Early goals steer Lija to promotion as champions St Patrick held to a draw

Lija Athletic 4
Mosta 2

Lija Athletic needed just 45 minutes to secure Premier League football next season after they beat Mosta yesterday to make theirs the runners-up spot behind top team and champions St Patrick.

Requiring just one point to seal their place in the top flight, Lija took control of proceedings from the outset, taking an early lead which they never relinquished.

Mosta, fielding various youngsters in their line-up, tried to make a fight out of it with their spirited play but in the end it was not enough to spoil Lija's party.

Lija were seeking to score an early opener and they reached their objective twice inside the first 11 minutes.

Manolito Micallef lofted a 9th-minute free-kick towards Glenn Barry who headed the ball home. The Lija fans were overjoyed, and two minutes later they were again on their feet when Jean Paul Scerri ably controlled Ciscaldi's cross. His first shot was somehow blocked by the Mosta defence but from the rebound Scerri stabbed the ball past Charles Sciberras.

Mosta pulled one back on 19 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after Ives Bilocca was floored in the box. Stefan Farrugia made no mistake from the spot.

Lija soon regrouped themselves and on 25 minutes they almost restored their two-goal lead when Micallef's header seemed destined to hit the net but Sciberras leapt to his right to palm the ball to safety.

Ten minutes from the break, Gordon Camenzuli's free-kick skimmed the Mosta upright and a minute later Barry's header was cleared by Brian Galea. Lija made it 3-1 on 39 minutes when Camenzuli won a penalty and Giles Lanzon converted from the spot.

Mosta again bridged the gap ten minutes after the restart when Ryan Newell volleyed home from close in. But then Micallef lobbed the ball over Sciberras for Lija to regain their two-goal cushion.

Lija took their foot off the accelerator pedal and Mosta soon took the upperhand. On 73 minutes Matthew Borg was unlucky when he headed the ball against the upright.

Mosta were reduced to ten men in the 80th minute when Newell was dismissed for a tough challenge on Daddy Okeke. That ended the Blues' hopes of a recovery. With the referee's final whistle Lija got the party going.

Lija: S. Agius (K. Pace), D. Okeke, S. Ciscaldi, G. Lanzon, R. Mifsud (E. Azzopardi), J.P. Scerri, M. Micallef, G. Camenzuli, G. Barry, R. Grech, D. Cosaitis.

Mosta: C. Sciberras, P. Vassallo, R. Asciak, A. Chetcuti (A. Muscat), S. Farrugia, C. Scerri, R. Newell, I. Bilocca (C. Pace), M. Borg, J. Grech, B. Galea (M. Brincat).

Referee: Adrian Casha.

St Patrick 2
Marsa 2

St Patrick were crowned Division One champions despite being held to a draw by Marsa in a keen second match at the Tedesco Stadium.

Bobby Giorev's men recovered from an early shock, hitting two quick goals towards the end of the first half for a 2-1 lead. However, they failed to preserve that advantage till the end as Ibrahim Tarek's late goal earned Marsa a point that preserved their unbeaten record in the second round.

However, that did little to hamper the Saints' colourful celebrations as the point earned was enough for the Zabbar outfit to finish on top with 33 points.

St Patrick's started strongly and after just one minute Peter Anizoba raced into the Marsa area, turned past two defenders but his low drive was saved by Deemer Tabone. In the 11th minute Simon Zerafa's cross found Clayton Failla who shot over.

But it was Marsa who broke the stalemate on 12 minutes when Tarek weaved his way brilliantly in the Saints box before dribbling past Roderick Agius and placing the ball inside an empty net.

St Patrick were stunned and six minutes later they were lucky not to concede a second when Tarek pounced on a poor Robert Cassar pass, released Joseph Casha who incredibly shot over.

Mark Tanti should have equalised on 21 minutes but messed up his chance from a good position. On the half hour the Saints lost Alan Galea who limped out injured. He was replaced by Allister Buhagiar.

The substitute soon made his presence felt when four minutes later he hit the equaliser, tapping home Anizoba's cross.

Buhagiar's goal lifted the Saints who were again on target two minutes later when Tanti rifled a fierce shot that left Tabone stranded.

A minute from the break, the woodwork denied the Saints a third when Gordon Failla's shot hit the bar.

St Patrick were again on target on 53 minutes when Tanti's curling free-kick sailed past Tabone but the goal was annulled for an infringement in the Marsa area.

The match lost much of its rhythm after the break. The only noteworthy goalmouth action arrived very late in the match when Anizoba broke free on the right, served Tanti whose effort was blocked by Tabone.

That miss proved costly as at the other end Jean Paul Zammit released Tarek who slid the ball past Azzopardi. That was on 84 minutes.

St Patrick almost regained the lead when Anizoba dashed past three opponents but his shot hit the upright.

The Saints' late pressure failed to yield a winner but that little mattered on the day marking St Patrick's return to top flight football next season.

Their celebrations kicked off soon after the match when captain Robert Cassar received the championship trophy from Malta FA vice-president John Farrugia.

St Patrick: R. Agius (F. Azzopardi), R. Cassar, S. Sciberras, M. Zahra, D. Gauci, A. Galea (A. Buhagiar), M. Tanti, G. Failla, C. Failla, P. Anizoba, S. Zerafa (K. Bonnici).

Marsa: D. Tabone, N. Zarb Cousin, S. Cutajar (A. Gatt), D. Vella, R. Bonnici, W. Chircop (J.P. Zammit), L. Grima, R. Micallef, D. Gatt, I. Tarek, J. Casha (G. Martin).

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.