Comvalius on mark to lift Spartans' spirits

Ħamrun Spartans 1
Comvalius 27 pen.
Msida St Joseph 0

Ħamrun Spartans moved out of the bottom two places in the Premier League after a 1-0 victory over rivals Msida St Joseph in a tense derby at the Victor Tedesco Stadium.

A 27th-minute Sylvano Comvalius penalty was enough for the Spartans to pick up three points which should boost their optimism of producing a strong challenge to avoid the drop.

On the other hand, Msida St Joseph still have work to do to make sure of a Championship Pool berth after this narrow defeat.

Ħamrun coach Steve D'Amato was without Aaron Attard, suspended, while Neville Galea was ruled out with a back injury.

With Stacey Vella serving a one-match ban, Msida coach Joe Abdilla handed a starting role to Kenneth Spiteri in central defence.

Brazilian Pedrinho was not included in the Msida squad as he is expected to join a Chinese club in the coming days.

The Spartans did most of the early running. After seven minutes, Comvalius came close to giving the Spartans a headstart when he received a good ball from Gaetan Spiteri but the Dutchman's fierce drive hit the side-netting.

Five minutes later, Manolito Micallef slid the ball into the path of Comvalius whose strong effort flashed just wide.

The Spartans continued to dominate. Spiteri had a good opportunity to score after being set up by Micallef but his shot was blocked by Matthew Camilleri.

Steve Meilaq should have put the Spartans ahead on 17 minutes. Running onto a through-pass from Comvalius, Meilaq only had Camilleri to beat but shot straight at the Msida goalkeeper.

The Spartans kept pushing forward. On 21 minutes, Ryan Fenech burst into the Msida area but his low shot ended just wide.

Five minutes later, Ryan Fenech rifled a piledriver but Camilleri pushed the ball onto the crossbar and away from his goal.

From the ensuing flag-kick, taken by the dynamic Fenech, Msida's Stefano Grima appeared to have handled the ball in the area, prompting referee Alan Mario Sant to award the Spartans a penalty.

Comvalius stepped up for the spotkick and beat Camilleri with a bold drive.

With Msida looking disjointed, the Spartans maintained the initiative. On 29 minutes, Ryan Fenech threatened again but his fierce shot was tipped away by the alert Camilleri.

Eight minutes from half-time, Comvalius's volley was cleared off the line by Mark Camilleri.

Msida finally showed themselves in the Spartans' half a minute from the interval. Andre Rocha Da Silva ran past two defenders before squaring the ball to the unmarked Camilleri who was blocked by goalkeeper Ivan Casha.

In first-half stoppage time, Kurt Magro's dipping shot almost surprised Casha but the ball hit the upright, much to the relief of the Ħamrun players and fans.

The exchanges were more evenly-balanced after the restart with Msida coming more into the picture thanks to improved teamwork and better defensive organisation.

Still, goalscoring chances were at a premium as the flow of the game was disrupted by a series of fouls from both sides.

Two minutes past the hour, Ryan Fenech's curling cross from a corner found Spiteri in the area but his thumping header was touched away by Camilleri.

The Spartans were lucky to remain with 11 players when, on 66 minutes, defender Roderick Fenech was only booked following an off-the-ball incident with Mark Camilleri when a red card would have been more appropriate.

Twelve minutes from time, Da Silva threatened for the Saints but his curling shot from a free-kick flew just over.

At the other end, the Spartans were unlucky not to make it 2-0 with nine minutes left. Comvalius passed to Micallef whose well-aimed shot from a tight angle came off the upright with Camilleri beaten.

Ħamrun substitute Diego Armando Cucciardi should have killed off Msida two minutes from time but shot weakly into the hands of Camilleri after being sent clear by the excellent Comvalius.

This miss had no effect on the outcome as the Spartans admin-istered their lead in the final minutes for their first win in four matches.

Ħamrun Spartans
I. Casha-6, M.A. Bonnici-6.5, Z. Levnaic-6, S. Comvalius-7.5, Rod. Fenech-5, S. Meilaq-6 ('83 D.A. Cucciardi), Ryan Fenech-7, R. Mangion-6, F. Anton-5.5 ('71 J. Bondin), G. Spiteri-6, M. Micallef-6.5.

Msida St Joseph
M. Camilleri-6.5, S. Grima-5.5, A. Spiteri-6, K. Spiteri-6.5, D. Cachia-6, T. Farrugia-6, A. Farrugia-6, A. Da Silva-6.5, K. Magro-5 ('84 K. Brincat), M. Camilleri-5, K. Mifsud-5 ('56 K. Ebejer-5).

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Grima; Levnaic; Rod. Fenech; Meilaq; Bonnici; K. Spiteri.

BoV player of the match: Sylvano Comvalius (Ħamrun).

Postponed matches to be played today

The two Premier League matches that were postponed on Saturday due to bad weather will now be played this evening at the National Stadium, the Malta FA announced yesterday.

Valletta face Qormi at 6 p.m. and Sliema Wanderers take on Birkirkara at 8 p.m.