Santa Lucia seal historic promotion to Premier League

Santa Lucia wrapped up a very positive season in the best way possible as they secured promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.  An emphatic 4-1 victory over St Andrews at the Hibernians Stadium on Sunday afternoon propelled Santa Lucia to the top flight, in the process becoming the first team from the First Division to win the BOV Premier League promotion/relegation play-off. St Andrews contested this play-off after finishing 12th in the BOV Premier League while Santa Lucia ended their first division campaign in third place. In line with play-off regulations, the two teams fielded four foreigners to ensure a level playing field. Santa Lucia began brightly, taking a 12th-minute lead through Brazilian striker Patrick Teixeira Maia. St Andrews levelled immediately with a goal from Martin Davis but Santa Lucia quickly regained the lead thanks to Colombian David Jackson Usuga Mendoza. The second half belonged to the Yellows who sealed their win with two more goals from Usuga and Maia. While Santa Lucia gained promotion to the top tier of Maltese football for the first time, St Andrews lost their Premier League status after four seasons. Etienne Mangion was the match referee. VITTORIOSA SURVIVEVittoriosa Stars retained their First Division status after edging Mġarr United 3-2 after extra-time in the play-off, played on Sunday at the Victor Tedesco Stadium. Joseph ‘Jojo’ Ogunnupe was Vittoriosa’s hero on the day as the Nigerian forward scored a hat-trick to help his side overcome Mġarr’s sturdy challenge and the dismissal of Andreas Galea which left the Cottonera side with 10 men midway into the second half. Mġarr’s goals were scored by Jake Davies, who headed past Christian Cassar on 53 minutes, and Aaron Sammut who found the net with a well-hit volley. The match was controlled by referee Alex Johnson.