Fine start for Mosta as 10-man Senglea hold Spartans

Mosta 2
St Patrick 0

Mosta launched their Division One campaign on a good note after they beat St Patrick 2-0.

Mosta, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, were worth their victory against a St Patrick side who failed to produce the goods.

The opening match of the 2006-2007 BoV Division One season, played at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, was contested between two teams who could have a say in the promotion race.

Mosta have retained the bulk of last season's squad but they will surely miss the likes of Dyson Falzon who joined Valletta, Ryan Newell who last week signed for Floriana and Pio Sciriha, now playing for Msida St Joseph.

St Patrick have made two significant additions to their squad after they signed Kenneth Abela from Senglea and Eric Saliba who played for Tarxien Rainbows last season.

The first half was a balanced affair with Mosta relying heavily on their veteran playmaker Philip Camilleri for inspiration.

The first goalscoring opportunity of the match came after six minutes when a Camilleri free-kick was saved for a corner by St Patrick goalkeeper Franklin Azzopardi.

The Saints reacted in the 14th minute when a Simon Zerafa free-kick was headed by Abela with the ball finishing just over the crossbar.

Five minutes later Mosta won a penalty when Bryan Agius's first-time effort hit Saliba's hand and after some hesitation, referee Andrè Arciola pointed to the spot. Camilleri failed to put Mosta ahead as his shot from the penalty spot hit the post.

Late in the first half, Seyi Rufai, Mosta's new foreign player, was denied by Azzopardi who blocked his strong effort. Mosta took the lead in the 56th minute, Ives Bilocca's half-volley from the edge of the area having the better of Azzopardi. A minute later, Bilocca tried his luck again but this time the Saints custodian saved.

In the 65th minute, a Rufai drive was deflected for a corner by a St Patrick defender.

The Saints did their utmost to get back into the game but it was Mosta who struck again three minutes before the end of normal time.

The hard-working Agius found Rufai on the left flank and the Nigerian blasted the ball home from an acute angle to seal victory for Vince Carbonaro's side.

Mosta: J. Galea, M. Abela, B. Agius, I. Bilocca (S. Borg), M. Brincat, P. Camilleri, B. Galea, M. Borg (C. Tabone), A. Muscat, M. Farrugia, S. Rufai (R. Deguara).

St Patrick: F. Azzopardi, A. Buttigieg, M. Zerafa, M. Fleri Soler, S. Zerafa, M. Tanti, M. Pullicino, V. Camilleri (G. Failla), G. Scerri (K. Coleiro), E. Saliba (A. Buhagiar), K. Abela.

Referee: Andrè Arciola.

Man of the match: Bryan Agius (Mosta).

Hamrun Spartans 0
Senglea Athletics 0

Senglea managed to hold Hamrun Spartans to a goalless draw despite playing with 10 men for most of the second half after Clint Caruana was sent off.

Chances in a largely drab match were few and far between. Surprisingly, it was Senglea who had the better chances when playing with a man short.

For the Spartans, Rupert Mangion worked hard to get his team up and running but found little cooperation from his colleagues. Ryan Fenech too had a good match but was surprisingly substituted in the second half. Perhaps, the player who most caught the eye was Hamrun's new foreign player, defender Branislav Timotic.

Senglea, this season under the charge of Dennis Fenech, functioned more as a team and had no particular player who shone above the rest.

In the eighth minute of yesterday's match, a corner by Mangion fell to Timotic but the latter's flick came off the post. A minute later, veteran Stefan Sultana took advantage of a melee but his effort was saved by George Attard, the Senglea goalkeeper.

Senglea suffered a setback when Caruana was sent off for dissent in the 56th minute.

Ten minutes later, a free-kick by Mangion brought a poor clearance from Attard, the ball landing in front of Gaetan Spiteri who shot weakly at the Senglea custodian.

In the 70th minute Senglea had a great opportunity to grab the lead. Darren Grech's cross from the right found Chima Dozie but the former Naxxar Lions striker was thwarted by Michael Falzon who blocked his shot on the ground.

Eleven minutes from time, Dozie served substitute Glenn Bonello but the latter fired over the crossbar.

Five minutes into injury time, Senglea should have won the match when Dozie dribbled past two defenders but sent his shot just wide of the advancing Falzon.

Hamrun: M. Falzon, B. Timotic, I. Briffa, G. Spiteri (G. Bartolo), R. Fenech (M. Vella), S. Sultana, J. Debattista, R. Mangion, N. Galea, S. Meilaq, K. Borg.

Senglea: G. Attard, D. Gauci, S. Aquilina, D. Grech (J. Gatt), F. Ellul (D. Cosaitis), T. Thomas (G. Bonello), C. Caruana, E. Azzopardi, C. Dozie, M. Borg, F. Dingli.

Referee: Saviour Tanti.

Man of the match: Branislav Timotic (Hamrun).