The Premier League's top guns were all victorious last weekend as Sliema Wanderers profited from Birkirkara's inactivity by battling their way past Qormi to go one point clear at the top.
Hibernians and champions Valletta kept the pressure on the leading teams with comfortable victories that lifted them to third place in the standings.
The match between Sliema and Qormi looked headed for a draw after Alex Muscat's 20th minute opener for the Wanderers was cancelled out by Joseph Chetcuti with 19 minutes left.
Sliema had to wait until the last seconds of stoppage time to snatch the winner, Ivan Woods heading the ball home to send his team to the top of the standings.
This was the second time in a week that third-from-bottom Qormi conceded a last-gasp goal after suffering the same fate against Ħamrun the previous Sunday.
Hibs warmed up for tomorrow's tough test against Birkirkara with a trouble-free 2-0 win over Msida St Joseph, courtesy of goals by Terrence Scerri and Clayton Failla.
Valletta issued a stern reminder of their attacking prowess after they steamrollered past bottom-placed Ħamrun Spartans 4-0.
First-half goals from Luke Dimech and Priso Doding, from a penalty, put the Citizens well on way to their fourth league win of the season. The Spartans did try to get back in the reckoning after the interval but Valletta were too strong on the day and late goals by Ian Zammit and Jonathan Bondin added gloss to a dominant performance by Paul Zammit's team.
Floriana's 3-1 win over Tarxien Rainbows might give the impression that the Greens were too strong for the newly-promoted side. That was certainly not the case as Zoran Popovic's men were staring at defeat in the final stages of the match after a Daniel Mariano Bueno penalty had given the Rainbows a deserved 16th minute lead.
In the final 12 minutes, the unlucky Rainbows, having hit the woodwork twice, paid dearly for their poor defending as Floriana struck three times through Pablo Doffo (79), Marlon Briffa (88) and Ryan Darmanin (90) to open a four-point lead over sixth-placed Msida.
Statistics - scorers, red cards
Birkirkara: Mifsud Triganza 3; Galea 3; Buhagiar 2; Mallia 2; Tabone (pen), Bajada, Fenech, Hartvig. Red card - Bajada (vs Marsaxlokk).
Floriana: Anonam 4; M. Briffa 2, Darmanin 2; Madzar, Brincat (penalty), Doffo. Red cards - Bugeja (vs Ħamrun), Caruana (vs Valletta).
Ħamrun: Cucciardi 3; Spiteri 2, Kokavessis 2; Ortega (penalty), Micallef. Red cards - Spiteri (vs Floriana), Spiteri (vs Msida).
Hibernians: Scerri 6; Failla 3; Galabov 2, J. Caruana 2, Farrugia 2; Grech, Callejas, Pulis, Cohen (penalty). Own goals - Micallef (vs Ħamrun); Bonnici (vs Ħamrun); Red card - Mbongo (vs Valletta).
Marsaxlokk: Pereira 3, Alcorse 3 (1 pen); Licari 2 (1 pen); Said, Mattocks, Barbara. Red cards - Camenzuli (vs Birkirkara), Said, Wellman (vs Msida SJ).
Msida: Calcado 6 (1 pen.); Aurellio 4; Magro, T. Farrugia, Da Silva. Red cards - Da Silva (vs Ħamrun), T. Farrugia (vs Marsaxlokk).
Qormi: Effiong 3, Da Silva 3; Farrugia, Grima, Chetcuti. Red cards - Chetcuti (vs Hibernians), Nwoko (vs Ħamrun).
Sliema: Woods 5 (1 pen.); Bjedov 3; Bajada 2, Muscat 2; Severino, Azzopardi, Nisevic, Briffa. Red card - Bjedov (vs Ħamrun).
Tarxien: Bueno 9 (1 penalty); Chircop. Red cards - Carapic, Decesare (vs Qormi).
Valletta: Priso 6 (3 pens.); Zammit 3; Falzon 2, G. Agius 2; Dimech, Bondin, Tolomeotti.
Next fixtures
Tomorrow (Centenary Stadium): 6.30 p.m. Birkirkara vs Hibs.
Saturday (National Stadium): 2 p.m. Ħamrun Spartans vs Floriana; 4 p.m. Valletta vs Sliema Wanderers.
Sunday (Tedesco Stadium): 1.30 p.m. Qormi vs Marsaxlokk; 3.30 p.m. Birkirkara vs Tarxien.