Msida St Joseph 1
Tarxien Rainbows 1
(aet; Tarxien win 5-4 on pens)
Seldom has the fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League produced such a nailbiting finale.
After Hamrun Spartans suffered the drop on the last day of the Relegation Pool despite finishing level on points with Msida and Tarxien, the latter two teams went head-to-head in a winner-takes-all decider at the Hibs Ground yesterday.
One hundred and twenty minutes of scrappy but combative football were insufficient to separate Msida and Tarxien, meaning that the issue had to be resolved via penalties.
The first six penalties were all converted but the balance swayed in favour of Tarxien when Msida captain Dino Cachia drove wide of the near post.
Steve Sadowski scored the next one for Tarxien, Tyrone Farrugia kept Msida alive by netting his but the Rainbows had the last laugh as Warren Chircop rifled the ball into the net much to the delight of his team's fans who can look forward to another season in the top flight.
Tarxien's joy was in sharp contrast with the downbeat mood of the Msida players, some of whom were moved to tears after the penalty shoot-out amid the realisation that they had lost their top-flight status after several years.
In the absence of goalkeeper Matthew Camilleri, out with a five-match suspension, Msida coach Joe Abdilla put his faith in Duain Carabott to guard his team's goal.
Stacey Vella deputised for Kenneth Spiteri in central defence after the latter received a one-match ban for his sending-off against the same Tarxien on Sunday.
Noel Coleiro, the Tarxien coach, was deprived of two key players in Daniel Mariano Bueno, the team's top scorer, and Denni Rocha Dos Santos. News that Denni had been named BOV player of the month for April, provided the Tarxien fans with a stark reminder of the Brazilian's influential performances for the Rainbows in the last month.
Within five minutes of referee Clayton Pisani's initial whistle, Msida were awarded a free-kick and Calcado curled his shot past the defensive wall but the ball flashed wide.
Msida were the brighter side in those early stages as Tarxien took their time to settle. Tanti might have eased Tarxien's early nerves when Chircop nodded the ball into his path but the former St Patrick skied his shot high and wide.
The Saints lost Andre Rocha Da Silva on 21 minutes when the Brazilian suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced by Elliott Navarro.
On 26 minutes, Msida were unlucky not to break the stalemate. Mark Camilleri did well to shield the ball from a posse of Tarxien defenders before setting up Calcado who sent the ball sailing towards the near post but his effort came off the woodwork.
Tarxien let out a sigh of relief but it was not long before they found themselves in arrears. Calcado's low free-kick drifted past the helpless Curmi who had been wrong-footed by a deflection from Tanti.
In no time, Tarxien levelled the scores. Camilleri's low free-kick from the left wreaked havoc in the Msida box and Tyrone Farrugia diverted Everson de Lima's close-range attempt into his own net.
The score remained unchanged until half-time.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Msida fluffed a golden chance to move ahead.
Several Tarxien players were caught napping as Adrian Farrugia's seemingly harmless pass from a free-kick reached Mifsud inside the six-yard box. The Msida midfielder drove the ball across the face of goal where Camilleri looked certain to score only to miscue his effort.
Tarxien survived a scare in the dying moments when Curmi fumbled Stacey Vella's innocuous cross and Camilleri pounced on the loose ball but his attempt from an angled position was cleared away for a corner. Thus, the stalemate prevailed, meaning that extra time had to be played.
The first chance fell to Tarxien as Chircop got on the end of a long ball before serving Andrew Decesare whose low strike was parried by Carabott.
On the stroke of half-time, Tarxien were reduced to 10 men when Decesare received his second booking for handling the ball in the middle of the pitch.
A man to the good, Msida were now expected to apply the pressure on Tarxien. Tyrone Farrugia embarked on a run through the middle before letting fly a thunderbolt that ended just wide.
At the death, Msida's Vella was also expelled after earning his second caution for using his hands to push the ball away from Chircop.
Msida SJ: D. Carabott-6, D. Cachia-7, S. Grima-6, S. Vella, T. Farrugia-7, K. Mifsud-6.5, A. Rocha Da Silva ('21 E. Navarro-6), K. Magro-6, M. Camilleri-6, A. Farrugia-6, P. Calcado-7.
Tarxien Rainbows: A. Curmi-7, S. Sadowski-6, M. Caruana-6, C. Gatt Baldacchino-6.5, E.A. De Lima-7, W. Chircop-6, M. Tanti-5 ('75 M. Buttigieg), A. Decesare, R. Schembri-6, L. Vella Critien-5 ('35 O. Grech-5.5 ('106 L. Galea), D. Camilleri-6.5.
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Scorers: Calcado 29 (Tarxien), T. Farrugia 33 og
Yellow cards: D. Camilleri; Decesare; T. Farrugia; Magro; Gatt Baldacchino; De Lima; Vella; Calcado; A. Farrugia.
Red cards: Decesare (T) 105; Vella (M) 119.
BoV player of the match: Pedrinho (Msida).
Penalty Sequence: Calcado (M) 1-0; Camilleri (T) 1-1; Magro (M) 2-1; De Lima (T) 2-2; A. Farrugia (M) 3-2; Gatt Baldacchino (T) 3-3; Cachia (M) missed 3-3; Sadowski (T) 4-3; T. Farrugua 4-4; Chircop (T) 5-4.