360Sports Malta Premier – MD21 Closing round
Naxxar Lions…0
Balzan…….……3
Balzan earned a significant win in a bottom-of-the-table clash, defeating Naxxar Lions 3-0 and boosting their standing in the league.
Naxxar Lions came close to opening the scoring in the 18th minute when a cross from the left found Edward Bolanos, whose low shot narrowly missed the target. However, Balzan responded almost immediately, taking the lead in the 19th minute. Ayo Akpan rose to meet a corner and headed past Naxxar goalkeeper Matthias Debono to make it 1-0.
In the 25th minute, Balzan’s Isaac Westendorf caused chaos in Naxxar’s defence, with Ryan Gilmour Cassar nearly turning the ball into his own net. Just five minutes later, Debono kept Naxxar in the game with a fine save, denying Jan Busuttil’s powerful shot. The first half ended with Balzan holding a narrow 1-0 lead.
The second half saw Balzan miss an early chance to extend their lead when Westendorf, unmarked in front of goal, sent his effort over the bar in the 47th minute. Naxxar responded with a Maicon strike in the 70th minute that went just wide of Danilo Golovic’s post.
Balzan doubled their lead in the 73rd minute through a quick counterattack. A cross from the left found Jan Busuttil, who calmly slotted the ball into the net. The visitors sealed the victory in the 90th minute when Busuttil set up Luka Lukovic, who finished clinically to make it 3-0.
With this win, Balzan moved ahead of Melita and Gżira in the standings, now level on six points with Mosta and Żabbar.
Team Line-ups:
Naxxar Lions: Matthias Debono, Bakary Sane, Neil Pace Cocks (Ndao Tara 75’), Edward Bolanos (Jean Paul Farrugia 46’), Edson Farias, Ryan Gilmour Cassar (Nikolai Micallef 60’), Hugo Dos Santos (Leandro Carlinho 81’), Helder Andre, Maicon de Souza, Fernando Barbosa Pereira, Ito Yasukaze (Takuma Yamaguchi 46’).
Balzan: Danilo Golovic, Samir Arab, Triston Caruana (Marcus Grima 90’), Nicholas Pulis, Isaac Westendorf, Jan Busuttil (Jake Grech 90’), Dimeji Awosanya, Luka Lukovic, Victor Llorens Blasco (Benjamin Hili 89’), Ayo Akpan (Gianluca Cacciatore 90’), Rafael Floro Da Silva.
Referee: Slobodan Petrovic.
