in the last minutes as Wayne Attard also included Matteo Desira Buttigieg. On the 87th minute St. Andrews almost equalised when from a corner, a header by Kyrian Nwoko was well saved by Zammit.

Three minutes later Zammit had to come outside the box to intervene in a St. Andrews attack, the ball finished in the direction of De Nguidjol but his attempt to lob the ball finished off target and a few seconds later, Joseph Farrugia saw some space near the penalty area and tried with a place shot but it was saved by Zammit. The last attack came from Sliema when Calcado tried with a shot on the run but Rossetto tipped to a corner.

VALLETTA                  3
NAXXAR LIONS         1

Valletta: H. Bonello, I. Azzopardi, R. Camilleri, J. Cruz, R. Briffa, N. Priso (J. Suda), F. Falcone, L. Cremona, C. Pani (U. Uchenna), A. Nafti (D. Camilleri), R. Romao

Naxxar L: L. Pecorella, B. Rajonic (M. Del Negro), A. Scicluna, L. Lodetti, R. Cardozo, S. Oussou (D. Bonnici), D. Falzon, J. Debono, I. Grech, E. Lattes, A. Tarlazis (S. Hadzibulic)

Referee: I. Villamyor (Andorra)

Asst.refs: A. Tererazo, P. Carvalho

4th official: L. Texeira

Scorers: A. Nafti 40, 73, D. Falzon 89, U. Uchenna 90+

Red cards: R. Romao

Player of the match: A. Nafti (Valletta)

TMI top 3: 1. A. Nafti  2. H. Bonello  3. E. Lattes

SILVIO VELLA

Valletta headed into this clash knowing that only victory would restore some pride and move them closer to the leading pack, following two consecutive defeats, in which they even failed to score.

But they hardly played like a team with that in mind, and had to rely on the individual magic of Abdel Karim Nafti, who scored a brace, and the goalkeeping abilities of Henry Bonello who saved a penalty, just before the break, before making good with a late Uchenna third goal.

Things went from bad to worse for struggling Naxxar Lions. After falling behind, their hopes of going into the break level when awarded a penalty, faltered as Valletta’s keeper Henry Bonello saved Daren Falzon’s shot. Naxxar still failed to capitalise on their numerical superiority for the entire second half. Their only consolation was a late goal that reduced the deficit but to no avail. They thus remain winless and pointless, anchored at the bottom of the standings after six matches.

For various reasons, Naxxar coach Stefano Grima dropped five players from the side that lost heavily to Tarxien Rainbows in midweek, including goalkeeper Julian Azzopari and the suspended midfielder David Fenech. Ricardo Cardozo replaced Hadzibulic as Daren Falzon returned from injury to take the captain’s armband.

Valletta were also bereft of some key players, with Jonathan Caruana, Albert Bruce, Jhonnattan and Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza not included in their squad. After 20 minutes, Claudio Pani also limped off and was replaced by Umeh Uchenna.

The match got off at a pedestrian pace with neither side wanting to exert themselves too much.

Valletta displayed a grim lack of creativity, with hoofs in the general direction of Falcone or Priso. Naxxar’s defence, aided by Tarlazis, dealt with that approach easily for most of the match.

Falcone missed the target with his powerful shot past the quarter hour, but Naxxar threatened with an Oussou shot that Valletta keeper Bonello stooped low to turn beyond the post into a corner.

With quality well in short supply and when Naxxar seemed well in contention in a somewhat uneventful first half hour, the game came briefly to life when Valletta took the lead, five minutes before the break, with some individual finishing from Abdel Karim Nafti. The Tunisian controlled the ball inside the Naxxar area and from a static position, with defender Rajovic in front of him, he beat keeper Pecorella with a low curling ball at the far post.

Naxxar responded well to that setback and should have levelled matters before halftime. Falzon’s cross shot clipped the bar before Azzopardi cleared the ball into a corner. From the resultant Debono flag kick, Oussou’s goalbound header sailed over the goalkeeper but the ball was held out by Romao’s hands.

The Valletta defender was sent off and Naxxarwere awarded a penalty but keeper Bonello did well to guess the right way and hold out Falzon’s kick from the spot in two attempts.

Despite playing with an extra man in the second half, that hardly showed in Naxxar’s  play and their attacking edge was further blunted when their most dangerous forward, Oussou had to be substituted with a hamstring injury.

On 68 minutes, Valletta defender Azzopardi made contact with Debono inside the area but Naxxar’s mild protests for a penalty were turned down.

Valletta made sure of the points on 73 minutes. Another Nafti delicate chip from the edge of the Naxxar area caught keeper Pecorella out of his line after Briffa had robbed Tarlazis of possession.

After a Cardozo headed goal was disallowed for offside, Naxxar pulled one back with two minutes remaining as Daren Falzon ran in well before Azzoparedi, on a long ball from the left, to hit past Bonello at the roof of the net.

But in added time, Valletta restored a two-goal advantage when substitute Jurgen Suda played the ball through to Umeh Uchenna to drive it low past a helpless Pecorella.