St.George's-Swieqi U 0-4
St.George's: J. Azzopardi, A. Hili, L. Bonett (A. Mallia 72'), S. Perdomo, D. Caruana, C. Cassar, M. Uritani (T. Hiruma 46'), G. D'Amato, J. Dalli, J. Grech, A. Nagbe.
Swieqi U:- C. Abdilla, K. Muscat, F. Felipe Nunes, L. Zammit (R. Taliana 21'), S. Gatt Baldacchino, S. Bugeja, M. Ivanovic, I. Salis (E. Ayorinde Tejumola 58'), M. Farrugia, J. Azzopardi, D. Borg.
Referee: Etienne Mangion
Swieqi United returned to winning ways easily beating St. George's in a match involving two sides in the lower places of the table.
After a balanced first thirty minutes Swieqi forged ahead on 34 minutes when Ibrahim Salis drilled home the rebound when Azzopardi partially saved a Taliana shot.
Three minutes later Swieqi missed a golden opportunity whenFelipe Nunes Fernandes missed a penalty with Azzopardi making a great save from the spot.
On the resumption St.George's pushed forward for the equaliser but were punished by Swieqi. The turning point came on the hour when Nagbe was sent off and Swieqi awarded a second penalty but again Azzopardi saved Fernandes' effort.
However on 66 minutes Swieqi doubled the score when Felipe Nunes Fernandes made up for his mistakes from the spot.
On 90 minutes Swieqi made it three when Taliana scored with an angled drive and in stoppage time Nunes Fernandes scored the fourth goal.
Mqabba-St Andrews 2-1
Mqabba: D. Carabott, D. Micallef, I. Margarit (P. Chimezie, 80'), A. Ferreira, J. Micallef, Y. Omuro, K. Xuereb, N. Micallef, M. Caruana, K. Camilleri, F. Zammit
St Andrews: N. Grima, G. Muscat, I. Azzopardi, M. D'Alessandro, N. Bradshaw (J. Sixsmith, 73'), K. Reid, J. Farrugia, M. Bartolo, A. Borg Olivier, L. Borg (M. Veselji, 63'), D. Jackson
Referee: Sandro Spiteri
Mqabba gained a precious win beating St Andrews with the odd goal in three with all goals coming in the last portion of the match. The Saints, coming from a very positive patch, lost a golden opportunity to move temporarily to the top of the standings.
The First Division season started with a bang yesterday when Lija Athletic and Naxxar Lions shared four goals in a highly spectacular match. This match pitted two teams relegated from the Premier League last season, and was a real thriller especially in the first hour.
Mqabba took the lead on 66 minutes later when Fabrizio Zammit headed home from close range. St. Andrews managed to react and levelled matters on 78 minutes when substitute Mattia Veselji beat Duane Carabott with a grounder from an acute angle.
Their joy was shortlived because Mqabba pushed ahead once again barely five minutes later when Alexsandro Ferreira's header on a freekick by Yuki Omuro beat goalkeeper Grima.