Msida Sj 4
Mosta 1

For the majority of teams beneath the hitherto undisputed leading trio of Sliema Wanderers, Birkirkara and Hibernians, the 2005-2006 Premier League has been a rollercoaster ride.

Msida St Joseph are one of the seven teams embroiled in a tense fight for a Championship Pool place but thanks to a powerful combination of excellent teamwork and consistency, the Reds are slowly but surely gaining a significant edge on their rivals.

Having ended their first round commitments with a 2-1 win over Hamrun Spartans, yesterday Msida made another important step towards reaching their top-six objective when swatting aside Mosta by four goals to one.

Roderick Bajada had been the protagonist behind Msida's bold display yesterday, bossing midfield with his typical marauding and scoring a stunning goal.

Indeed, it was a pity that Bajada spoiled his performance by getting himself sent off for swearing at an opponent two minutes from time. His late dismissal took some gloss off his side's victory which strengthened their grip on fourth place with 16 points.

Todor Raykov, the Msida coach, had the luxury to name his strongest team but not so could be said of his Mosta counterpart Paul Zammit.

The absence through suspension of Udochukwu Nwoko deprived Mosta of a potent attacking spearhead to partner Ikechukwu Chibueze who yesterday made his return after missing the 1-0 upset to Valletta with a knee injury.

The opening 10 minutes offered little in way of constructive football. Msida could have taken the lead after 12 minutes but Daniel Nwoke's header from a David Carabott corner sailed over.

This turned out to be the preamble to Msida's opener. Having been awarded a free-kick after Miroljub Spasic illegally stopped Ibrahim Babatunde's progress, Bajada curled in a cross towards the centre of the box where the towering Tyrone Farrugia guided a looping header past Matthew Farrugia.

Msida's sound tactical disposition, coupled with the intelligent movement of their midfielders and the direct running of their all-Nigerian forward line, made it hard for Mosta to muster a reaction.

It was fitting that dynamic duo Paul Fenech and Bajada combined to double Msida's lead on the half-hour mark. And what a goal it was!

Fenech, showing a tenacity belying his size, regained possession close to the halfway line and rolled the ball forward to Bajada who received the pass deep into Mosta's half. A quick glance at the position of Mosta's keeper encouraged Bajada to unleash a thunderous drive that sailed into the net. Small wonder that the entire Msida bench stood up in unison to applaud Bajada's brilliant effort.

Mosta came close to reducing the deficit when Bartolo directed a pass towards Chibueze and Borg's attempt to cut out the danger ricocheted off the Nigerian's feet and over the bar.

Late in the first half, Mosta were irate at referee Marco Borg for turning down their seemingly legitimate claims for a penalty when Chibueze, set up by Bartolo from the right, was bundled over by the Msida goalkeeper.

Zammit's lads had battled hard to make a contest of it in the first half but their midfield struggled to match the influence of the likes of Bajada, Fenech, Farrugia, Msida's anchorman in front of defence, and Charles Sciberras.

Early in the second half, Msida had chances to wrap up the issue but Farrugia's effort from a goalmouth melee was blocked by the Mosta defenders and Farrugia came out to halt Babatunde's menacing run.

Mosta refused to heed the alarm signals and were duly punished on 55 minutes. Racing on to a throughball, Nwoke evaded Mosta's offside trap, rounded Farrugia and sidefooted home from a tight angle.

Three minutes on, Nwoke made it 4-0, firing the ball home from close range after the Mosta rearguard failed to clear a pass from the right.

Scoring opportunities now came in plentiful supply as Msida kept their foot on the accelerator. Babatunde stroked the ball wide of the far post after receiving another inviting pass from Sciberras. The Nigerian then turned provider when setting up Bajada after a strong diagonal run but the flick from the Msida midfielder flashed wide.

Msida's attacking flurry continued, Farrugia bringing off successive saves to deny Fenech and Babatunde. Falzon, Mosta's U-21 international midfielder, gave his team temporary reprieve from Msida's pressure with a grounder that was deflected away for a corner.

Sixteen minutes from time, Mosta thought they had won a penalty when Josef Mifsud tripped Chibueze from behind after Borg had spilled a Falzon effort. Much to everyone's surprise, the referee penalised Chibueze for 'pushing' Mifsud.

At the other end, Babatunde should have put his name on the scoresheet but he sent the ball wide after skipping Spasic's challenge.

Four minutes from time, Mosta scored a consolation goal when Falzon, their best player yesterday, struck a low free-kick against the far post and into the net.

Then came Bajada's late red card for use of foul language towards an opponent to slightly spoil what should have been a perfect afternoon for the Reds.

Msida: O. Borg-6, D. Theuma-6, J. Mifsud-6, D. Carabott-6.5, T. Farrugia-7 ('78 S. Tagliaferro), R. Bajada, C. Sciberras-7.5, D. Cachia-6, P. Fenech-8 ('81 D. Gatt), I. Babatunde-6, D. Nwoke-6.5 ('81 C. Micallef).

Mosta: M. Farrugia-5, S. Borg-5 ('76 L. Cilia), R. Newell-5, M. Spasic-6, J. Caruana-5, M. Bartolo-6, D. Okonkwo-6, P. Sciriha-5, D. Falzon-6.5, P. Camilleri-5.5 ('57 I. Bilocca-5), I. Chibueze-6.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Scorers: Farrugia 16; Bajada 30; Nwoke 55, 58; Falzon 86.

Yellow Card: Chibueze.

Red Card: Bajada 88.

Bov Player Of The Match: Daniel Nwoke (Msida Sj).