Tarxien keep up the pace but Vittoriosa stumble

Division Two

Zurrieq 0
Tarxien Rainbows 2

Tarxien Rainbows obtained their 10th victory of the season after beating a disappointing Zurrieq side with striker Simon Shead scoring his 22nd goal.

Tarxien are joint leaders with San Gwann on 34 points from 16 matches. They dictated the run of play during the first period. After ten minutes the unmarked Igor Stefanovic shot weakly from a good position.

Tarxien were again close soon after but a Joseph Agius free-kick flashed past the post. In the 24th minute, the Rainbows took the lead from another free-kick, this time ably taken by Massimo Schembri.

Tarxien insisted on attack but Aaron Guazzo and Stefanovic missed their chances. Two minutes after the restart it was 2-0 after Shead pounced on a rebound to shoot past the Zurrieq goalie.

In the 60th minute a Stefanovic lob was cleared in time by Godfrey Chetcuti and on another occasion Farrugia stopped Shead from making it 3-0.

Referee: Alex Arena.

Vittoriosa Stars 0
Luqa St Andrews 2

Vittoriosa Stars had their promotion chances dented after falling to their second consecutive defeat, in the space of a few days, against opposition from the lower part of the standings.

The result favoured San Gwann and Tarxien who are three points ahead of the Cottonera side and now clear favourites for First Division football next season.

Vittoriosa had a good start and in the opening minutes they twice went close through Carlos Scicluna and Robert Adami. However, in the 35th minute it was Luqa's Clive Psaila who opened the score from a free-kick.

Vittoriosa's response was immediate but despite some constant pressure Luqa preserved their slender lead.

In the 80th minute, Vittoriosa were awarded a penalty for a foul on Adami but Tony Cachia's shot from the spot hit the upright. Four minutes later Vittoriosa goalkeeper Chris Cini was sent off after handling the ball outside his box.

Vittoriosa's woes were compounded on the stroke of time when James Galea notched Luqa's second goal.

Referee: Ronnie Farrugia.

Gzira United 0
Dingli Swallows 2

This was another important victory for Dingli Swallows for whom Jonathan Sapiano scored two decisive second-half goals. Dingli are now very close to saving their status for next season.

Gzira, on their part, are still in troubled waters. They showed the better football during the opening half but Dingli had open chances as well, Anthony Brignone and Darren Attard denied by Bonello.

Gzira had a Baldassare Borg goal disallowed for handsball and an Ian Buhagiar free-kick saved by Abela.

Brignone was unlucky for Dingli soon after the break when his shot hit the post. But 16 minutes from time Sapiano had better luck when he tapped home a Lawrence Vella cross.

Gzira were jaded and a minute later Sapiano scored the 'killer' goal after a swift counter attack which caught the Maroons defence unawares.

Referee: Gejtu Degabiele.

Division Three

Sirens 2
Melita 4

This was an encouraging performance from the Amateurs who dominated the match against Sirens, going on to chalk up three precious points in their quest to secure one of the promotion berths available.

Melita took the lead, through Matthew Borg, after 20 minutes. The same player made it 2-0 16 minutes later following a good move between Naudi and Degabriele.

Two goals from Simon Borg pushed Melita into a clear 4-0 lead in the second half as Sirens hit twice in the dying minutes through Emanuel Borg, one from the penalty spot, to make the score more respectable for the St Paul's Bay side.

Referee: Mariano Debono.

Sta Lucija 2
Mgarr United 1

Melvin Agius was the main protagonist in this deserved victory for Sta Lucija. He scored twice each side of Mgarr's goal, to give the Saints their fifth victory of the season.

Agius was first on the scoresheet in the 53rd minute, from the penalty spot, and eight minutes later after a perfect execution from a free-kick.

Mgarr's Stefano Cremona had partially made it 1-1 after finding the opponents' net from a penalty in the 57th minute.

Referee: Edward Spiteri.

Fgura United 0
Sta Venera Lightnings. 1

A first-half goal, scored by Kevin Vella, was enough for Sta Venera Lightnings as they handed the first defeat of the season to Fgura United.

Sta Venera played one of their best matches so far this season and rightly claimed the points to jolt Kirkop's promotion aspirations.

Vella put Sta Venera ahead in the 44th minute and just before the interval team-mate Dylan Mercieca hit wide from a favourable position.

Early in the second half Fgura 'keeper Mifsud effected difficult saves to deny Josef Taliana and Joe Chetcuti with Fgura's reply producing an effort by Sean Kelly which was cleared off the line by Massimo Debono.

Referee: Adrian Ferriggi.

Gharghur 2
Kirkop United 1

Gharghur's winning trend is still on. Last weekend, they beat high-flyers Kirkop to make it a fifth victory from their last five outings - a remarkable record indeed.

Jeremy Dalli was again inspirational up front for Gharghur. His first-timer early on almost deceived the Kirkop goalie and soon after an effort from Chris Vella Petroni just missed the target.

Six minutes after the restart Dalli effected a fine solo run before hitting in the Kirkop net.

However, in the 64th minute Kirkop drew level, Alistair Camilleri arriving first on a rebound to make it 1-1. Kirkop went all out in search of a winner but in the 75th minute Gharghur regained the lead when the referee ordered a penalty after Kevin Azzopardi handled the ball inside his own box. Muscat made no mistake from the spot.

Referee: Esther Farrugia.