Qormi FC 0 Mqabba FC 1

Bojan Mamic's second-half strike proved enough to clinch Mqabba's third win this season.

It was a game which could so easily have headed in any direction after Mamic's contribution as Qormi battled to stay in touch and had a hatful of chances but Mqabba finished as the worthy winners.

Before kick-off, Joseph Farrugia, laid a bouquet of flowers on the seat in the Qormi side where avid Charlon Borg used to sit to watch his favourite team.

Borg passed away last Thursday when he died after falling unconscious in a cesspit in his hometown.

Marlon Briffa should have supplied the finishing touch to one of his mazy dribbles after 10 minutes when he ran towards the corner flag but his cross-cum-shot flew dangerously across the face of goal with Bojan Mamic just failing to provide a scoring touch.

Seven minutes later, from a corner Calleja played a short ball for Thiago do Santos Mazitelli but the Brazilian fired his shot over the bar from a good position.

On their other hand, Bojan Mamic's presence allowed Mazitelli and Calleja more space to shine. And the duo combined to almost give Mqabba a goal in the 38th minute, Calleja delivered a great ball but Matthew Farrugia hooked Mamic's ball onto the crossbar.

Mqabba could have felt hard done for not breaking the deadlock before the half-time and their first half display did merit a goal but they soon found the net after the re-start thanks to Mamic, who made the most of their devastating attack display. Calleja displayed all his sprinting skill as he drifted the field, exchanged the ball with Rene Duca before pulling the ball for Mamic to shoot low into the corner.

With Qormi in complete disarray, in the 57 minute, Mamic and Mazitelli responded with some delightful interchanges, only to see Farrugia produce a great save to keep out Mamic's shot. The rebound fell kindly for Briffa who hit the foot of the post.

But Qormi's reaction was desperately lacking in imagination and Daniel Nwoke was guilty of some glaring misses.

Qormi's biggest hope of grabbing hold of a lifeline came in the shape of substitute Jonathan Bondin who tried his luck with a strong shot from distance to hit the post after 83 minutes.

At death, Mamic missed an excellent chance to take the result beyond their opponents' reach when he delayed too long in a central position and Scicluna recovered to clear in the last moment.