MFA newcomers Victoria Hotspurs keep marching on with a fifth league victory on the trot, an emphatic 5-0 win over Dingli Swallows with all the goals arriving in the first 45 minutes. They top the Amateur League 2 standings with 15 points from 5 games.
Thanks to this victory, the Gozitans have now won their 20th consecutive competitive game, equalling a record which is shared by Floriana over 100 years back, and Gzira United in the years 1998 and 1999.
Oliver Spiteri’s side started strongly and went ahead after just nine minutes when a defence splitting pass by Matthias Said found Emmanuel Mbong who made no mistake slotting past Swallows custodian Adam Benjelloun. The second arrived three minutes later with Rondinely smashing in from close range.
The same Rondinely scored a third on 26 minutes with a fine individual goal with the Hotspurs being completely superior in all departments. Three minutes later, Rondinely completed his hat-trick and Victoria’s fourth in a game which had merely become a statistic, with Mbong adding the fifth after 34 minutes.
The second half was a quiet affair as Dingli, with a few tactical changes, somehow managed to keep the countless Hotspurs attacks under control. In the 67th minute, Shaun Attard fired a fine free kick on target, which was well saved by Benjelloun. A flurry of substitutions followed as the game proceeded towards its inevitable conclusion, with the Hotspurs continuing to impress this calendar year.
Kalkara United 2-0 Siggiewi
The Dingli Swallows’ slipup must have motivated Kalkara, who were eagerly looking for the three points against Siggiewi to leapfrog into second place. Siggiewi, on their part, were also hoping for a positive result to continue rising the table themselves.
After just 5 minutes, Pedro Martins saw his effort end up just wide. The match continued finely balanced until the 37th minute when Kalkara took the lead. A dreadful back-pass ended up with Leon Seisun fumbling the ball which fell into the path of Pedro Martins who slotted home with ease.
The match never reached any heights and Siggiewi had a good chance to equalize on 57 minutes when Isaac Dankwah-Ansanyi managed to elude the offside trap, but his lob was somehow saved by Liam Lagana. Jacob Magri had a fine effort that went just over the bar on 68 minutes as Siggiewi continued pressing for an equaliser.
However, it was Kalkara who scored the second goal with a piledriver by substitute Antonello Demanuele that was cruelly deflected by Magri on 82 minutes. It was match over after that, with Kalkara bagging their third consecutive victory, being the nearest rivals of Victoria Hotspurs in the standings with a second place on 12 points.
St George’s 2-0 Ta’ Xbiex
On Monday night, St George’s had to work harder than expected to beat Ta’ Xbiex, who played a very decent first half in which they kept the Cospicuans at bay. An early and unneccesary second half expulsion however, made the task for the coaching tandem of Marc Psaila-Soler and Christian Wismayer impossible, succumbing to the pressure late in the game.
Play was fairly balanced in the opening half with Ta’ Xbiex having no particular problems to hold back the St George’s attacks, whose ball circulation was too slow to really bother the Ta’ Xbiex defence. It resulted into a half without much goalmouth action, with perhaps the best opportunity for the Cottonera side on the stroke of half-time with Erson Schembri blasting high from an ideal angle.
Two minutes after the re-start, Ta’ Xbiex were reduced to ten when Nicky Vella was red-carded after comments towards the referee. The Pioneers increased their efforts to break the deadlock but it were the Blacks who initially came closest with a Kingsley Ofuowoicho header which just missed target from a corner action just before the hour.
However, on 75 minutes, Ta’ Xbiex’ resistance was broken when Owen Galea kicked the ball behind the impressive Matthew Schembri from the edge of the box. Much to their credit, Ta’ Xbiex tried to get the much-desired equaliser, but two minutes before the end of regular time, Bormla captain Matthew Gauci blasted his first-timer into the top corner to make on all uncertainty on the outcome of the match an end.
Santa Venera Lightnings 0-3 Mqabba
In the late Monday night kick-off, Mqabba had no particular trouble beating Santa Venera Lightnings, who remain anchored at the bottom, still waiting for their first points this season. The Saints improved considerably however, as the final result was harsh on the Lightnings, who did the majority of the running after the break.
Mqabba were clear with their intentions from kick off as it was Andre-Joe Cutajar who blasted home the opener on nine minutes. Five minutes later, Juan Andres Viveros was sent through the middle, easily beating Yandrick Cassar for a second time with an accurate grounder. On 21 minutes, Sean Ellul produced a great left-footer for the Saints, which missed target by an inch, during a period that the Lightnings saw more of the ball. Two minutes before half-time, an Andie Sammut attempt nearly surprised Mario Bartolo with the ball sailing inches over the crossbar.
After the break, Mqabba’s productivity was held to a standstill by Santa Venera, with the team of Carmelo Camilleri moving forward whenever it could, keeping the Mqabba rear-guard on their toes. The Saints, with Steve Farrugia playing a blinder in midfield, most definitely deserved a goal but lacked the final pass. Instead, it was Mqabba who added a third through veteran striker Timmy Thomas on 70 minutes, a killer goal which ended all hopes for Santa Venera to get back into the game.
Mdina Knights 2-0 Ghaxaq
Two early goals were enough for Mdina Knights to win their third match of the season as they saw off Ghaxaq 2-0 at the Luxol Stadium on Sunday afternoon. This win put the Knights the upper part of the table with nine points, together with Mqabba, St George’s and Swieqi, a satisfying campaign start for the team of Marco Buttigieg.
The Knights surged ahead after only six minutes as from a corner, captain Giuseppe Versace headed home to beat Ghaxaq goalkeeper Dwayne Camilleri. Ghaxaq seemed confused and in no-time they conceded another goal when after a quick counter attack, it was Luke Galea who slotted the ball past Camilleri. Galea was unlucky on 27 minutes as the post denied him of a personal double after a good action by Lydin Camilleri.
After the break, Ghaxaq tried hard to get back into the match with efforts by Jurgen Gerada and Clayton Pulo, but Mdina were in no mood of giving any favours as their defence stood firm.
