Lija condemn St Andrew's to Division Two

Lija Athletic 4
St Andrew's 2

Lija Athletic kept their survival hopes alive after a 4-2 victory over fellow relegation strugglers St Andrew's. The latter are now mathematically demoted to the third tier of Maltese football after only one season in the First Division.

The Saints needed a win to stay in with a chance of avoiding the drop but yesterday they rarely looked like posing problems to Jimmy Briffa's side for whom youngster Gianluca Calabretta again had an excellent performance.

It was only in the opening stages that Antonio Pinto's side created some decent goalscoring opportunities. Ian Borg tried his luck from the edge of the area but his grounder was saved by Jonathan Vella.

As time went by, Lija lifted their game and took charge of midfield. In the 14th minute, Lija were unlucky not to forge ahead when defender Elton Azzopardi's first-time effort hit the post. From the rebound, Glenn Barry missed the target by a whisker.

Lija were ahead in the 20th minute when Beppe Antignolo's measured pass found the speedy Calabretta who instinctively slotted the ball past Jonathan Debono.

A minute later, St Andrew's midfielder Anthony Galea rifled a shot from the distance but Vella blocked.

St Andrew's levelled matters in the 26th minute when from a Borg corner, the unmarked Nicki Micallef headed home.

Lija regained the lead just before half-time when Antignolo supplied a precise pass to Barry who beat the offside trap, rounded the goalkeeper and tapped the ball into an empty net.

Lija made it 3-1 on 52 minutes. Antignolo's drive from inside the area was partially saved by Debono and Michael Gatt drove the loose ball home. Lija were now the dominant team, increasing their lead on 65 minutes through Calabretta.

Seventeen minutes from time, St Andrew's pulled a goal back when Michael Borg Olivier's free-kick evaded Vella's grasp and dropped into the net.

With 15 minutes of the game left, Lija substitute John Camilleri, racing onto a pass from Antignolo, was foiled by the on-rushing Debono.

In the 82nd minute, Camilleri tried his luck with a half-volley which sailed over the crossbar. Two minutes later Camilleri was unlucky not to put his name on the scoresheet. He turned well in the Saints' box but his effort went wide.

Lija: J. Vella, E. Azzopardi, J.P. Scerri, A. Ellul (D. Cremona), D. Scerri, M. Gatt (J. Camilleri) G. Barry, P. Camilleri, G. Calabretta (B. Lowell), Z. Anicic, B. Antignolo.

St Andrew's: J. Debono, J. Sank, Adrian Galea, J. Sant Fournier, R. Briffa, S. Falzon (M. Amato), B. Galea (G. Bartolo), Anthony Galea, M. Borg Olivier, I. Borg, N. Micallef.

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Mqabba 0
St Patrick 2

St Patrick have joined the pack of teams challenging for promotion to the Premier League.

In what surely was one of the best matches of the Division One season, the Saints had Gilbert Scerri and Sandro Costa Brazilino in fine form as they had the better of a plucky Mqabba team.

St Patrick could have taken the lead after only three minutes. Mark Tanti found Scerri on the edge of the area and the latter's curling shot sailed onto the crossbar.

At the other end, Mqabba's Martin Anastasi gained space in the St Patrick box but his shot flew into the side-netting.

In the sixth minute, Mqabba were dangerous again when Roderick Spiteri's cross was met by Marlon Briffa whose header was tipped away for a corner by Franklin Azzopardi.

Mqabba stayed on the offensive, Spiteri's first-time effort being cleared away for a corner by Arnold Buttigieg. In the 27th minute, an Uchanna Anywanna cross was diverted by Buttigieg with the ball bouncing against the post before the St Patrick keeper pushed it away for a corner. Five minutes later, Briffa was wide with a first-time shot.

The last 10 minutes of the first half belonged to St Patrick with Scerri showing his true mettle. In the 37th minute, the Saints claimed penalty when Scerri dribbled his way into the Mqabba defence before being tripped by Mark Anthony Psaila. It looked like a genuine penalty but referee Lorry Sammut waved play on.

Six minutes from half-time, Scerri was again in full swing when he dallied past Marco Catania who resorted to a late tackle to tame his tormentor. The Mqabba defender was lucky to escape with a yellow card.

St Patrick won a penalty eight minutes into the second half when Thomas Caruana was pulled down by Martin Gauci. Tanti took responsibility for the penalty and duly sent Kris Calleja, the Mqabba goalkeeper, the wrong way.

Mqabba responded in the 57th minute when a Briffa effort from outside the area finished just over the crossbar.

A minute later, St Patrick doubled the score when from a throw-in, Caruana chipped the ball on the turn to Tanti who hammered a shot past Calleja.

Two minutes later, Scerri again showed some neat footwork to pass the ball to Tanti who missed out on a hat-trick by a whisker.

Mqabba did their utmost to claw their way back into the match with some direct football on both flanks but the Saints controlled proceedings until the end.

The only time Mqabba came close to a consolation goal was in stoppage time when a Justin Tellus screamer was stopped by Azzopardi.

Mqabba: K. Calleja, J. Tellus, A. Busuttil, M. Gauci (K. Mallia), M.A. Psaila, M. Briffa (P. Grima), J.P. Muscat, M. Anastasi (C. Borg), U. Anywanna, M. Catania, R. Spiteri.

St Patrick: F. Azzopardi, R. Cassar, A. Buttigieg (K. Vassallo), M. Zerafa, M. Fleri Soler, S. Costa Brazilino, M. Tanti (M. Scerri), G. Failla, T. Caruana, G. Scerri, S. Zerafa.

Referee: Lorry Sammut.