Rovers close in on title after 3-0 win

Xewkija Tigers 0
Zebbug Rovers 3

Zebbug Rovers were made to fight harder than expected to bag the three points from their clash with bottom-placed Xewkija Tigers.

Their strong efforts were finally rewarded with a victory that takes the surprise package of the season within one win of their very first league title with two matches to go.

There were very few goalmouth chances in the opening half as Xewkija defended grimly in their bid to avoid finishing empty-handed, given their perilous position at the wrong end of the table.

Zebbug applied more pressure after the break but Mahjoub Touali, Silvan Galea and John Eboh all missed good chances. The Rovers finally broke the deadlock 13 minutes from time when Eboh found enough space to put the ball home from a Touali pass.

Xewkija could have scored an immediate equaliser but Jeffrey Farrugia shot incredibly wide with an open goal at his mercy.

The Tigers paid dearly for this miss as the leaders made sure of the points with two late goals from Touali (82nd) and Eboh (90th).

Referee: Anton Zammit.

Nadur Youngsters 3
Sannat Lions 0

Nadur Youngsters recovered from their heavy defeat to Victoria Hotspurs the previous weekend with a sound 3-0 victory over Sannat Lions.

The champions were the better side for most of the match, creating several scoring opportunities throu-ghout the 90 minutes.

Nadur opened the score in the 37th minute with a goal from Chris Camilleri, who placed a low drive behind Galea after receiving from Alex Simoncic.

Nadur's pressure was unrelenting but they had to wait until the 53rd minute to score again when Simoncic let loose an unstoppable scorcher from outside the box.

The Lions enjoyed a good patch midway through the half and could have re-opened the issue, but a De Oliveira free-kick hit the bar.

Ten minutes from time, Nadur ensured the three points with a third goal scored by Charles Hili.

Referee: Anton Zammit.

Kercem Ajax 1
Victoria Hotspurs 3

This was the Citizens' second victory in a row at such a crucial phase of the championship. They are now virtually safe from relegation. On the other hand, Kercem are still in deep trouble as they only have a minimal three-point lead on Xewkija.

Scoring chances in the early exchanges came Kercem's way, mainly through Dragomir Draganov but it was Victoria who took the lead on the stroke of half-time thanks to a Marvin Buttigieg goal. However, they failed to preserve that slim advantage until the break as Kercem levelled matters from a Draganov penalty after James Buttigieg handled the ball inside the box.

Both teams opted for open football after the break and soon it was Noel Borg who hit home after a fine solo move to put the Hotspurs back in front.

Kercem were still struggling to come to terms with their opponents' second strike when Uwa Ogbodo ran through and scored the Hotspurs' third goal.

Draganov led his team's comeback charge but for all their fine play and possession, Kercem failed to pierce Victoria's defence.

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Division Two

Spurs seven points behind leaders

St Lawrence Spurs obtained four points from two matches played in three days. First, they beat Gharb 6-1 with goals from Ganny Kolawole, Matthew Francalanza, Stefan Sultana (2), Jonathan Micallef and Jamie Enriquez, after Paul Hili had put Gharb ahead.

In their second outing of the week, the Spurs were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by Qala St Joseph and are now practically out of the title race.

In another Division Two match, SK Victoria Wanderers rediscovered their winning ways after beating lowly Gharb 4-0.

Anthony Ewurum Chermisi scored a hat-trick for the Wanderers and David Muscat notched the other goal.