Senglea's late goal floors St Andrews

St Andrews 0
Senglea Athletic 1

Senglea Athletic notched their first three points of the campaign in dramatic fashion. They needed a Tano Farrugia goal four minutes into stoppage time to have the better of St Andrews at the Victor Tedesco Stadium.

Perhaps, it was a deserved victory for Senglea who created several chances but found the newly-promoted St Andrews a hard nut to crack. The latter will certainly feel hard done by the final result.

New boy Michael Borg Olivier had a good performance for the Saints but it came as a surprise that former Sliema and Malta international Nenad Veselji was left on the bench, even though he came on 18 minutes from time.

Although St Andrews did not play a defensive game, they seemed quite happy to settle for a point which they came close to achieving but for Farrugia's late intervention.

The first half was a balanced affair with both sides producing some chances. The Saints created some neat football and though many are tipping them as one of the teams likely to battle against relegation to Division Two, they will surely be a handful to any side.

It was Senglea who fashioned the first goalscoring opportunity when in the 19th minute, Leonid McKay found Kenneth Abela unmarked but the former Hibs striker shot straight at goalkeeper Jonathan Debono.

Tony Garcia's side responded in the 23rd minute when Anthony Galea found Borg Olivier who tried to lob the ball over George Attard but missed the target by a whisker.

Three minutes later it was Senglea who came close when McKay was denied from close in by Debono.

St Andrews came back strongly and in the 34th minute Ian Borg's hard drive from the left flank hit the side-netting.

Soon after the restart, St Andrews threatened to open the scoring but Borg Olivier's header flashed wide.

Senglea also missed a golden opportunity to take the lead when, with 16 minutes to go, Jason Borg beat the offside trap, ran into the box but St Andrews goalkeeper Debono was quick to dive at his feet to block his run.

Dragan Zivkovic's side continued to press forward and a minute later, an Abela drive just missed the target. Seven minutes from time Senglea received a setback when defender Clint Caruana was sent off for dissent.

However, more drama lay in wait in time added on when from a corner-kick, the ball fell to Farrugia who blasted home the winner to the delight of the Senglea clan.

St Andrews: J. Debono, J. Sant Fournier, M. Tabone, S. Falzon, J. Sank, R. Briffa, I. Borg (N. Veselji), M. Mangion, M. Borg Olivier (A. Chetcuti), A. Galea, R. Salem Al Magiem.

Senglea: G. Attard, D. Gauci, T. Farrugia, F. Cauchi, M. Marlow, A. Gera (D. Grech), L. McKay, C. Caruana, K. Abela, E. Bobolayefa, J. Borg (L. Attard).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Naxxar Lions 1
Tarxien Rainbows 2

Newly-promoted Tarxien Rainbows started their adventure in Division One on a good note. They defeated Naxxar Lions thanks to a strong first-half performance, in which they scored two goals, and a solid defensive display after restart.

Naxxar tried desperately to salvage something from the game but their reaction came too late.

The Rainbows were the better side in the first 45 minutes. They moved the ball better than their opponents with new Brazilian signing Andre Rocha Da Silva settling well into the team.

The former Floriana midfielder linked well with the likes of Carlos Camenzuli, Simon Shead and Alan Tabone.

On their part, Naxxar played long, hopeful balls which made life more difficult for their strikers. In fact, Manuel Caruana and Josef Tonna, the Tarxien defenders, did not find it difficult to keep Chima Dozie and Brian Chetcuti under control.

Despite Tarxien's early ascendancy, chances were far and few between. Still, the Rainbows scored twice early in the first half.

The first came after only seven minutes when they were awarded a free-kick and Tabone curled the ball past Reuben Cini, the Naxxar goalkeeper.

Six minutes later, it was 2-0. Camenzuli broke free on the left before serving Shead who tapped the ball from close range.

At this stage, one expected Naxxar to react but the game continued to be played on the same pattern. The Lions only threatened on the stroke of half-time when Chetcuti just missed the target.

On resumption, Naxxar sought to liven up their game with some flowing football, inspired by the agility of Simon Muscat. But early on it was Tarxien again who could have scored a third when Da Silva dribbled past a couple of defenders but his low drive was blocked by Cini.

Dennis Fenech's side now held the initiative and on 75 minutes, a Muscat cross was headed just wide by Dozie. Six minutes later, a Muscat free-kick was met by Gilbert Camilleri but his attempt strayed wide.

Naxxar reduced the arrears in the 83rd minute when Camilleri served Josè Borg who sliced the ball into the net.

The Lions threw everyone forward in the dying minutes but despite forcing several corners, they rarely came close to grabbing an equaliser.

Naxxar Lions: R. Cini (K. Agius), J. Borg, P. Sixsmith, G. Naudi, K. Grech (J. Zammit), K. Fenech (C. Mifsud), T. Fenech, B. Chetcuti, C. Dozie, S. Muscat, G. Camilleri.

Tarxien Rainbows: A. Curmi, F. Farrugia, M. Caruana, E. Saliba, J. Tonna, K. Zammit, S. Shead, A. Tabone, C. Camenzuli (M. Micallef), K. Coleiro (O. Grech), A. Da Silva.

Referee: Joe Attard.