Matchday 11 of the Cisk Veterans Premier League took place this week with a top of the table clash between MFPA and Birkirkara St.Helens being the pick of the bunch as the most anticipated of all the
matches.
Birkirkara came into the game joint first after their tight encounter with Hibernians in the previous gameweek. MFPA, however, came with confidence as they humbled Gzira 8-2 in their last match. Overall, it was a cagey affair with not much creativity coming from either side but eventually MFPA prevailed with a 3-1 win thanks to a brace from Thomas Paris ,followed by a goal in the name of Roderick Bajada. Ayrton Buhagiar was the sole player to score for the losing team.
The other game from tonight was yet another close affair between struggling Zurrieq Wolves and Hibernians. Mauro Brincat being the main reason for Hibernians win as he scored a brace whilst Ilia Nazarov scored the other solitary goal, which deserved of being the winner of any game of football as he scored an outstanding bicycle kick, to ensure a hard-earned three points for Hibernians who now move up to fourth and only five points away from the top spot. The goals from last place Zurrieq came through Robert Zammit and Alistair Camilleri.
The games from last night were more open as we saw a flurry of goals from both games. The night kicked off with an enticing eleven goal thriller between Rabat and Zejtun Red Stars, in favour of the team from the North as they came back from 2-1 down after halftime to win with a comprehensive 7-4 result. Ibrahim Tarek and Adam Smeir were the heros of the night as they scored a hat trick and a brace respectively while Timothy Zammit and Dylan Falzon also contributed to the Whites’ victory. A brace each from Nikolai Filipov and Matthew Borg were the other goals for the losing side.
The final game of yesterday night was an important one as Gzira looked to cement their grip on first place, however, they have fallen short of this objective as they fell to a narrow 5-4 loss against mid table Luxol. A brace from Manolito Micallef and solitary goals from Micheal Galea, Mauro Camoranesi and Luke Satariano proved enough to beat aspiring title winners Gzira who despite the best efforts Ian Zammit especially, with him managing to score a hat trick, and also a goal from Shaun Bajada, proved nothing in their efforts to obtain a vital three points.
Due to this result between Gzira and Luxol, and MFPAs win over the other title Contenders Birkirkara, MFPA have now reached the top of the table and find themselves ahead of their rivals Birkirkara and Gzira by a single point as it’s all looking the more likely that the race for the title will be closer than ever this year.
Standings– VMFA Cisk Premier League
MFPA 23, Gżira United, Birkirkara St Helen’s 22, Hibernians 18, Luxol 16, Rabat Veterans 13 , Żejtun Red Stars 12, Żurrieq Wolves 3
