Sta Venera sole leaders after 2-0 win

Sirens 0
Sta Venera Lightnings 2

Sta Venera Lightnings won this direct clash against Sirens thanks to second-half goals from Mark Grech and Ian Falzon.

The Saints are now sitting pretty at the top of the standings as Sirens suffered their first defeat of the season. During this match, Sirens had to play with ten players after 35 minutes following the dismissal of goalkeeper Romeo Schembri .

After only seven minutes a Richard Buhagiar 'goal' for Sirens was disallowed for an infringement.

The Lightnings hit back strongly but after the half-hour they got more wind in their sails following the dismissal of Schembri who fouled Dylan Mercieca outside his box. Substitute keeper Glen Buttigieg came in for Ramon Farrugia.

Three minutes after the restart Grech put the Saints in front with Sirens' reaction producing attempts by Buhagiar and Adrian Galea.

Sta Venera sealed the issue in the 79th minute when Falzon hit home following a personal effort.

Referee: Roberto Buontempo.

Kalkara 0
Zurrieq 4

Zurrieq were superior to Kalkara and went on to chalk up their third win from five matches. Kalkara were never in the match as they were completely dominated by their opponents.

Zurrieq took the lead after only two minutes and never looked back. From a corner, Kalkara keeper Chris Brignone mistimed his sortie and Dino Bonnici hit home with relative ease.

Kalkara tried to react but it was Zurrieq who increased their advantage thanks to an excellent Robert Bajada goal following a perfect pass from Marco Zammit.

On 30 minutes another error from Brignone led to Zurrieq's third goal scored by Michael Abdilla. Kalkara then introduced substitute keeper Douglas who made a fine save to deny Bonnici just before the break.

Zurrieq maintained the initiative during the second half.

However, despite seeing more of the ball they only added one other goal to their tally, scored by Daniel Zammit midway through the half.

Referee: Feodor Zammit.

Kirkop United 0
Pembroke Athleta 4

This was a useful victory for Pembroke who were seeking to beat the luckless Kirkop in their bid to stay with the leading teams in the division.

Pembroke took the lead after eight minutes through Joseph Gauci after Kirkop goalkeeper Mizzi had failed to hold a David Azzopardi shot.

Mario Cilia almost drew the teams level but it was Pembroke who doubled their lead four minutes from half-time through Jeffrey Fenech. Pembroke were then awarded a penalty for a foul on Robert Zammit but Gauci's shot from the spot was stopped by the upright.

However, just before the interval Pembroke did add a third goal when Antvin Monsigneur hit home from a corner.

The second period was a mere formality with Pembroke scoring a fourth when Antonello Brincat concluded some fine work from Fenech and David Azzopardi.

Referee: Trustan Farrugia Cann.

Zejtun Corinthians 2
Luqa St Andrews 2

On Monday, Luqa squandered a two-goal lead in the last five minutes even though they were playing with ten players after Jean Paul Abela had been sent off by referee Khalil. Both teams are still without a win after five matches.

Zejtun keeper Mifsud did well to deny Randolph Penza with the Corinthians replying with a header by Jesmar Abela which just missed the far post. A minute before the break Luqa's Mark Said saw his effort hitting the upright.

Luqa showed better ideas after the break and opened the score on 51 minutes when Penza rifled home after a fine solo move.

At the other end Luqa's no.1 Gatt made a difficult save to stop a Denis Caruana shot before Owen Psaila made it 2-0 in the 59th minute.

Zejtun reduced the arrears in the 85th minute through a penalty given for a foul on Andy Portelli and converted by Elton Caruana.

Two minutes later Abela was sent off for a second booking and deep into stoppage time substitute Sergio Schembri beat Gatt to earn Zejtun a point.

Referee: Mohammed Khalil.