Second half revival rewards Msida

Pietà Hotspurs 2
Kondev 14 pen; Pulo 20
Msida St Joseph 4
A. Farrugia 55; T. Farrugia 58, 64; Doding 81

Pietà Hotspurs looked set to bow out of the top flight with a convincing victory against Msida St Joseph after leading 2-0 at half-time and playing with such confidence that belied their status as a relegated side.

The crop of talented players that were on the pitch fell apart six minutes into the second half however when Dean Gera was sent off for a second yellow card and from then on, Msida cruised into control scoring three goals in less than ten minutes to turn the tables over their opponents.

On their part Msida ended their league commitments on a high after having fulfilled their objective of staving relegation after the exodus of players that left the club for pastures new at the end of last season.

Under coach Patrick Curmi, Msida matured as the season progressed and their performances at the end of the second round won them vital points which were enough for them to beat the drop.

Four minutes into the encounter, Edward Herrera's fine solo run had Msida's rearguard stretched to its limits as the player sprinted down the right flank, left two defenders in his wake before custodian Vella dived at his feet to block.

Shy of the first quarter, the Hotspurs stormed into the lead. Francesco Sulas has to be credited with a fine run that allowed him to drift inside the area as Spiteri's suspicious challenge on the Pietà striker was sanctioned by a penalty. Kondev calmly converted the spot to hand Pietà the lead.

Calcado almost pulled Msida level a minute later but his shot was turned to a corner by Vella.

On 20 minutes Pietà struck again. Skipper Deanov delivered the cross from the right and the unmarked Pulo beat Vella with a simple tap-in from close range.

Pietà continued to push forward and on 26 minutes Herrera served Deanov who only managed a weak shot that trickled past the far post.

On 25 minutes Cachia rifled a thunderous shot which the Pietà netminder saved well.

Five minutes from half time, Msida came close to bridge the gap when Tyrone Farrugia's shot was deflected by team-mate Patrick Borg, but Pietà keeper Vella did well to push the ball to safety.

Five minutes into the restart, Msida's Adrian Farrugia was allowed space to power his way inside the area before squaring the ball towards Tyrone Farrugia whose firm shot was blocked by Vella.

On 52 minutes Pietà suffered a blow when Gera was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

It took Msida less than four minutes to claw their way back into the encounter as Calcado tracked a pass towards the far right for Adrian Farrugia to plant a low shot into the net.

Before the hour, parity had been restored. Tyrone Farrugia was first to Adrian Farrugia's corner to head past Vella.

The Hotspurs were in disarray and on 63 minutes Calcado's cross found Tyrone Farrugia but his flick came off the post.

A minute later however, the same player made no mistake as his header had the better of Vella.

Nine minutes from time, Doding scored Msida's fourth goal to heap more woes on a now dejected Pietà side.

More misery was in store for Pietà as in stoppage time Kondev was shown the red card for a second bookable offence.

Pietà Hotspurs
K. Vella-6.5, C. Cassar-6, S. Grech-6, M. Deanov-7, R. Grippa-6, C. Pulo (88 R. Refalo)-6, D. Gera-, S. Kondev, K. Darmanin-6 (82 C. Farrugia), E. Herrera-7, F. Sulas-6.5 (61 S. Micallef).

Msida St Joseph
J. Vella-6, A. Formosa-5.5 (52 C. Spiteri-5.5), P. Borg-6.5, K. Spiteri-5.5, S. Grima-5.5 (68 L. Micallef-5.5), T. Farrugia-7.5, P. Dos Santos Calcado-6.5, D. Cachia-6.5, A. Farrugia-7 (84 K. Grech), P. Doding-6, G. Dos Santos-6.5.

Referee: Saviour Tanti.

Yellow cards: Calcado, Kondev, Cassar, Grech.

Red cards: Gera (P) 51, Kondev (P) 90.

BoV Player of the match: Tyrone Farrugia (Msida St Joseph).