St.George's-Lija A 2-4
St George's: J.Azzopardi, J.Grech, C.H.Park, A.Hili, G.D'Amato (A.Mallia 90), T.Hiruma (R.Villada 79), L.Bonett, C.Cassar (J.P.Formosa 79), J.Dalli, S.Perdomo, D.Caruana
Lija Athletic: L.Bonnici, A.White, L.Muscat (J.Wells 79), C.Giordimaina, M.Clinch, A.Galea, A.Borg (D.Scerri 17), C.Gauci, K.Seakanyeng, M.Palomino (G.Borg 75), E.Beu.
Referee: Sandro Spiteri
Lija obtained their fifth consecutive victory beating St. George's 4-2, with Erjon Beu scoring another brace for his side. The match was practically sealed by the first fourty five minutes with Lija building a three-goal lead.
Lija took the lead in the 20th minute. Erjon Beu was sent through on the left by Aiden Galea, beat his marker and goalkeeper Julian Azzopardi with an angled shot. It was Beu's 100th goal for the club, the first one ever to reach this total for Lija. Four minutes later, the team of Joseph Galea doubled the score. A cross by substitute Daniel Scerri was picked up by Kabelo Seakanyeng, who released a thunderbolt which Azzopardi managed to block but the ball fell in front of the feet of Manuel Palomino who tapped in from close range. On the stroke of half-time, Seakanyeng handsomely dribbled his way through the St George's defence, crossing to Galea who headed his team 0-3 ahead from close-in.
In the 72nd minute, Lija added their fourth thanks to a wonderful direct free-kick of Beu, with the ball ending up in the top corner. In the final minutes the Saints managed to score two goals, both goals scored by Dylan Caruana, arguably their best player of the night. The first one arrived in the 81st minute when the Lija defence failed to clear the ball with the unmarked Caruana beating Luke Bonnici with a hard shot from the edge of the box. In the 89th minute it was again Caruana who was alert, heading in from close range.
Fgura-Mqabba 3-4
Mqabba finally got off mark with their first win of the season, beating fellow struggles Fgura 3-4 in an entertaining clash with plenty of action, especially after the break.
The team of coach George Vella had a perfect start and opened the score in the seventh minute. An angled shot by Mqabba's centre-forward Paul Chimezie from the edge of the box surprised Lydon Moore, the Fgura goalie. Five minutes later, Giovanni Galea sent Dennis Cartella through on the left, but Mqabba custodian Frederick Tabone blocked the Italian's effort from close range. Gradually, Fgura saw more of the ball, but without creating many goal scoring opportunities, sending Mqabba with a one goal advantage into the break.
The match came to life after the break. In the 50th minute, hardworking Fgura midfielder Thomas Grech worked his way pasted a string of Mqabba defenders, beating Tabone from close range, a deserved equaliser. Three minutes later, Cartella should have done better from an ideal position after a Galea through pass, but his deflected shot from just inside the box sailed over the crossbar. From the resultant corner-kick, Carlos Valero headed Fgura 2-1 up, much to the delight of the numerous Fgura supporters.
There were four goals in the space of ten minutes. In the 71st minute, Mqabba drew level thanks to a wonderful goal of Alexsandro Ferreira. The Brazilian winger finished off a great individual action on the left side of the pitch with a curved shot from the edge of the box which had the better of Moore. Four minutes later, Mqabba re-took the lead. A Ferreira cross from the left side was headed into the net by Chimezie from close-range, his second goal of the evening for the Nigerian. On 79 minutes, a free-kick from just outside the box by Grech was tipped over the crossbar by Tabone. From the resultant corner kick, Brazilian central defender Charles Gandini outjumped the Mqabba defence to head Fgura next to Mqabba, another great goal. One minute later however, Kevin Camilleri punished some hesitation in the Fgura defence with a low shot which gave Mqabba a much needed three points.
Fgura Utd: L.Moore, J.Cassar, A.Scicluna (J.Stenson 64), C.Gandini, J.Barbara, S.Borg, T.Grech, C.Valero (A.Toncheff 78), G.Galea, D.Cartella, S.Hili (A.Cilia-Mumford 78).
Mqabba: F.Tabone, J.Micallef, M.Caruana, K.Camilleri, D.Micallef, K.Magro, C.Cutajar (J.Spiteri 62), A.Ferreira, G.Micallef (K.Xuereb 68), I.A.Margarit (Y.Omuro 46), P.Chimezie.
Referee: Ezekiel Barbara