Santa Lucia 0-5 Marsa
On Sunday night, Marsa kicked off their campaign in the BOV Challenge League in spectacular fashion, overwhelming a struggling Santa Lucia side with a 5-0 victory in a match dominated by Marsa. Based on this performance, Marsa clearly positions itself as a strong contender for promotion to the Premier League, while Santa Lucia appears to be in a dire situation, particularly as they only had four outfield players available on the bench.
Marsa controlled the first half, launching attacks and applying constant pressure on the Santa Lucia defense. After several attempts from the edge of the area, Marsa took the lead in the 25th minute when Kyle Gatt scored from close range following a scramble in front of goal.
Seven minutes later, Marsa doubled their advantage when Santa Lucia defender Andreas Vella inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net while attempting to clear it. Marsa continued to press forward, with Robinho sending a shot over the bar just five minutes before halftime.
Three minutes after the break, Marsa struck again with a stunning goal from Aslen Kevin, who executed a shot on the turn from well outside the box. The remainder of the match turned into a training exercise for Marsa, who missed a penalty in the 81st minute when Dylan Agius’ shot from the spot was expertly saved by goalkeeper Miguel Spiteri. However, Spiteri was powerless to stop Sgaria Farias, a substitute, who headed in from the resulting corner with his first touch of the game. In stoppage time, Santa Lucia’s woes were compounded when Lydon Micallef netted the fifth and final goal from close range.
Sirens 0-3 Valletta
Thane Micallef’s Valletta began their Challenge League journey on a high note, defeating Sirens 3-0 in the first kick-off at Centenary Stadium last Saturday night. The victory was well-deserved for the Lilywhites, who even managed to keep some established players on the bench for the entire match.
Valletta opened the scoring just nine minutes in, with Andrei Ciolacu finishing off a cross from new American winger Enoch Mashagalusa. In the 23rd minute, James Scicluna (formerly of Zabbar) should have doubled the lead, but his shot was blocked by Andrea Cassar. Scicluna had another chance towards the end of the first half, but his attempt went wide from a promising position.
Sirens emerged from the halftime break with more composure and pushed forward when possible. However, in the 67th minute, Brandon Paiber found Scicluna unmarked in the box, allowing him to head in Valletta’s second goal. Brazilian substitute Jefferson Carioca sealed the match with the third goal in the 82nd minute, finishing off a quick counter-attack by Valletta.
Tarxien Rainbows 2-0 Mtarfa
At the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Tarxien Rainbows began their Challenge League campaign with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over newly promoted Mtarfa. Both teams delivered solid performances, with the decisive goal coming just seconds before the final whistle.
The Rainbows opened the scoring ten minutes before halftime, thanks to a low shot from outside the box by Brazilian Claudio Murici (formerly of Ghajnsielem).
Mtarfa responded well after conceding and nearly equalized early in the second half with a low shot from outside the box by Peter Sammut. They continued to apply pressure in search of an equalizer but had several shots miss the target. In the dying minutes, Jacques Scerri’s side secured the win with a well-executed counter-attack, finished off with a lovely lob by Sheldon Mizzi.
All results:
Santa Lucia 0-5 Marsa
Sirens 0-3 Valletta
Tarxien Rainbows 2-0 Mtarfa
Lija Athletic 1-2 Pieta’ Hotspurs
Zurrieq 1-2 Swieqi United
Mgarr United 0-1 Gudja United
Fgura United 0-1 St Andrews
Senglea Athletic 1-1 Zebbug Rangers
