Second win for newcomers Msida

Hamrun Spartans 0
Msida St Joseph 2

Premier League newcomers Msida St Joseph bounced back from their drubbing against Birkirkara to clinch maximum spoils at the expense of strugglers Hamrun Spartans. The match never really set any houses on fire as Msida relied on the striking tandem of Olumuyiwa Aganun and Daniel Nwoke to deliver the goods. They were constantly being generously supplied by the hard-working Malcolm Tirchett.

Dino Cachia and Fabio Cauchi also deserve much of the credit for this Msida victory as they engineered a hatful of moves in midfield that often had the Spartans' rearguard struggling.

Defeat means that Patrick Curmi's Spartans are still searching for their first points of the season. The blend of upcoming talent and seasoned faces has yet to yield dividends as the once mighty team is facing another bleak patch.

Hamrun practically had to chase the result from the first quarter and the second goal effectively ended their hopes of salvaging a point. The Spartans lacked co-ordination in front of goal and whenever one of their strikers did manage a shot at goal, 'keeper Omar Borg was equally up to the challenge.

The Saints took the lead with their first real attempt on goal.

Cachia did well to pick out Aganun in the opponents penalty area. The striker shrugged off a weak challenge and thundered a low drive that had the better of Dengaky.

The Spartans could easily have drawn level soon after. Stefan Sultana flicked a measured cross towards Gaetan Spiteri who shot wide from underneath the Msida goal.

Hamrun kept up the pressure and could not believe their bad luck when four of their players had an attempt at goal without reaping any tangible results.

A short corner paved the way for Spiteri to shoot goalwards but his effort was partially blocked by the Msida defence. In stepped Brincat who experienced the same fate as the loose ball fell in Sultana's path. The veteran scorer tried to coordinate a firm shot but, once again, the defence came to the rescue. Msida finally drew a deep sigh of relief when Debattista sneaked in to conclude the nail-biting move with a flashing shot over the bar.

Curmi's team was doing most of the running but whenever their opponents engaged on a fast break, Dengaky was always called to work overtime. Five minutes from half time, Tirchett was allowed extra space to roam freely on the right flank as he served Aganun. The Nigerian breezed past Fabri and unleashed a low shot forcing Dengaky into a difficult save.

With their eyes set on a two-goal lead before the end of the first half, Msida again tested the Spartans' rearguard with a menacing Nwoke drive that missed the target by a whisker.

What the Saints failed to achieve on the stroke of half-time, they managed inside the first minute after the interval.

From the kick-off, Sciberras and Aganun combined perfectly well as a one-two slick move enabled the former Floriana player to stun Dengaky in goal.

At the other end, Spiteri nearly bridged the gap when Borg fumbled his central shot and only halted the ball's momentum on the goal-line.

The Spartans' task now became urgent as they tried hard to reduce the arrears. Sultana came close with a dipping header that had Borg struggling to fingertip over the woodwork.

Midway through the second half, Sultana was once again denied the glory of goal as his crisp shot was repelled by Borg.

Ten minutes from time, Hamrun substitute Briffa was dismissed after a rash tackle on Tirchett who had to be replaced by Donald Gatt.

Ten-man Hamrun found the going even tougher as Msida nearly grabbed a third goal inside the last five minutes. Nwoke's shot, however, rebounded off the post.

In added time, Borg thought he had done enough to notch a consolation goal for Hamrun but once again the Msida goalkeeper pulled off a timely save to keep a clean sheet.

Hamrun: D. Dengaky, A. Attard, D. Galea (W. Attard), J. Magri Overend, K. Borg, R. Bajada, G. Spiteri (E. Briffa), M. Brincat, S. Sultana, K. Fabri, J. Debattista (N. Galea).

Msida: O. Borg, M. Boni, K. Vella Petroni (A. Farrugia), F. Cauchi, C. Sciberras (V. Bellia), D. Cachia, D. Nwoke, O. Aganun, M. Tirchett (D. Gatt), J. Galea, T. Farrugia.

Referee: A. Zammit.

Scorers: Aganun 12, Sciberras 46.

Yellow Cards: Vella Petroni, Cauchi, Attard.

Red Card: Briffa 80.

Player Of The Match: Olumuyiwa Aganun (Msida SJ).