St George’s 0 Pembroke Athleta 1League leaders Pembroke found the going hard much more than expected against lowly St. George’s, grabbing the three points at stake thanks to a second-half strike by substitute Lawrence Chiedozie (62’). Pembroke are still the only side unbeaten in the Challenge League, but much more was expected from them against a side still in search of its first victory. The match resulted in a balanced affair played under a heavy downpour especially in the first half. Pembroke had more of the ball but were felt wanting in front of goal. On the other hand, the Cottonera side had to leave the pitch once again empty-handed after missing some very good scoring opportunities. But as was in the case of the match against Vittoriosa, the Saints had to pay dearly for their mistakes in front of goal as they were once again beaten after another brave performance.
Marsaxlokk 1 Marsa 2Marsa registered their sixth consecutive win, beating Marsaxlokk by the odd goal in three, with all goals scored inside the first thirty minutes of the game. Marsa fully deserved this victory, a victory that puts them closer to the top of the table. Marsaxlokk had a great start forging ahead with a Josuel Spiteri strike after barely five minutes play. But Marsa, after the shock, quickly gained control of the match, building a series of attacks that gave the desired effect with two quick goals. On 24 minutes Jackson Lima scored a beauty with a scorcher from well outside the area and three minutes later Lyden Micallef scored from close range following a corner action, already his tenth league goal of the season. For the rest of the game Marsa eased the pressure but were always in search of a third goal, with Marsaxlokk never giving the impression they could save the match.Mqabba 1 Swieqi United 1Mqabba salvaged a point against Swieqi in dramatic fashion obtaining the equaliser deep into added time. The match never reached high standards with both sides unable to play decent football in very difficult weather conditions, with the strong wind the dominant force. Goal-mouth actions were scarce, practically inexistant especially in the first half. Swieqi had more control of the ball but Mqabba defended well. Half-way through the second half Swieqi forged ahead when Frank Temile’s header completely beat Mqabba custodian Jonathan Grech. Mqabba reversed everything forward in the remaining minutes but were not dangerous in front of goal. Then when all seemed lost on 97 minutes defender Neil Falzon headed home the equaliser from a corner taken by Ryan Spiteri.Vittoriosa Stars 0 Naxxar Lions 0This match was mostly battled out on midfield, with both sets of players failing to create any goalscoring opportunities throughout the match. The first half was a balanced affair with neither side creating any danger in front of goal. After the break, Naxxar saw more of the ball and just after the hour, Erikys da Silva’s scorcher sailed inches over the crossbar. Naxxar slowly got in control of the match and even staged a rally late in the game in search for a winner but Vittoriosa goalkeeper Ryan Caruana was on the alert to neutralise all attempts coming his way. Highlight of the match was perhaps the late substitute appearance of 45-year-old Kenneth Abela on the side of Vittoriosa Stars, who finally played his 300th match at this level, a wonderful achievement. Qrendi 2 Pieta’ Hotspurs 1Daniel Bueno scored a brace, the decisive one from the penalty spot, to give Qrendi a hard-earned win over Pieta. It was a balanced and entertaining affair with Qrendi having a better start, but against the run of play they suffered Pieta’s goal on fifteen minutes. The game was more balanced now but on the half hour Qrendi were rather lucky when Pieta’s goalkeeper collided with a Pieta defender, losing the ball which came Bueno’s way who drilled the ball home. At the start of the second half Qrendi were rather unlucky, hitting the post twice in the same action through Calvin Camilleri and Schembri. Twenty minutes from time a Bueno cross was handled by Jalo and from the resultant penalty Bueno scored the winner. Deep in stoppage time Qrendi were reduced to ten men when Calvin Camilleri received a second booking.St Andrews 1 Żebbuġ Rangers 4A depleted St Andrews side bumped into a heavy defeat against Żebbuġ Rangers, who ran away with the three points at stake with an emphatic 4-1 win. The match was only three minutes old when Saint’s goalkeeper Duncan Formosa fell unluckily on top of Belgian defender Karel Bituemi in his own box. Bituemi was stretchered off the pitch after a treatment of about five minutes. Against the run of play, Żebbuġ took the lead on 39 minutes when John Micallef beat Formosa with a powerful header. Żebbuġ striker Jonathan Silva missed a penalty on 50 minutes and seven minutes later, veteran Joseph Farrugia did not fail from the spot, kicking a penalty behind Żebbuġ goalkeeper Matthew Grech to equal matters. Five minutes later, Żebbuġ regained the lead thanks to Serbian attacker Stanimir Miloskovic. Late in the game, on 82 and 87 minutes, Zebbug sealed the issue thanks to strikes by Jonatan Silva and Clive Gauci respectively, pushing St Andrews further into the relegation zone. Fgura United 3 Qormi 1Fgura returned to winning ways as they registered a much-needed win against bottom side Qormi by 3-1 at the Centenary stadium last Sunday morning. Larson Mallia put Qormi ahead on 21 minutes but Sergio Hili levelled matters from a penalty in the 36th minute after Ousmane Sidibe handled the ball in the box from a corner action. Fgura took the lead eight minutes later from a defending error from their opponents with Hili beating Jonathan Vella for the second time. Veteran Gilbert Martin sealed the issue in the 80th minute after a wonderful assist by substitute Giovanni Galea.