Stars hit for eight

Vittoriosa Stars 2
Pembroke Athleta 8

Pembroke Athleta maintained their promotion challenge after running riot against a poor Vittoriosa side who have now managed a single point from their last five matches.

Pembroke took the lead on 23 minutes through Ariel Laudisi but the Stars drew level from a penalty after Carlos Campagnoli was brought down by Ousmane Sidibe.

Diego Fernando Perreira scored despite goalkeeper Andrea Cassar getting a hand to the ball.

Arturo Di Napoli’s Vittoriosa could have forged ahead when Gilbert Martin lobbed the ball over Cassar’s head but Carlo Mamo dashed back and cleared off the line.

Mamo was again the protagonist before half-time as the veteran put Pembroke ahead when he let fly an unstoppable shot from 35 metres out to beat James Mercieca.

Cassar did well after the break to keep out a Perreira shot but Pembroke soon made it 3-1 as Abubakar Bello Osagie hit a crisp shot from the semi-circle following a good move by Laudisi.

Substitute Ayrton Azzopardi scored a superb goal on 52 minutes when he sprinted down the left and dribbled past two defenders before firing past Mercieca.

Six minutes later, Laudisi made it 5-1 before Francisco Arriagada Mella narrowed the deficit for Vittoriosa as he squeezed the ball home following a melee in the Pembroke box.

Azzopardi, however, made it 6-2 with a simple tap-in, after playing a good one-two with Shawn Magro.

Nine minutes from the end, the Stars were awarded another penalty when Dylan Sammut pushed Martin in the box.

Perreira again took the spot-kick but this time Cassar saved.

The drama was not over yet. Six minutes from time Laudisi was again on the mark when he hit home from an Azzopardi cross and the Argentine made it a poker late on when finding space inside the Stars’ penalty area before beating Mercieca.

Vittoriosa: J. Mercieca, M. Camilleri (R. Degiorgio), C. Spiteri, M. Buttigieg, C. Campagnoli (N. Lamine), G. Calabretta, C. Sammut, D. Perreira, G. Martin, F. Mella, K. Scicluna (M. Barbara).

Pembroke: A. Cassar, C. Mamo, O. Sidibe, G. Azzopardi (S. Hili), A. Agius, D. Sammut, A. Laudisi, S. Arab (A. Azzopardi), L. Micallef (S. Magro), A. Bello Osagie, R. Bajada.

Referee: Matthew Degabriele.

Man of the match: Ariel Laudisi (Pembroke Athleta).