Valletta St Paul’s missed the chance to narrow the gap on MAFA First Division leaders Għaxaq Wolves after falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Senglea Gunners in their 13th match of the season.
Valletta St Paul’s 0–1 Senglea Gunners
Christopher Philip Balotelli scored the decisive goal in the 21st minute to hand Senglea Gunners all three points.
The victory was an important response from Senglea, who were eager to bounce back after dropping crucial points in recent fixtures that dented their title hopes. They now move into second place, sitting four points behind leaders Għaxaq Wolves with a game still in hand.
The match was officiated by Karl Stefan Galea.
Balluta Barracudas 3–4 Marsa St Michael
Marsa St Michael claimed a thrilling 4-3 win over Balluta Barracudas in an entertaining encounter that featured plenty of goals and defensive lapses from both teams.
Lamin Saho opened the scoring for Marsa in the 14th minute, before João Marcelo Coutinho doubled their lead just two minutes later. Balluta responded in the second half through Gabriel Echanove, but Marcelo struck again to restore Marsa’s two-goal advantage at 3-1.
The contest remained wide open as Paco Vassallo reduced the deficit for Balluta, only for Nikola Nesković to make it 4-2 for Marsa in the 65th minute. Echanove grabbed his second goal late on, but Balluta were unable to complete the comeback.
The win lifts Marsa St Michael into third place on 43 points. The referee was Carmel Vassallo.
San Ġwann Pro Evolution Academy 1–2 Valletta Stars St Dominic
San Ġwann Pro Evolution Academy moved closer to relegation following a 2-1 defeat against Valletta Stars St Dominic.
Valletta made a strong start, taking control with early goals from Klajdi Qose in the ninth minute and Isah Mustapha Abdullha in the 16th minute to establish a comfortable half-time lead.
San Ġwann pulled one back late through Seni Barlam, but the effort came too late to alter the result.
Ray Tabone was the match referee.
Second Division
Birżebbuġa St Peter’s AFC 1–0 Gudja Wanderers
Birżebbuġa St Peter’s AFC moved a step closer to winning the second phase of the Second Division after maintaining their perfect record with a fifth consecutive victory, edging Gudja Wanderers 1-0.
Top scorer Oussama Boutayeb netted the only goal of the match with a superb free-kick.
Alex Grech officiated the match.
Naxxar Victorians 2–3 Mqabba Albions
Mqabba Albions secured their first win of the second phase after overcoming Naxxar Victorians 3-2.
Hajy Semu Maher starred for Mqabba by scoring a hat-trick, while Liam Sciberras and Alex Dormor found the net for Naxxar.
The match referee was Jean Pierre Mifsud.
Ta’ Giorni Wanderers 0–2 Ħamrun Sporting (walkover recorded as 3–0)
Ħamrun Sporting were awarded a walkover victory against Ta’ Giorni Wanderers.
The referee was Lawrence Sammut.
League Standings
First Division
Għaxaq Wolves – 27
Senglea Gunners – 23
Marsa St Michael – 22
Valletta St Paul’s – 21
Valletta Stars – 21
San Ġiljan Saints – 13
San Ġwann Pro Evolution Academy – 12
Balluta Barracudas – 3
Second Division
Birżebbuġa St Peter’s AFC – 15
Ħamrun Sporting – 12
Attard Edex Kings – 10
Swieqi United AFC – 7
Gudja Wanderers – 5
Mqabba Albions – 4
Naxxar Victorians – 3
Ta’ Giorni Wanderers – 1
