Marsaxlokk 2
Vittoriosa Stars 2
A fine stoppage-time goal by Andre Grabowski salvaged a point for 10-man Marsaxlokk who drew 2-2 against a Vittoriosa Stars side who themselves finished this exciting game with nine men.
Marsaxlokk were first to threaten. Inside the first three minutes, Douglas Da Silva Selveira’s grounder from just inside the area was saved by Jean Matthias Vella, the Vittoriosa goalkeeper.
Three minutes later, Vittoriosa’s Adam Spiteri drove the ball over the bar from point blank after he connected with a Marcelo Pereira cross.
The Stars continued to press forward and in the 10th minute, a Gary Muir shot was saved by the Marsaxlokk custodian. Their early pressure produced an opener on 20 minutes when Lydon Micallef fired past Omar Borg after the Marsaxlokk goalkeeper had partially saved Spiteri’s first-time effort.
On 29 minutes, Douglas hit a free-kick from outside the area but Vella was up to the task.
The game took an unexpected twist on 33 minutes when Grabowski was brought down by Vella inside the box as the Swede raced on to a good pass from Rupert Mangion.
Marsaxlokk were awarded a penalty and Vella was shown a red card. Grabowski picked himself up to beat reserve ’keeper Sean Cini who had replaced Micallef.
Six minutes from half-time, Marsaxlokk’s Terence Farrugia was sent off by referee Mario Apap for dissent. Vittoriosa came close to regaining the lead just before the break when Pereira’s first-time attempt was magnificently tipped away for a corner by Borg.
On resumption, Vittoriosa went 2-1 up when Pereira sprinted into the box to reach Muir’s through-pass and dribbled past Borg before rifling home.
On 69 minutes, the Stars had a good chance to increase their lead when Siraj Arab beat his marker on the right but was foiled by the on-rushing Borg.
With 17 minutes left, Vittoriosa suffered another blow as Spiteri was dismissed for use of abusive language. Still, the Stars kept their cool and on 75 minutes, Muir hit the crossbar from a corner.
Marsaxlokk came close to an equaliser when Gary Caruana, completely unmarked, was denied by the on-rushing Cini who further distinguished himself when blocking Mark Brincat’s screamer.
As the minutes passed, Marsaxlokk intensified their pressure but Cini denied them again when stopping Dylan Micallef’s point-blank effort.
Despite his heroics, Cini could do nothing to preserve his side’s lead as Grabowski scored Marsaxlokk’s equaliser with a stunning bicycle kick.
Marsaxlokk: O. Borg, G. Caruana, K. Scicluna, D. Grech (D. Tabone), M. Brincat, T. Farrugia, A. Grabowski, D. Attard (S. Cutajar), D. Micallef, R. Mangion, D. Da Silva Silveira.
Vittoriosa: J.M. Vella, A. Spiteri, S. Grech (Siraj Arab), G. Muir, L. Vella Critien, L. Micallef (S. Cini), R. Dos Santos, M. Pereira (Samir Arab), J. Camilleri, M. Buttigieg, M. Tabone.
Referee: Mario Apap.
Man of the match: Sean Cini (Vittoriosa Stars).