STA LUCIA 2
Tachikawa 12
Mendoza 67
TARXIEN RAINBOWS 1
Veronese 22
Sta Lucia extended their unbeaten start to the season with a hard-fought win over wooden-spoonists Tarxien Rainbows to join Ħamrun Spartans at the top of the standings.
David Mendoza scored the second-half winner for the Saints as they saw off a spirited Tarxien challenge to preserve their unbeaten start after four matches.
Tarxien tried to put up a stiff challenge and they looked on course when Thomas Veronese pull them level.
It could have been even better of the Rainbows had they taken a couple of gilt-edged chances at the end of the match but it was not to be as they remained bottom with no points to show.
Sta Lucia started brightly and took the lead after 12 minutes when Jacob Walker escaped down the right and floated the ball across for Rei Tachikawa to bullet home a header from near the penalty spot.
Tarxien’s leveller after 22 minutes was almost farcical. The Rainbows were awarded a free-kick after Stiv Shaba was hacked down by Farid Zuniga on the right flank.
Veronese stepped up to take the kick, opting to curl the ball towards the centre but, incredibly the Sta Lucia defenders stood motionless, allowing the ball to bounce in front of them and goalkeeper Ryan Caruana on its way to goal.
Sta Lucia’s in-form strikeforce had put an altered Tarxien defence, where Gary Camilleri replaced the suspended Destin Mambouana, under pressure.
Kevin Ante Rosero’s pace put him clean through twice, with only Rudy Briffa to beat but first Daniel Zerafa and then Camilleri recovered in time to thwart him.
Far from sitting back and absorbing Sta Lucia’s pressure, Tarxien created their own chances on the break. Jairo Andreas fired an angled shot wide after a solo run on the left flank.
Tarxien could not get going up front after the break and eventually fell behind on 67 minutes. Mendoza collected the ball on the edge before smacking the ball past Briffa, the keeper doing his best to pull off a save to no avail as the ball had already crossed the line when the Tarxien goalkeeper hooked it away.
The Rainbows were in desperate need of a reorganisation and Marko Glumac brought on the Maltese duo Matthew Spiteri and Brandon Muscat in place of Marko Stanojevic and Shaba respectively.
There was back luck for Tarxien as Emile Damey saw his solo run stopped by the foot of the post.
Veronese was also close with an inswinging corner that was pushed over the bar by Caruana.
On the cusp of time, Damey who had got the final touch after Miranda Gomez’s initial shot was saved, blasted high and wide, epitomising Tarxien’s nervy and error-strewn display.