Mqabba-Naxxar L            1-3

Mqabba: F. Tabone, L. Farrugia (F. Gusman 67'), N. Micallef, R. Da Silva Gomes, D. Micallef, G. Micallef, A. Ferreira, B. Grech (C. Cutajar 86'), W. Borg, D. Azzopardi, L. Suma (J.C. Martins 46').

Naxxar L: O. Borg, M. Fenech, M. Mifsud, E. Cerqueira Farias, J. Debono, R. Cassar, J. Ellul, A. Buhagiar, S. Nanapere, B. Essel, S. Meilak.

Referee: Andrea Sciriha

Scorers: Joel Ellul 14' (N), Gianfranco Micallef 68' (M), Edson Cerqueira Farias 80', 89' (M)

Naxxar Lions left it late to beat Mqabba yesterday, scoring two goals in the last ten minutes of the match to grab three precious points and move closer to Santa Lucia in third place. Now the Lions are just two points behind Santa Lucia who however have a game in hand.

It was a spectacular game with both sides showing very good football. Naxxar were dominant in the first half but could only build a one-goal lead thanks m ainly to Tabone's great saves.

Mqabba came back strongly in the second period and obtained a deserved equaliser on 68 minutes and kept on searching for the winning goal. But a defensive mishap paved the way for Naxxar's lead ten minutes from time, and Naxxar preserved their lead giving the killer touch with a third goal on 90 minutes.

Swieqi U-Lija A                  4-4

Swieqi U: J.C. Debattista, J. Cassar, K. Muscat, K. Sultana, L. Covic (H. Hansberg 88'), K. Olowoyo (I.A. Margarit 46'), S. Ibrahim, M. Farrugia, S. Bugeja, L. Scicluna, S. Grech (K. Ekezie 75').

Lija A: R. Marmara, L. Muscat (M. Borg Bartolo 77'), D. Scerri, E. Beu, A. Azzopardi (G. Borg 79'), A. Borg (A. Galea 85'), I. Borg, D. Mintoff, C. Gauci, K. Kuroki, O. Sidibe.

Referee: Ezekiel Barbara

Scorers: Erjon Beu 22', 57' pen (L), Salis Ibrahim 25', 76' pen (S), Andrea Azzopardi 44' (L), Ion Alin Margarit 62' (S), Clifford Gauci 80' (L), Shaun Bugeja 93' (S)

What a game this was. Swieqi and Lija shared eight goals in a spectacular and breath taking encounter with Swieqi snatching a deserved point with the last shot of the game on 93 minutes.

Bothe teams are sitting pretty in the middle of the table, and have no ambitions or relegation worries. They produced one of the best matches this season, with eight goals, some of which spectacular ones too.

Swieqi always chased their opponents, having even a two-goal deficit on 57 minutes. Lija's Erjon Beu and Swieqi's Salis Ibrahim both scored a brace, with Beu's opener coming from a spectacular overhead kick.

Beu's opener was not the only goal to receive a special mention, as Andrea Azzopardi's stirke and Margarit's wonder goal were surely a delight to watch.

Gudja U-Zejtun C             3-2

Gudja U: J. Debono, J. Bondin, M. Attard, J. Lima Siqueira, A. Mizzi, S. Diacono (D. Santos Da Hora 85’), L.J. Schembri, J. Farrugia, L. Cremona, A. Marshall (E. Vella 71’), R. Kooh Sohna.

Żejtun C: G. Zammit (D. Zarb 71’), C. Giordemaina, A. Smeir (A. Carabott 56’), G. Sultana, J. Castano, D. Albanese, J. De Fex Rafael, B. Farrugia, N. Tabone, R. Spiteri, A. Farrugia.

Referee: Philip Farrugia

Scorers: Llywelyn Cremona 44’ (G), Adolphus Marshall 69’ (G), Johan Castano 74’ pen, 84’ (Z) Dhonattan Santos Da Hora 86’ (G)

A Santos Da Hora late goal decided this exciting derby with Gudja now very close to a historic promotion in the premier league.

In the first half Gudja had more of the ball but were rarely dangerous in front of goal against aw ell organised Zejtun side. Gudja were forced to make a change on 40 minutes when Lee Joe Schembri limped off, and four minutes later took the lead when Llywelyn Cremona fired in the top corner from close range.

In the second half Gudja doubled the score through a Marshall header with the same player and the Zejtun goalkeeper both injured in this action and had to be substituted. Zejtun pulled one back from the penalty spot and the game was now an open contest.

Six minutes from time Zejtun drew level with a majestic Castano header but two minutes later Gudja scored the winner through substitute Santos Da Hora.