Vittoriosa Stars 1
San Ġwann 0
Vittoriosa Stars secured promotion to the Premier League for the second year in a row after fending off the strong challenge of the already-doomed San Ġwann in a tight match at the Tedesco Stadium, yesterday.
Beppe Muscat turned out to be the Stars' hero as the agile winger scored the goal that mattered midway through the second half to put the Cottonera outfit five points clear of third-placed Balzan Youths. The latter complete their league calendar today with a match against Mqabba.
It was far from an easy afternoon for Winston Muscat's men who met strong resistance from the Saints. However, in the end the Stars' persistence was rewarded as Muscat fired home the winner.
Vittoriosa came out strongly and inside the opening three minutes should have taken the lead when Michael Borg Olivier's centre found the unmarked Joseph Chetcuti who drifted the ball wide in front of a gaping goal.
Balzan responded on 14 minutes when Lee Galea stormed through on the right but was blocked by the onrushing Henry Bonello, the Vittoriosa goalkeeper.
The match remained evenly-balanced and on 24 minutes Cumbo found Alan Borg whose low shot was too central to pose any problems for Bonello.
At the other end, Leontin Chitescu made inroads on the left channel but after turning past a defender shot into the side-netting. The Romanian was at it again a minute later but his grounder was pushed away by Jean Vella, the San Ġwann keeper.
Chances remained few and far between. Vittoriosa knew they needed to step up a gear if they were to breach the Saints' defensive cover and on 55 minutes Chitescu was again close but his dipping shot finished just over.
On 67 minutes, the Stars withdrew Joseph Chetcuti and roped in Clayton Micallef in a bit to freshen up the team's attacking lines. The move paid off as on 72 minutes Muscat broke free inside the area before unleashing an unstoppable drive past Vella.
After Muscat's breakthrough, the Stars looked to administer their lead as the Saints belied their lowly position in the standings and pushed forward in search of an equaliser.
In time added on, Vittoriosa were reduced to ten men when Borg Olivier received a second booking when he took off his shirt as he thought the match was over.
The final whistle came a few seconds later to kickstart Vittoriosa's promotion party.
Vittoriosa: H. Bonello, P. Camilleri, P. Aquilina, Jeffrey Chetcuti, J. Spiteri, G. Muscat ('79 G. Inguanez), H. Makinwa, L. Chitescu ('87 J. Xerri), Joseph Chetcuti ('67 C. Micallef), M. Borg Olivier, B. Bonnici.
San Ġwann: J.M. Vella, Q. Bresman, M. Caruana ('58 K. Vella), L. Cumbo, N. Curmi, L. Galea, C. Cuschieri ('51 J. Cutajar), A. Borg, Glenn Agius ('69 Gianluca Agius), P. Xuereb, S. Hili.
Referee: Paul Apap.
Man of the match: Beppe Muscat (Vittoriosa Stars).
Playing today
Tedesco Stadium: 19.00 Mqabba vs Balzan.