Rovers make it three wins out of three games

Kercem Ajax 1
Zebbug Rovers 3

Zebbug Rovers maintained their perfect start to the season with a 3-1 victory over Kercem Ajax, the latter slipping to their first league defeat.

The leaders did not enjoy the best of starts as they conceded their first goal in the championship after only three minutes.

It was Dragomir Draganov who fired the Ajax into the lead when scoring with a fine shot.

Zebbug produced a strong reaction and levelled matters in the 16th minute through John Eboh.

Nine minutes later, the Rovers were awarded a penalty for a foul on Eboh. Quinhione Leandro converted from the spot to put Zebbug in the driving seat.

Kercem were the better side after the break but late in the game, they had Mario Azzopardi sent off for dissent. Capitalising on their opponents' numerical inferiority, Zebbug made sure of the points with a late Silvan Galea goal.

Referee: Carmel Attard.

Nadur Youngsters 4
Xewkija Tigers 4

The crowd that turned up to watch the clash between Nadur Youngsters and Xewkija Tigers did not leave the Gozo Stadium disappointed as eight goals were shared by the two teams in an exciting match.

Of the two sides, Nadur should have been more satisfied with the drawn outcome as they remain in the runners-up position. On the other side of the coin, the result did little to enthuse the Tigers who are still without a victory in the league.

Nadur's superior organisation in the early minutes procured a 27th minute breakthough thanks to Aloysius Ihbeulu. Four minutes from half-time, the Tigers won a penalty for a foul by Mark Buttigieg on Rais. Jason Portelli levelled from the spot kick.

Nadur's more flowing football after the restart gave them a two-goal lead. On 55 minutes, Anthony Portelli made it 2-1 when converting a penalty and, three minutes later, it was youngster Joseph Portelli who beat Xewkija goalkeeper Debono with an excellent drive from outside the area. Xewkija were shocked as Nadur kept pressing for more goals.

However, midway through the second half, Xewkija's Portelli finished off an excellent personal move to reduce the arrears.

From their next attack, the Tigers were back on level terms, Mark Camilleri grabbing their equaliser with a low shot after he had regained possession in midfield.

Xewkija's confidence improved as a result of this two-goal burst. Nineteen minutes from time, they forged ahead of their opponents thanks to a goal from substitute Jeffrey Farrugia.

Nadur did not throw in the towel and obtained a deserved point in the 81st minute. The Xewkija defence's bad clearance from a corner was punished by Buttigieg who struck the ball home.

Referee: Reno Refalo.

Sprite Division Two

Qala St Joseph moved to second place along with St Lawrence after a 3-0 victory over lowly Gharb Rangers.

Contrary to what the scoreline may suggest, this was a hard-earned victory for Qala who imposed their superiority late in the match.

Substitute Sancto scored twice in the 71st and 88th minutes and Bonello made it 3-0 in stoppage time.

The other match from Division Two was a derby between SK Victoria Wanderers and Oratory Youths. It finished two-all. The Wanderers, who wasted a penalty when Gatt blasted high from the spot, scored through David Muscat (17 and 53). Oratory's goals came from Damian Iriele (14) and Harry Cassar (90).