Effiong hat-trick sinks St Patrick

St Patrick 1
Milovanovic 14
Qormi 5
Meilak 57; Effiong 67, 69, 72
Giglio 79

Alfred Effiong fired a second-half hat-trick as Qormi overcame the shock of falling behind to Division One outfit St Patrick yesterday.

Jesmond Zerafa's side was rocked when Daniel Milovanovic turned to fire the Saints into a deserved, early lead.

But Qormi, inspired by Effiong roared back in spectacular style after the break as they clinically turned the game on its head to dispel fears of an upset.

Boosted, perhaps, by the midweek result of Mosta, who left Sliema licking their wounds in the quarter-finals of the Anniversary Cup, St Partick fancied their chances of a long run in the FA Trophy and deservedly led at half-time courtesy of Milovanovic's goal.

Zerafa, no doubt unwilling to give St Patrick any encouragement, fielded a very strong side, with only Massimo Grima and Stephen Wellman dropping out.

On his part, Saints coach Alfred Attard picked a defensive line-up, opting to play Milovanovic as a lone striker and the system bore fruit immediately.

Qormi have been the outstanding side in the Premier League's opening stage while St Patrick have been far from convincing in Division One. But the Saints showed they were not there to make up the numbers yesterday as from the kick-off they threatened to cause the competition's first major upset.

Qormi had already survived a scare before Milovanovic put St Patrick into the lead.

It needed something special to penetrate the Qormi rearguard and the Serbian striker obliged in sensational fashion on 14 minutes.

He teed himself up by chesting a Gordon Failla cross-field pass and then unleashed a left-footed volley past Camilleri's despairing dive and into the top corner.

Qormi had been wasteful in possession and struggled to create clear-cut openings. Even so, Camilo, Joseph Farrugia and Matthew Bartolo all forced saves from James Mercieca or missed the target before the break.

Camilo's miss was the most glaring... he failed to finish off a sparkling pass of play between Effiong and Bartolo, shooting wide from a few metres away at the far post after an inviting cross from former Sliema midfielder Bartolo.

Zerafa's thoughts on Qormi's first-half performance was reflected in his bold decision to introduce Grima and Steve Meilak five minutes into the second half but not before Qormi survived another scare when Milovanovic had the ball in the net but his effort was ruled out for offside.

On the pitch for just seven minutes, Meilak equalised with a neat finish when he was allowed space to fire in a rising shot from the edge of the box.

And 10 minutes later, Qormi took the lead when Grima headed Bondin's cross into the path of Effiong, who cleverly tucked the ball under Mercieca.

On 69 minutes, the Nigerian gave Qormi breathing space with his second goal when he climbed over David Gauci to head home Meilak's cross.

And the former Ħamrun striker superbly completed his hat-trick three minutes later when Grima swung over a free-kick for Effiong to arch a header beyond the reach of Mercieca.

The remarkable turnaround ensured that Milovanovic's opener was little more than a distant memory for the Żabbar fans.

The Qormi followers aren't greedy... that would have been enough for them.

However, Stefan Giglio thought he'd spoil them, unleashing a wonderful strike into the net from outside the box 11 minutes from time.

St Patrick: J. Mercieca, T. Farrugia, R. Mifsud, G. Failla (59' I. Scicluna), L. Sciberras (75' T. Massa), D. Gauci, S. Dimech, A. Ellul (71' Y. Tonna), M. Pullicino, J. Farrugia, D. Milovanovic.

Qormi: M. Camilleri, D. Pisani, R. Dos Santos, R. Sammut, J. Bondin, K. Fenech (50' S. Meilak), S. Giglio, M. Bartolo (76' S. Agius), J. Farrugia (50' M. Grima), Camilo, A. Effiong.

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

Yellow cards: Mifsud, Gauci, Camilo, Dos Santos.