Denni penalty ensures winning debut for Doncic

VALLETTA                  1SENGLEA ATHLETIC 0 Valletta gave new coach Danilo Doncic a winning debut but their win over Senglea Athletic was anything but straightforward as the latter put on a stern challenge.  Denni’s second-half penalty – given for a handball – enabled Valletta to cut the gap on leaders to one point. The game produced few scoring opportunities with Valletta finding it hard to break down Senglea’s organised defence. Estonian striker Albert Prosa made his first start for Valletta while right-back Enmy Manuel Pena Beltre, signed from St Andrews a few days ago, came on for Denni 18 minutes from time. BOV player of the match: Denni (Valletta). BALZAN BEAT SAINTSBALZAN          3ST ANDREWS 1Balzan stayed top of the BOV Premier League following a 3-1 defeat of St Andrews at the Centenary Stadium on Saturday. St Andrews had stunned Balzan in the first round, beating them 3-2, but there was no repeat of that shock as the leaders made sure of the points by the 76th minute. The Saints had a great chance to nose ahead on 11 minutes as they were awarded a penalty after Kemar Reid was felled by Bruno Giglio de Oliveira but Joseph Farrugia’s effort from the spot was stopped by Sean Mintoff, the Balzan goalkeeper. It was Balzan’s turn to win a penalty on the stroke of half-time as Tristan Grant fouled Alex da Paixao Alves inside the area and from the penalty spot, Bojan Kaljevic drilled his shot into the net. Four minutes into the second half, Balzan doubled their lead when, from a cross by Alves, Kaljevic’s header came off the upright. From the rebound, Alfred Effiong, who had come on as a substitute, deposited the ball into the net. Kaljevic secured the win with a third goal 14 minutes from time, heading home from Alves’s right-wing cross. In stoppage time, St Andrews scored a consolation goal. Misael Miranda Gomez let fly rising shot that had the better of Mintoff. BOV player of the match: Alex De Paixao Alves (Balzan). WENDEL SCORES HAT-TRICK ON MOSTA DEBUTLIJA ATHLETIC 1MOSTA               5 Alex Wendel dos Santos scored a hat-trick on his debut as Mosta hammered Lija Athletic 5-1 to move further clear of the relegation zone. While the scoreline suggests that it was an easy win for the Blues, Lija were In the game until they lost Ousmane Sidibe to a red card and suffered the third goal from the ensuing penalty. Jan Tanti made his first appearance for Mosta as a substitute while Japanese midfielder Kei Hirose made his debut for Lija. Wendel gave Mosta the lead on nine minutes from half-time with a direct free-kick but Raphael Kooh Sohna equalised with a first-time effort after connecting with Predrag Babic throw-in. Leozinho Henrique Ferreira put Mosta ahead three minutes past the hour, heading the ball home from Tanti’s cross. The game was as good as over with 14 minutes left when Sidibe pushed Alex Wendel dos Santos inside the area. The Brazilian striker converted from the spot while Sidibe was sent off. The Blues imposed their numerical superiority 10 minutes from time after Tanti was fouled inside the area by Babic. Wendel sent his penalty shot past Luke Bonnici to complete his hat-trick. Leozinho got a fifth goal for Mosta two minutes later following a perfect assist by Wendel. BOV player of the match: Alex Wendel Dos Santos (Mosta). STRIPES HAMMER GŻIRABIRKIRKARA   4GŻIRA UNITED 0 Birkirkara served up further notice of their progress as they produced a five-star performance to trounce Gżira United 4-0 at the Centenary Stadium on Friday. This was the fourth consecutive win for Paul Zammit's side who have made inroads in the upper half of the standings. Gżira, who were missing suspended duo Roderick Briffa and Amadou Samb but gave a debut to Nigerian striker Haruna Garba, never got going as they were outplayed by the Stripes. Macedonian goalkeeper Kristijan Naumovski, Brazilian defender Fernando Barbosa Pereira and Serbian midfielder Srdjan Dimitrov had a positive debut for Birkirkara. Luke Montebello fired Birkirkara ahead on the fifth minute after receiving from Jake Grech. Five minutes from the end of the first half, the towering striker finished off another swift counter-attack to make it 2-0. Grech added a third with a crisp shot 18 minutes into the second half and, five minutes later, his drive was deflected into the net by Gżira wing-back Gary Muir as Birkirkara made sure of the points early. BOV player of the match: Jake Grech (Birkirkara). LIONS HOLD SLIEMASLIEMA WANDERERS 1NAXXAR LIONS            1 Naxxar Lions gained a useful point in their fight against relegation after holding Sliema Wanderers in a 1-1 draw. The Wanderers had enjoyed a bright start, taking the lead in the 10th minute. Mark Scerri pounced on a rebound to steer the ball into the net after goalkeeper Christoph Nicht had partially saved Riccardo Correa Duarte’s shot. Naxxar were unlucky not to equalise on 33 minutes as Manolito Micallef’s cross was met by Jean Diego Moser but his effort rolled against the post. Midway into the second half, the Lions levelled matters with a powerful drive from Yuri de Jesus Messias. BOV player of the match: Yuri de Jesus Messias (Naxxar Lions).