Amateur League 1 roundup: Vittoriosa hand Attard first defeat

With a slightly better goal-average then Vittoriosa Stars, Birzebbuga St Peter’s are the new leaders of the 2024/25 Amateur League 1. The Saints made no mistake against Kirkop United on Thursday night at the Centenary Stadium, beating the strugglers by the odd goal in five.

The Blues took the lead on 14 minutes through Chris Baker, who knocked in his first goal for his new club. But Kirkop did not rest on their laurels and equalised just a minute later when Neil Farrugia headed home from a corner. The Saints retook the lead two minutes before half time when they were awarded a penalty which Samuel Saldanha blasted home past Clayton Rapa.

Birzebbuga made it 3-1 on the hour mark thanks to Saldanha, who was on hand to stab home from close range. Kirkop did attempt a reaction after that, but Birzebbuga were always in control and could have scored a few more from counter attacks. Kirkop did manage to reduce the deficit two minutes into stoppage time thanks to Matthew Borg but there was no more time for a rally.

Attard 0-2 Vittoriosa Stars
The match of the week in the Amateur League last weekend was undoubtedly the clash between Attard and Vittoriosa Stars. Attard, unbeaten before this game, eventually had to acknowledge their defeat in this interesting game at the Mosta Ground, full of good football and drama.

The opening period was calm with both sets of players not over-committing each other too much. This all changed on 24 minutes when Godwin Emmanuel served the unmarked Gordon Saliba at the second post to fire the Cottonera side in front. Attard did react but goalmouth action was limited with the Stars rather comfortably reaching half-time with a one-goal advantage.

Attard should have equalised early in the second half when Nicholas Schembri’s half-volley at the back post failed to find the net. It was however a sign to start a siege on the goal of Vittoriosa goalkeeper Carmelo Caruana, who did well to keep his net intact. On the hour, Attard coach Ivan Zammit was to the stands for vulgar language and on 76 minutes, from a fast counter-attack, substitute Gianluca Sultana doubled for the Stars, much to the frustration of the Attard clan who rather deserved the equaliser.

Tempers flared in the end as, at first, on 80 minutes Camilo Escobar collected his second caution of the afternoon for Attard, which made the task for his team to get back into the game even harder. In stoppage time, Birgu captain Clive Spiteri was given two yellows within a minute and was asked to leave the pitch as well. It staged some angry reactions from the Vittoriosa bench with Aidan Gilford-Agius being given a straight red for some provocations towards the Attard supporters.  

Luqa St Andrew’s 3-1 Rabat Ajax
On Sunday afternoon at the Luxol Stadium, Luqa St Andrew’s made it four wins in a row as they scored three in the second half to beat Rabat Ajax 3-1. With just one point behind leaders Birzebbuga, the original St Andrews are completely back in the race for the honours.

Luqa held the initiative right from the start but found it difficult to penetrate the Rabat rear-guard during the first half but on 28 minutes, a cross shot from the left by Dario Aquilina hit the crossbar. Nine minutes later, Giancarlo Borg performed a good save on a cross by Dasser Sammut. Two minutes from the end of the first half, Sammut nearly took full advantage of an erratic back pass, having a shot from inside the area which was blocked and the ball reached Sheriff Mohammed which was turned into a corner.

Five minutes in the second half, Andrea Azzopardi had a cross from the right saved by the goalkeeper and then, a corner by Aquilina was palmed out by goalkeeper Borg. Luqa took the lead on 57 minutes when Mario Jude Dominicius served Azzopardi on the right and his diagonal shot beat the Rabat goalkeeper. The Saints gained more confidence and Azzopardi tested Borg with a shot from the right on the hour.  Both sides had their moments but it was Luqa who doubled on 80 minutes when Aquilina’s cross from the right was partially saved by the goalkeeper and Sammut hit home from close range.

Two minutes from time, Rabat were awarded a penalty after Yuya Emura was pushed down inside the area by Fred Kessie and Jake Cordina converted from the penalty spot, Rabat’s first league goal of the campaign. However, two minutes in added time, substitute Nathan Frendo sealed the issue with a third goal with a diagonal shot from the left.


Qormi 3-1 Marsaskala
Like Luqa, neighbours Qormi joined Attard on the 12-points mark thanks to a deserved victory over Marsaskala. Veteran record breaker Antonio Antunes Pavlidis, also known as Cadu, scored twice for Qormi, as the Brazilian brought his season totals on nine goals from six games, including the one in the Amateur Cup.

Qormi came close on eight minutes when winger Jake Bone had a shot on the turn which hit the post. Three minutes later, Qormi took the lead when Cadu sprang the offside trap and cooly lobbed over Marsaskala custodian Clyde Aquilina. Marsaskala should have equalised on 22 minutes when James Oghenekewaro was in the clear but his effort was blocked by Lydon Moore. It was however Qormi who doubled on 34 minutes when Bone headed home from a goalmouth melee’.

Marsaskala, who are only a shadow of the team of the previous years, reduced the deficit seven minutes into the second half when Japanese livewire Nobukatsu Tsuchiya was felled in the box with the referee pointing at the spot. Up stepped Oghenekewaro who made no mistake sending Moore the wrong way.  Just two minutes later, Qormi restored their two goal advantage from a splendid counter-attack with the ball running through to Cadu who rifled a low shot into the net.

The match quietened down after that goal although Qormi had several chances on the counter, not least on 80 minutes when Carlos Debattista shot wide from a good position.


Xghajra Tornados 5-2 Msida St Joseph
The Xghajra versus Msida clash on Saturday afternoon at the Mosta Ground was an entertaining encounter which produced seven goals and plenty of good football. It was the 600th career game of 49-year-old Kenneth Abela, who made his senior debut way back during season 1991/92 with Hibernians and is currently in his 34th consecutive active season, a true remarkable feat. Above all, Abela sealed his excellent performance with a goal, his 190th in his career, playing the full 90 minutes.

Plenty of action in the first 45 minutes. Msida should have taken the lead after just three minutes with Mousstafa Malool serving latest recruit Hugo Vinicius who slammed his attempt against the crossbar from close range. The Tornados were more constructive by scoring the opener through Larson Mallia on seven minutes, a rebound goal after Saints goalkeeper Nathan Mangion initially blocked his first attempt. Barely a minute later, Mangion did well to block an on-target Mallia attempt but in came Raylon Paisley who scored the second goal for the seasiders into the empty net.

On 36 minutes, Msida were unlucky again when Dario Borg hit the post with a long-distance attempt. In the attack on the other side that followed, the Tornados were awarded a penalty after Mallia was brought down in the box, with the much-travelled play maker stepping up himself and converting in style. Msida pulled one back just before the break through Borg, taking advantage from some hesitant Xghajra defending.

Initially, the second period had the same intensity as in the 47th minute, Malool headed Msida back into the game from a Luke Camilleri cross. Msida kept pushing for the equalizer but on 71 minutes Mallia completed his hat-trick from a Paisley assist. Three minutes later, Abela himself added goal number five for Xghajra to make this match a memorable one. Mallia then should have added the sixth goal for the Tornados from the penalty spot but this time Mangion came out on top, rounding off this very entertaining game. Xghajra have now gathered 11 points and are fully in the running for the honours.

San Gwann 5-0 Pembroke Athleta
On Friday night, San Gwann had the better off Pembroke, who played a decent first half but completely faded away after the second Qormi goal. An important victory for the Yellows who, with 10 points, are now just three points behind the leading duo of Birzebbuga and Vittoriosa. With San Gwann, Gonzalo Virano returned to the club, playing his first match of the season, while Weverton returned from injury for Pembroke but had to leave the pitch early on with another injury.

Dean Sciberras, the Pembroke shot-stopper, was the busiest of the two goalkeepers in the first half, parading shots by Virano and Mattia Zarb. On 40 minutes, the Saints were awarded a penalty when Nigel Zahra brought down Adam Falzon in the box. Virano made no mistake from the spot although Sciberras dived into the right corner.

San Gwann stepped up a gear after the change of ends with Zarb doubling on 50 minutes, with Sciberras blocking his first attempt but Zarb scoring in the rebound. Right after that on the other side, 19-year-old Julian Bartolo did well to block a Jordan Vella attempt. It was match over however when Liam Portelli splendidly beat Sciberras from long-distance on 53 minutes. Not long after coming on as a substitute, Liam Micallef added San Gwann’s fourth with an excellent strike from the edge of the box. With seven minutes regular time left, Micallef produced a splendid diagonal header to hit home his side’s fifth, emphatically beating their neighbours and winning further ground in the standings.

Mellieha 0-0 Zejtun Corinthians
The early Sirens Stadium kick off game ended in a goalless draw with most of the action coming in the first half. It was another two points lost for Mellieha, while Zejtun looked eventually more content with the point won. Zejtun Corinthians goalkeeper Anson Saliba did very well to keep his goal in-tact with some splendid saves throughout the match.

In the opening phase, Mellieha had three penalty claims, two for a hands-ball and a foul on Adonis, but in all cases the referee in charge waved to play on. Mellieha saw more of the ball and created a few chances but Corinthians custodian Saliba did well to keep his goal clean. The best chance in the opening phase was for Zejtun as on 28 minutes, Jesmael Catania produced a wonderful top corner shot which was superbly turned into a corner by Mellieha keeper Tony Curmi. Six minutes later on the other side, Saliba performed a similar save on a Sebastian Perdomo attempt. The Northerners should have gone up on 42 minutes when Michael Camilleri progressed well on the right flank, crossing to Adonis but the Ivorian incredibly failed to beat Saliba from close-range.

After the change of ends, Mellieha kept on insisting with Adonis having a few good shots at goal which were all paraded by Saliba. The Corinthians’ relied on the counter attack but rarely troubled Curmi. Both rear-guards stood out for the remaining time of the match with Zejtun stepping of the pitch the happier side.

Qrendi 1-1 Gharghur
In the late Sirens Stadium kick off on Saturday, Qrendi and Gharghur met which resulted into a one all draw. Qrendi truly disappointed with the team lacking harmony, leaving their striking force too isolated up front. On top of that, Gharghur centre-back Jamie Delia completely blocked Brazilian dangerman Leo Salgado out of the match.

Gharghur took an early 15th minute lead through Miguel Simiana, who was the most alert in a goalmouth melee, punishing the Qrendi rear-guard who failed to clear the danger. Just before the half hour mark, Gharghur goalkeeper James Abela had to interfere on a number of occasions, most notably from a Ayesller attempt with Qrendi now pushing for an equaliser. On 38 minutes however, Gharghur nearly doubled through a Nicholas Formosa thunderbolt, which Christian Cassar turned into a corner.

Ten minutes after the break, the ever-industrious Brandon Bray produced a fine run down the left flank, nearly capitalising as his diagonal attempt just missed target with Abela beaten. On 66 minutes, Delia cleared a Gianfranco Micallef grounder from the goal-line while four minutes later, Bray failed to round of another individual action down the left. On 78 minutes, Qrendi were awarded a penalty when Leo Salgado was felled in the box by Mark Cutajar, with the Brazilian stepping up himself, blasting home from the spot. Qrendi were all out now to decide the match in their favour, with Abela splendidly turning another Bray attempt into a corner seconds before full-time.

Link: https://a.meridianbet.com/c/8lcIhB
Click HERE to learn more! (18+)

Leave a reply