ROUND-UP – City ease past Stripes, Balzan win derby

Another action-packed weekend of BOV Premier League football produced a goal bonanza with Valletta cruising to a 3-0 victory over struggling rivals Birkirkara while leaders Gżira United needed a last-gasp penalty to save a point against Floriana. VALLETTA SUPERIOR Valletta bounced back from their 2-1 defeat to Balzan as they outclassed Birkirkara 3-0. The Citizens opened the scoring after only 11 minutes. Claudio Pani’s cross was not cleared by Cain Attad with the ball landing to Michael Mifsud whose powerful shot gave goalkeeper Philip Schranz no chance. Birkirkara had a good opportunity to equalise but Jake Grech’s effort was cleared off the line by Ryan Camilleri. After being denied by the crossbar, Kyrian Nwoko doubled Valletta’s lead on 31 minutes, heading home a corner by Ibrahim Saleh. Valleta sealed their win on the hour with a third goal scored by Denni Rocha Dos Santos, on for Mifsud, who concluded a fast counter-attack by Saleh. SAMB FRUSTRATES GREENSA penalty scored by Amadou Samb four minutes into stoppage time maintained Gżira Unied’s unbeaten start as they drew 1-1 with Floriana. After a quiet first half, Floriana began the second on the right footing as they scored after only two minutes. Dylan Grima passed the ball to Maurizio Vella whose shot had the better of goalkeeper Justin Haber who was making his debut for the Maroons – against his former team. Gżira increased the pressure in search of an equaliser but looked to have suffered a further setback when, six minutes from the end, Samba Tounkara was shown a straight red card for hitting out at Enrico Pepe. The Maroons’ efforts were rewarded in stoppage time. A through-pass by Roderick Briffa appeared to come off Floriana defender Alex Cini’s arm with referee Alan Mario Sant ordering a penalty. Samb made no mistake. SEVEN-GOAL THRILLER Balzan edged out neighbours Lija Athletic 4-3 in an action-packed derby at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Friday. Alfred Effiong’s late strike secured Balzan’s second win in a row and left the gallant Lija reeling as they remain at the bottom of the table with one point. The game was off to a frenetic start. Ryan Fenech fired Balzan ahead after 11 minutes but an Erjon Beu penalty restored equilibrium on the 19th minute. Leejoe Schembri put Lija 2-1 up five minutes later but Bojan Kaljevic, on as a substitute, converted a penalty eight minutes in the second half to level for Balzan. The goal feast continued. Abubakar Bello Osagie restored Lija’s six minutes later with a strong grounder but Kaljevic’s scrambled header made it 3-3 in the 68th minute. Balzan had the last word as, three minutes from the end, Effiong hit the winner for Marko Micovic’s side. HIBS HELD Champions Hibernians were held to a 1-1 draw by Naxxar Lions on Friday. The Paolites are now fourth, level with Balzan on 11 points, five points behind leaders Gżira while Naxxar join St Andrews on three points. Scott Fenwick put the Lions ahead on seven minutes but Jorge Elias dos Santos levelled matters for Hibs on 26 minutes. SAINTS WIN AT THE DEATH St Andrews claimed their second win after Joseph Farrugia’s stoppage-time free-kick gave them a 1-0 win over Senglea Athletic who finished the game with nine men. Senglea had Rene Caceres sent off for two cautions in the first half and also lost Antonio Terracciano 17 minutes from time. They looked to have done enough to earn a point but Farrugia’s curling free-kick dashed their hopes. TARXIEN STUN SLIEMA Tarxien Rainbows gained their first win of the season after beating Sliema Wanderers 2-1. The Rainbows broke the deadlock after 26 minutes. Ayrton Azzopardi supplied a long through-ball which caught the Sliema defence off balance as Ryan Darmanin advanced unchallenged before hitting a powerful shot past Glen Zammit.  Sliema equalised nine minutes later through Jefferson De Assis who profited from a short clearance by the Tarxien defence. The second half saw Sliema hold the initiative but Tarxien held firm before striking the winner in the stoppage time. James Brincat’s free-kick sailed into the six-yard box and Andrè Scicluna rose high to head the ball home. MICALLEF HITS HAT-TRICKLydon Micallef was a hat-trick hero for Ħamrun Spartans as they defeated Mosta 5-2 at the Victor Tedesco Stadium. This win enabled the Spartans to leapfrog Sliema Wanderers and Senglea Athletic into sixth place, one point behind Hibernians and Balzan. Mosta, on the other hand, suffered their second consecutive defeat, leaving them joint-fourth from bottom. The Spartans enjoyed the perfect start, taking the lead inside the opening two minutes thanks to Micallef. Dexter Xuereb levelled matters for Mosta in the 10th minute but the Spartans regained the lead five minutes later through Mauricio Jose Marinho. Micallef made it 3-1 on 34 minutes and added another midway into the second half. Substitute Calvin Camilleri reduced the gap for Mosta in the 77th minute but a minute from time, Ħamrun restored their three-goal lead through Siraj Arab Eddin.