360Sports Malta Premier Bottom 6
Venue: National Stadium, Ta’ Qali
Żabbar St Patrick………………………..2
Naxxar Lions………………………………0
Scorers: Tavares 29, Oliveira 77
Referee: Emanuel Grech
Żabbar St Patrick kicked off their 360Sports Malta Premier Bottom 6 campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory over Naxxar Lions at the National Stadium in Ta’ Qali, despite being forced to field a depleted side.
Goals from Diogo Tavares and David Oliveira—one in each half—were enough to secure all three points for the Saints, moving them level with Hibernians on 17 points. They now sit four points clear of Gżira United. Naxxar, meanwhile, remain bottom of the standings, tied with Melita on 10 points, one adrift of Balzan. Both Hibernians and Melita still have a game in hand.
With several key players unavailable due to suspension—including Vinicius De Paiva, Wallace Bonilha, Strahinja Jovancic, Kristian Keqi and Justin Haber—Żabbar were also without coach Aniello Parisi on the touchline. They made three changes from the side that lost to Mosta, with Jurgen Pisani, Joao Pedro, and David Oliveira returning to the starting lineup.
Naxxar Lions, on the other hand, welcomed back Matthias Debono in goal and Edson Farias, both of whom had missed their previous match against Ħamrun Spartans.
The first real chance of the match came on 20 minutes when Tavares had a corner attempt smothered by Debono. Farias responded for Naxxar with a low drive that was comfortably saved by Luca Camilleri.
Żabbar opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Brian Gambarte combined smartly with Oliveira before teeing up Tavares, who fired home with precision from the right.
Naxxar increased their urgency after the break and came close to levelling on 57 minutes when Maicon saw a powerful drive from the right tipped over by Camilleri.
But Żabbar struck again in the 77th minute to seal the win. Tavares delivered a corner from the right, and Oliveira rose highest to nod past Debono, doubling the Saints’ advantage.
Naxxar nearly pulled one back on 84 minutes when Jean Paul Farrugia knocked down a Nikolai Micallef free-kick into the path of Takuma Yamaguchi, but Camilleri was once again equal to the close-range effort.
