NATIONAL AMATEUR LEAGUE 1
MATCH DAY 13
Kirkop United 2-3 Vittoriosa Stars
Vittoriosa Stars Orsini are the new league leaders in the Amateur League 1 competition, beating Kirkop United by the odd goal in five, a hard-earned victory at the Centenary Stadium on Sunday morning. Kirkop were certainly the more enterprising team early on, with the Stars initially failing to get grip on the lively Kirkop forward line, but after the break the Cottonera side managed to get the game under control.
It was Kirkop who took a shock fifth minute lead through target-man Andre Matos, who rounded off a goalmouth melee’ with a strong grounder which somehow passed the goal-line despite desperate attempts of the Stars defence to clear the danger. The Stars equalised however on 17 minutes when Joseph Ogunnupe was sent in the clear on the right side of the box, beating Kirkop United goalkeeper Antonio Chetcuti with an accurate grounder. On 28 minutes, Kirkop re-took the lead when captain Matthew Borg sent Dale Tabone through on the right flank, who intelligently beat his direct marker and goalkeeper Edward Gatt to place the ball against the net. A misunderstanding between Gatt and centre-back Adrian Caruana nearly meant Kirkop’s third on 42 minutes, but Andre Matos’ goal attempt ended up on the roof of the net. But on the stroke of half-time, Birgu managed to equalise when Chetcuti completely mis-timed his sortie from a long-range Gianluca Sultana free-kick with young central defender Daryl Vella-Gerada heading into his own goal.
On 56 minutes, Vittoriosa took a 3-2 lead when Ogunnupe assisted Paul Aderibigbe, who had a free entrance into the box and beat Chetcuti with a low shot. From this moment Vittoriosa controlled the match with Kirkop having an occasional attack but without creating any danger. In the latter part of the encounter, Chetcuti did well to keep the score down with two excellent saves of Aderibigbe and substitute Aidan Agius-Gilford.
Qrendi 1-3 San Gwann
On Friday night at the Centenary Stadium, San Gwann obtained another victory in their quest for promotion, coming back from behind to beat Qrendi 3-1. The team of Gotthard Conti realised they were fighting for one of their last chances to qualify for the Top Six competition, but eventually had to swallow defeat against one of the most in-form teams of the Amateur Leagues.
On 14 minutes, Qrendi took a shock lead when a Brooklyn Sciberras thunderbolt hit the crossbar, with the ball bouncing back into the path of Leo Salgado who headed Qrendi ahead from close-range. Barely two minutes later however, San Gwann restored balance with Ricardo Velasquez hitting home from close-range after a goalmouth melee. San Gwann continued to show the better ideas and on 41 minutes, Velasquez came close to put the Saints in front but Qrendi goalkeeper Christian Cassar blocked. One minute later however, Velasquez did well to finish off another great individual move to give his side a 2-1 advantage at half-time.
Velasquez could have added the 3-1 immediately after the break but missed target with only Cassar to beat. Qrendi managed to push the Saints back into their own half during the first 25 minutes of the second half but created very few goal scoring opportunities. The Saints were more clinical with Mattia Zarb adding the third goal for Xavier Saliba’s team on 77 minutes to give San Gwann another priceless three points.
Mellieha 0-0 Birzebbuga St Peter’s
In the early Mosta Ground kick off on Saturday afternoon, Birzebbuga St Peter’s lost another two points after their defeat the weekend before against San Gwann (0-1). Mellieha fully deserved their point, playing one of their best games this campaign, with their complete defence playing an excellent match. Mellieha coach Warren Said and his technical team had done their homework well to keep the Saints at bay throughout the 90 minutes.
On 27 minutes, veteran Saints goalkeeper Julian Azzopardi was called into action twice to parade on-target attempts by Marc Adonis and Tejumola Ayorinde. Up to that point, the Saints only threatened through a few off-target attempts by Ryan Sammut and Marquinho. The opening half was in fact quite balanced, with the Northerners having the best chances. On 36 minutes, Tony Curmi did well to tip a curling Samuel Saldanha attempt over the bar, during a period that Birzebbuga intensified their search for an opener. Four minutes later on the other side, Azzopardi did well to block an Iven Zammit attempt, in a match which was flowing up and down with both teams playing full on attack.
Six minutes after the re-start, Azzopardi was back in action, saving a Wayne Chetcuti top corner thunderbolt in style. Mellieha continued to frustrate the Saints extensively with Edafe Uzeh playing a blinder in the heart of the Mellieha defence, blocking Birzebbuga centre-forward Saldanha out of the match. Goalmouth action was scarce, with a rare chance for Birzebbuga arriving on 82 minutes when Sammut failed to properly connect from a Yusuf Sulaiman cross in the six-yard box. Three minutes before the end of regular time, Birzebbuga were unlucky when Saldanha’s attempt hit the crossbar from another Sulaiman cross.
Qormi 1-3 Xghajra Tornados
In the late Mosta Ground kick-off on Saturday, Xghajra faced no difficulty to brush aside the challenge of Qormi, beating the team of coach Jesmond Zerafa 3-1. Although Qormi were practically fighting for their last chance for a Top 6 berth, it was a lacklustre performance for the yellows, as many expected them to do better. With David Joachim up front (ex-Kirkop), replacing South African midfielder Jordan Sampson, Qormi introduced already their 29th player in the league, which also could be, perhaps, one of the reasons for their inconsistency this season.
Xghajra dominated the first 45 minutes and took an early fourth minute lead through Dario Borg, who blasted home with an excellent top corner strike, beating Carmelo Caruana in the Qormi goal without a chance. Xghajra dictated play on the half of Qormi, but just after the half hour, Cadu proved to be dangerous twice for Qormi, once with an angled shot on target shot and on 36 minutes with a low free-kick, which was saved well by Levi Saliba. But the Greens kept pushing and on 42 minutes, Dario Borg came again close with an excellent individual action on the left side but this time Caruana blocked. One minute later, Cedric Zahra had a free header from a corner action but the Tornados centre-back somehow miscued his attempt. However, from the corner that followed, Richmond Hanson was on hand to double for Xghajra, giving his side a comfortable 2-0 lead at half-time.
Immediately after the change of ends, Jayden Borg should have pulled one back for Qormi but Saliba made another splendid save to deny the Qormi youngster. On 72 minutes, newcomer Joachim headed home from a Jake Bone cross to bring Qormi back into the game. However, the Xghajra defence stood firm and on 81 minutes, Hanson brilliantly scored the third for the seasiders, shaking off his direct opponent and lobbing over Caruana who was positioned out of his six-yard box.
Luqa St Andrew’s 0-2 Attard
On Saturday afternoon at the Sirens Stadium, Luqa bumped into their fourth league defeat of the season, being beaten 2-0 by Ivan Zammit’s Attard. While Attard absolutely needed a win, Luqa just needed a point to safeguard their Top Six participation but failed in their objective.
Both goals arrived in the first half as after just three minutes, Nicholas Schembri was on hand to blast the ball behind Luqa goalkeeper Aidan Portelli-Isherwood, a most ideal start for Attard. Play remained rather balanced with some opportunities each end but five minutes before the end of the first half, Attard doubled through defender Nick Ghio, giving his side a most comfortable 2-0 lead at half time. Play remained rather balanced after the change of ends, with Luqa desperately trying to get back into the match and Attard consolidating their lead.
Luqa, Xghajra and Attard are now all on the 27-point mark in the standings and all need one point this upcoming weekend to seal their Top 6 involvement. Qormi and Qrendi are six points behind and only a miracle would bring any of these two teams into the elite round.
Zejtun Corinthians 4-0 Rabat Ajax
On Friday night at the Centenary Stadium, Zejtun Corinthians extended their recent positive run with a fine 4-0 win over Rabat Ajax. An important victory for the team of former Rabat Ajax coach Paul Falzon, who have now collected 15 points and should go into the Play-Out with confidence to avoid the drop.
The Corinthians could have taken the lead after just two minutes when Kurt Muscat slipped inside the area and Stefi Cale tested Jean Matthias Vella with a powerful shot from the right which was however blocked into a corner. Two minutes later, Zejtun forged ahead with Adrian Carabott heading home from close range. Rabat replied with an Ousman Ismaila long-distance freekick which was deflected into a corner on 16 minutes. On the half-hour, Francis Onwuzo concluded a good move with a shot from outside the area which was parried by Anson Saliba and three minutes later, a cross shot by the same player was parried by the Zejtun custodian. However, on 41 minutes, Miguel Vella was sent off for Rabat and the Blues took full advantage, doubling the score a minute later with a direct freekick by Adrian Carabott.
Seven minutes in the second half, the Corinthians made it 3-0 thanks to Stefi Cale, slotting the ball past Vella with a shot from the edge of the area, Rabat tried to react and Aidan Azzopardi, served by Nigel Borg, had a shot from outside the area saved by Saliba on 62 minutes. Five minutes later, Fabien Lufi scored Zejtun’s fourth, hitting home from close range off a corner from the right. Saliba turned into a corner a fine Aidan Azzopardi freekick on 73 minutes but in the dying minutes, Zejtun went close to increasing the lead further with Carabott heading just wide off a cross by Stefi Cale on 86 minutes and a minute later, Carabott just missed the target with a shot from the edge of the area when served by Kieran Curmi.
Gharghur 1-3 Pembroke Athleta
Apart from Zejtun, also Pembroke won a precious three points against fellow strugglers Gharghur at the Centenary Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The team of coach Jeffrey Mifsud made all the difference in the first half, taking a 3-0 lead and consolidating their advantage after the break with relative ease. Gharghur missed a first half penalty and never recovered from that, suffering their eighth league defeat of the season, occupying a spot in the relegation zone with just seven points obtained so far.
Pembroke took an early seventh minute lead when Jamie Camilleri was at the right place to tap home a Jordan Vella cross. Five minutes later, Pembroke defender Kurt Farrugia touched the ball with his hands in his own penalty box with the referee awarding a penalty. However, Athleta goalkeeper Dean Sciberras splendidly saved the spotkick of Jayden Aquilina. On 19 minutes, Ryan Sciberras doubled with an accurate diagonal shot from a Vella assist while on 38 minutes, Sciberras added a third for Pembroke from a Maverick Cassar cross, with Gharghur goalkeeper James Abela initially having a hand on it but Sciberras scored in the rebound.
Five minutes after the break, Isaac Chircop pulled one back for Gharghur after an individual run through the Pembroke defence, a goal which gave the team of Christian Cassar some hope. Gharghur did try to get back into the match by scoring a second goal, but the Pembroke defence stood firm, in no mood to give away presents. In stoppage time, Japanese speedster Nobukatsu Tsuchiya was sent through and could have added a second for Gharghur with only Sciberras to beat but the Pembroke custodian blocked in style.
Marsaskala 4-2 Msida St Joseph
The relegation clash between Marsaskala and Msida was target for the former, who quite deservedly returned home with the three points. Marsaskala had to dig deep however, with their attacking duo of James Oghenekewaro and Joshua Ojelabi being both in an excellent shape, scoring two each. While Msida remain anchored at the bottom, Marsaskala overtook Gharghur in the standings and have high hopes so avoid relegation at the end of the ride.
Marsaskala opened well and it was Ojelabi who opened the scoring on 21 minutes. The goal was cancelled out two minutes later when Mousstafa Maloul equalised for Msida, but in the attack that followed on the other side, Oghenekewaro managed to find the net to give Marsaskala a 2-1 advantage, which they kept up to half-time.
Two minutes after the re-start, Maloul managed to equalise for Msida with an excellent finish but their joy was short-lived as barely two minutes later it was again Oghenekewaro who kicked the ball against the ropes to give the team of coach Brian Vella a 3-2 lead. Msida came close on a number of occasions while also Marsaskala could have scored one or two more. On 79 minutes however, Ojelabi sealed the issue for Marsaskala with his eighth goal in the last three games, sending home Msida empty-handed again.
