Seydou Doumbia started to repay the faith Ħamrun Spartans put in him as the Ivory Coast striker came off the bench to fire home the winner against Balzan in a five-goal thriller at the Centenary Stadium.
It looked as though Ħamrun were set for a comfortable evening when racing into a two-goal lead after the first 45 minutes.
However, complacency creeped into the Spartans play and two defensive mistakes handed Balzan a route back into the match to level terms.
But the Spartans kept fighting and it was Doumbia who had the final say when firing home the winner that kept the Spartans two points clear of Hibernians at the top of the standings.
Ħamrun Spartans were off to a fast start and after four minutes of play they were already a goal ahead.