Vittoriosa edge Gzira to go top as Qormi draw

Gzira United 1
Vittoriosa Stars 2

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A Marco Sultana goal two minutes from time earned Vittoriosa a very important win which means that now they are the sole leaders in the standings and well placed for promotion.

Gzira, third from bottom, had a good game but finished empty-handed. The Stars gained the initiative during the first half and after only seven minutes a Lawrence Mizzi cross was headed goalwards by Silvan Privitelli with Ranier Farrugia doing well to avoid suffering a goal.

Mizzi then went close with dangerous shots which flew wide of goal. But Vittoriosa forged ahead in the 32nd minute through an own goal by defender Clayton Micallef off a lob by Stars' striker Charles Cachia.

Gzira were the better team after the change of ends with Aaron Pendry very much in the thick of action. In the 67th minute, Matthew Cocks headed just wide and Carlo Leonardi failed to deliver from an inviting position.

Five minutes from time, Gzira scored an equaliser through Chris Schembri's free-kick.

But barely three minutes later Sultana headed in past Farrugia for Vittoriosa's winner. There were strong protests by Gzira who sustained that the ball had not crossed the line. Pendry was sent off for dissent.

Referee: Gordon Barbara.

Dingli Swallows 0
Qormi 0

This was perhaps Dingli's last chance to re-enter the race for promotion. In the end, the goalless draw proved futile for both sides as Dingli fell off the pace and Qormi lost the top position.

Qormi striker Andrew Scerri had a penalty saved by Ivan Cassar as Dingli were guilty of wasting a couple of clear-cut chances in the second half.

After only eight minutes, Dingli were close to taking the lead when Stefan Farrugia's cross was saved with difficulty by Thomas Camilleri. Etienne Farrugia and Victor Fiteni just missed the target with Qormi's Edward Azzopardi seeing his shot blocked by Cassar.

Three minutes later Dingli won a corner which was taken by Farrugia and Bruce Genovese headed just over.

Five minutes into the second half, Qormi were awarded a penalty for a foul by Cassar on Scerri but the latter's shot from the spot failed to beat the Dingli keeper.

On the hour, Camilleri made an excellent save on a Stefan Zahra effort with Qormi replying through Johan Zammit's shot that was cleared off the line by Genovese.

In the 76th minute, Jeremy Agius should have done better in front of the Qormi goal. At the other end Qormi cursed their luck when a Zammit header hit the post.

Referee: Glen Tonna.

Gudja United 2
Melita 2

This was a fair result even though Gudja United saw more of the ball during the 90 minutes. The Amateurs occupy a comfortable mid-table position but Gudja are still hovering outside the red zone.

Melita took the lead after only nine minutes following an excellent Edward Herrera shot from the edge of the penalty area but Gudja drew level in the 18th minute. Sapiano parried Chris Grech's shot and from the rebound Aldrin Muscat blasted the ball home.

Muscat headed Gudja in front seven minutes later after a Jean Pierre Abdilla shot was partially stopped by Sapiano with the help of the upright.

Melita's reaction was strong but they had to wait until the 45th minute to level matters when Matthew Borg I headed in from a cross by substitute Joseph Vassallo.

Gudja dictated the run of play after the interval and twice were close through Elton Bugeja and Elvin Gauci. Herrera saw his effort stopped by Xerxen and on 62 minutes the Melita striker just missed the target with a diagonal shot.

Gudja were unlucky in the 80th minute when a Leslie Burke free-kick hit the bar. In stoppage time, a Grech drive was saved with difficulty by Sapiano.

Referee: Karl Frendo Cumbo.

Balzan Youths 3
Zebbug Rangers 1

Balzan Youths ended a bad run during which they suffered six consecutive defeats. They broke the deadlock after just two minutes when Matthew Sciortino fired home following some good work by Ismael Zammit.

Balzan increased their lead in the 56th minute through a superb Antoine Sacco goal but from then onwards Zebbug came more into the picture.

A Gordon Mallia free-kick flashed wide of the Youths' goal and a George Saliba header was saved by Mark Sciberras. In the 72nd minute, substitute Clayton Borg pulled one back for the Rangers but although they continued to press forward it was Balzan who created the better chances through counter-attacks.

Four minutes into injury-time, Balzan sealed the issue with a third goal scored by substitute Alistair Camilleri following a through-pass by Jerryton Agius.

Referee: Paul Apap.

Division Three

Rabat Ajax 4
Luqa St Andrews 0

Rabat Ajax maintained the pressure on front-runners Sta Venera Lightnings and Birzebbuga St Peter's after defeating Luqa St Andrews in a one-sided match.

Division Three top-scorer Adam Smeir notched a brace to take his tally this season to 13 goals.

Luqa shared the exchanges in the opening minutes and early on they had a goal disallowed for an offside infringement. Minutes later Smeir also had a goal ruled out for offside.

The Magpies took the lead on 24 minutes when Smeir profited from poor defensive play from Mark Said to shoot the ball home. The Rabat striker was again on target five minutes later when he beat Luqa goalkeeper Gatt with a low drive.

Owen Psaila almost pulled one back for Luqa but his effort just missed the Rabat goal.

Four minutes into the second period, Rabat increased their lead, Kayne Said heading the ball home from a Gwyn Vassallo cross.

Darren Galea sealed the points for Rabat in the 81st minute after being set up by Smeir.

Referee: Mario Apap.

Pembroke Athleta 2
Fgura United 0

Pembroke Athleta enhanced their aspirations of reaching the promotion play-offs after they saw off Fgura with goals from Andre Cachia and Roderick Sapiano.

Pembroke played the better football during the first period and went close after 11 minutes through Robert Zammit. Then David Azzopardi shot just wide from a good position.

Pembroke broke the deadlock on 34 minutes when Cachia fired the ball home from an Adrian Fenech free-kick.

Fgura should have drawn level but Ivan Cassar and Ivan Pace failed to hit the target.

Fgura gained the upper hand in the second half with Pembroke goalkeeper Debattista saving attempts by Clint Ellul and Howard Hughes.

However, it was Pembroke who had the final say as Sapiano assured them of the three points with a second goal two minutes from time.

Referee: Darren Calleja.

Sta Lucija 0
Sta Venera Lightnings 1

A goal scored by Mark Grech was enough for leaders Sta Venera Lightnings to beat Sta Lucija in a keenly contested match. This defeat is a severe setback for Sta Lucija's promotion hopes as Sta Venera consolidated their top spot in the standings.

Sta Venera produced the better fare in the first half and after nine minutes a Dylan Mercieca free-kick was brilliantly saved by Carabott.

The Saints' keeper was again on hand on two occasions when he kept out efforts from Glen Micallef and Mercieca whereas on another occasion an Alfred Micallef cross-shot bounced off the woodwork.

Grech put Sta Venera ahead on the half hour with Sta Lucija trying to hit back through efforts from Kurt Grima and Liam Cutajar.

After the interval, Sta Lucija stepped up a gear and were close to an equaliser but shots from Cutajar and Emanuel Cutajar went wide.

The Sta Lucija pressure increased in the late stages but Sta Venera held tight till the end.

Referee: Adrian Casha.