NATIONAL AMATEUR LEAGUE I PLAY OUT
Gharghur 3-3 Zejtun Corinthians
The battle for survival will be taken all the way to the last match day with three teams involved. One of them, Gharghur, obtained a priceless and hard-earned 3-3 draw with Zejtun Corinthians in the late Saturday kick-off at the Sirens Stadium, with the Gharghur equaliser arriving from a penalty deep into stoppage time.
With seven victories and seven draws, the final result also meant that Zejtun remain unbeaten in their last 14 games, a remarkable feat.
Gharghur had two jubilarians in their starting lineup as the match marked the 200th third-tier appearance for Gharghur goalkeeper James Abela, while Venezuelan livewire Nestor Canas, a common figure in the Amateur League the last nine years, played his 100th game at this level.
In the 10th minute, Gharghur took the lead when Corinthians goalkeeper Anson Saliba failed to control a cross from the left flank with Mark Cutajar tapping in from close-range. Four minutes later, Zejtun were awarded a clear penalty which was converted by top scorer Stefi Cale, with the Albanian sending Abela the wrong way.
The team of coach Paul Falzon took the lead just before the half hour mark when Francisco Mella sent Cale in the clear, who rounded Abela before depositing the ball into the empty net. Two minutes before half-time, Zejtun’s Matthew Farrugia clumsily lost the ball deep into his own half with Jayden Aquilina punishing the mistake with a diagonal shot to send both sides into the dressing rooms with a 2-2 score.
Gharghur interim coach Rudolphe Gaerty surprising left out Nestor Canas at the start of the second half, but play remained balanced with perhaps Gharghur having a slight upper-hand in the initial phase of the second period, although clear-cut chances were scarce.
However, on 77 minutes, Cale was sent on a run down the left flank and splendidly blasted the ball in the roof of the net, completely surprising Abela, given Zejtun a 3-2 lead.
Tempers flared with five minutes to play left with various players involved in a brawl with eventually Gharghur’s Jayden Aquilina being given his marching orders with a straight red.
Deep into stoppage time, Gharghur were awarded a penalty with Mark Cutajar converting from the spot to give his side a priceless point in their battle for survival.
Rabat Ajax 2-3 Marsaskala
The Easter weekend program continued with an early afternoon kick off at the Sirens Stadium, which produced five goals and plenty of good football, with Rabat Ajax goalkeeper Jean Matthias Vella standing out with a string of fine saves. Marsaskala should have won this game with a larger margin but Vella was in no mood to give away anything, one of the best performances of a goalkeeper seen this season in the Amateur Leagues.
Apart from Marsaskala obtaining a valuable three points in their quest for survival, Joshua Ojelabi scored a hat-trick, bringing his season totals to 19, topping the list of the Top Scorers. The lanky Irish striker needed just 12 games to reach this total, an impressive average.
After just five minutes play, James Oghenekewaro was felled in the box with the referee awarding a penalty. The Nigerian striker stepped up himself but Vella made a splendid save to deny Marsakala an early opener.
Two minutes later, the Magpies took the lead through Jake Cordina, who was the fastest on-hand at the second post to round off a precise Calvin Bonett cross.
On 18 minutes, Cordina was unlucky to saw his intelligent goal attempt hit the post with eventually the Marsaskala defence clearing. On 24 minutes, Vella performed an excellent save on a close-range Joshua Ojelabi header which the veteran goalkeeper turned stylish into a corner. Moments later, Vella denied another Oghenekewaro attempt and did again well on the stroke of half-time to turn a Christopher Galea attempt into a corner.
Three minutes after the break, Ojelabi found the net from a fine individual move, kicking the deserved equaliser behind Vella. Ojelabi kept the Rabat rear-guard on their toes with Marsaskala now completely taking over the fixture.
On 70 minutes, Vella again dived in the right corner to deny a close-range Oghenekewaro attempt, further enhancing his man of the match performance. Five minutes later, Vella blocked another Kieran Grech point-blank attempt to keep his side in the match.
But on 80 minutes, Oghenekewaro was once more sent on a darting run on the right flank this time, crossing to Ojelabi who beat Vella with a grounder. And two minutes later, Rabat collapsed with another move between Oghenekewaro and Ojelabi with the latter tapping in at the second post.
In stoppage time, Rabat pulled one back through Calvin Bonett, who deceived Clyde Aquilina with an intelligent lob to make the defeat more acceptable for the Magpies.
Mellieha 3-2 Pembroke Athleta
In an unusual Monday night kick-off at the Sirens Stadium, Mellieha beat strugglers Pembroke Athleta by the odd goal in five to leave the team of coach Jeffrey Mifsud into the red zone with an all-decisive encounter with direct competitors Gharghur coming up this weekend.
Mellieha are safe and sound in the National Amateur League 1 Play Out and scored the winner deep into stoppage time, a severe setback for Pembroke who now need nothing but a victory on the last match day to keep their hopes alive.
The Blues took the lead after just four minutes with a fine move that saw Iven Zammit conclude with an acrobatic kick into the net. Pembroke were not taking things lying down and equalized just five minutes later through Weverton who concluded from close range, his 50th goal in the Amateur Leagues through the years. Not much later, Mellieha spurned a fine chance to take the lead when Malcolm Vella Vidal was in the clear, but his effort went wide.
But it was Mellieha who regained the lead on 19 minutes when Vella Vidal went off on a strong run blasting a superb effort past Dean Sciberras. Pembroke were unlucky not to equalize on 36 minutes when Montano Rodriguez saw his superb effort equally brilliantly saved by Anthony Curmi.
Another chance when begging at the end of the first half when Jacob Carabott saw his effort saved by Curmi with Weverton then blasting over.
The Northerners failed to distance themselves from Pembroke in the second half with Pembroke equalising on 72 minutes when substitute Jordan Vella stabbed home from close range. Both teams had chances to grab a win but deep in stoppage time, Mellieha scored the winner courtesy of Tejumola Ayorinde to break Pembroke’s hearts.
Qormi 1-1 Kirkop United
The match between Qormi and Kirkop United on Saturday afternoon at the Sirens Stadium had no significance for either side, with Kirkop being the latest addition of a group of five teams who are save from the drop.
Kirkop had a slight upper-hand in the first half while Qormi reacted well after the change of ends, with the draw being a just outcome of the game.
On 12 minutes, it was Kirkop who produced the first shot on target through Carmelo Farrugia, playing against his ex-team, with a grounder which was saved by Carmelo Caruana. Two minutes later, Kirkop goalkeeper Krassimir Zammit did well to turn a top-corner attempt of Jayden Borg into a corner.
Kirkop were the livelier side with young striker Scion Cassar-Grech a joy to watch up front, creating a few good goalscoring opportunities for himself which however lacked the right direction. Five minutes before the break, Kirkop took a deserved lead through captain Mattthew Borg, who kicked home from the edge of the area, a shot which was slightly deflected and left Caruana anchored.
Straight after the break, substitute Leon Borg brought the best out of Zammit with an accurate grounder from just outside the area, which the Kirkop goalie paraded with difficulty.
Play remained balanced however, with both sides having a few goal attempts. For Kirkop, shots by Daryl Vella-Gerada and sustitue Carrick Saliba sailed inches wide, while Cadu for Qormi released a scorcher from the edge of the box which sailed wide.
However, on 82 minutes, the same Cadu made no mistake from close-range to tap in a precise Kurt Desira cross behind Zammit, his 14th league goal of the season.
Msida St Joseph 2-4 Qrendi
Another encounter with only pride at stake was the late Saturday night kick-off between Msida and Qrendi at the Centenary Stadium, won by Qrendi thanks to two decisive goals mid-way the second half.
The team of Gotthard Conti took a 2-0 lead but saw the Saints draw level just after the change of ends, making it a match which was a joy to watch with two teams who wanted nothing more than the three points.
The game kicked off with Qrendi showing early dominance. In the first four minutes, they nearly opened the scoring when Ryan Spiteri’s direct free-kick struck the post. Moments later, Sterling Moran’s header just missed the target, signalling Qrendi’s attacking intent.
Qrendi broke the deadlock in the 26th minute when Moran finished clinically after receiving a precise pass from Spiteri. Just a minute later, Qrendi doubled their lead—this time through Ayesller Carvalho, who chipped the goalkeeper after a brilliant through-ball from Brandon Bray. Qrendi controlled the first half hour of play with ease.
However, in the 38th minute, Msida pulled one back. A swift counter-attack was capped off by a sharp finish from Leon Pulis, keeping Msida in the game heading into halftime.
The second half started with a bang, as Msida levelled the score within three minutes. Moustapha Maloul fired a stunning shot to make it 2-2. The match remained tense until the 67th minute, when Qrendi regained the lead from a free kick by Ryan Spiteri, which unfortunately was turned into his own net by Msida goalkeeper Connor Frendo.
Qrendi sealed the win in the 71st minute with a brilliant goal by Bray, his 15th of the season, capping off a fine individual performance.
TOP SCORERS
19 – Joshua Ojelabi (Marsaskala)
17 – Stefi Cale (Zejtun Corinthians)
16 – Richmond Hanson (Xghajra Tornados)
15 – Brandon Bray, Leo Salgado (both Qrendi) & Samuel Saldanha (Birzebbuga St Peter’s)
14 – Marc Bolane Adonis (Mellieha), Claudio Antunes Pavlidis ‘Cadu’, Godwin Emmanuel (Vittoriosa Stars) & Nahuel Velasquez (San Gwann)
