Sannat Lions shock champions

Champions Nadur Youngsters started their title defence on a negative note after going down to Sannat Lions. Newly-promoted Qala St Joseph had the better of Xewkija Tigers while the clash between Ghajnsielem and Xaghra United ended goalless.

Qala St Joseph 2
Xewkija Tigers 1

Newcomers Qala could not have hoped for a better start to life in Division One after they overcame Xewkija by the odd goal in three.

The match was quite balanced despite the fact that Xewkija played the entire second half with a man less after Andreas Fotso was red-carded before the half-time break.

Saviour Farrugia and Mark Camilleri made their first appearance for the Tigers since rejoining the club in the summer.

Tchawou threatened early on for Xewkija but it was Qala who went ahead after 15 minutes when a Kenneth Mercieca cross-shot surprised goalkeeper Joseph Grima.

Xewkija should have drawn level after being awarded a penalty for a Simon Camilleri handsball but Fotso hit wide from the 11-metre mark.

Three minutes from the end of the first half, Xewkija's Fotso was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Despite playing with a man less, Xewkija were the better side early in the second half but missed open chances through Tchawou, Cefai, Camilleri and Pace.

The Tigers paid dearly for these misses as Alex Ribic put Qala two goals in front on 53 minutes.

Xewkija pulled a goal back on 61 minutes through a Domenic Cilia penalty after Brian Portelli fouled Tchawou inside the box.

The Tigers were unlucky not to draw level when Tchawou's shot was cleared off the line by Glenn Cefai. From the rebound, Camilleri's effort hit the bar.

Qala: K. Grima, G. Cefai, B. Portelli, S. Camilleri, D. Abela, M. Mifsud, M. Bonello, R. Oba, J. Xerri (S. Sancto), A. Ribic, K. Mercieca.

Xewkija: J. Grima, A. Said, A. Fotso, C. Borg (P. Spiteri), M. Pace (C. Bugeja), D. Cilia, S. Farrugia, J. Azzopardi, M. Camilleri, E. Tchawou, J. Cefai.

Referee: Mario Apap.

Ghajnsielem 0
Xaghra United 0

Ghajnsielem and Xaghra created several scoring opportunities but both were punished for their lack of cutting edge.

Xaghra paraded their new signings, defender Benneth Njoku and Serbian midfielders Zoran Milosevic and Nenad Ratkovic.

Ghajnsielem had the better scoring chances in the first half but Xaghra goalkeeper Gauci made good saves from Joe Attard, Joseph Buttigieg and Fernando Deandrade. The latter was unlucky not to open the score on 40 minutes when his header hit the post.

Xaghra's best chance fell to John Camilleri but his header was cleared off the line by Frankie Buttigieg.

After the break, Ghajnsielem's Joe Attard concluded badly from close in, while Xaghra could have taken all points had Camilleri's shot in injury time not been saved by Agius.

Ghajnsielem: V. Agius, F. Buttigieg, C. Mercieca, J. Buttigieg, L. De Castro, J. Camilleri, J. Attard, F. Deandrade, L. Buttigieg, D. Azzopardi, F.L. Galea.

Xaghra: D. Gauci, A. Farrugia (S. Sultana), J. Bartolo, N. Ratkovic, J. Attard, J. Camilleri, J. Sultana, B. Njoku, S.F. Bajada, Z. Milosevic, J. Galea.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.

Nadur Youngsters 3
Sannat Lions 4

Sannat Lions got off to a flying start when defeating champions Nadur Youngsters by the odd goal in seven in an action-packed match.

Sannat built their success on a sound performance in the first half by scoring three times and making the most of their numerical advantage.

Nadur showed great character in trying to get back into the match when they were trailing 3-0.

Sannat were three goals up by half-time. Ricardo Saverino shot them ahead from a sixth-minute penalty after he was fouled by goalkeeper Jonathan Xuereb who was dismissed.

Saverino doubled Sannat's lead on 27 minutes and, four minutes later, Sabri Rais made it 3-0.

Erik Nwankwo pulled one back for Nadur on 48 minutes. He converted a penalty after Mark Formosa was punished for his foul on Anthony Portelli in the box.

The Youngsters grew in confidence and re-opened the issue on 63 minutes thanks to another Nwankwo penalty. Portelli again procured the penalty after he was tripped by Errol Grima.

Rais put Sannat 4-2 up four minutes later with a close-range header but Nadur were back in it when Matthew Portelli headed home from a Brian Meilak free-kick.

Five minutes from time, Sannat were also reduced to ten men when Paul Spiteri was sent off following an off-the-ball incident but they managed to hold on to their win.

Nadur: J. Xuereb, P. Buttigieg, B. Meilak, M. Filip, I. Djorgevic, M. Portelli, F.P. Azzopardi (J. Buttigieg), E. Nkwankwo, J.S. Portelli (F.L. Vella), A. Portelli, J.C. Portelli.

Sannat: P. Galea, S. Portelli, M. Formosa (J. Agius), C. de Oliveira, P. Spiteri, A. Debono, M. Muscat, J. Vella, R. Saverino, E. Grima, S. Rais.

Referee: Reno Refalo.

Division II KO

Victoria Hotspurs won their first derby in the lower division after defeating SK Victoria Wanderers 1-0 in the Division II KO final.

A 63rd minute goal from Fabiano Bassi gave the more-experienced Hotspurs a deserved win over their neighbours who had Simon Gatt sent off eight minutes into the second half.

Independence Cup

The 26th final of the Independence Cup will be contested tomorrow between holders and champions Nadur Youngsters and Ghajnsielem (kick-off: 4 p.m.).

Nadur reached the final after a 3-0 victory over Xewkija Tigers in the preliminary round and a 2-0 win over Qala St Joseph in the semi-final. Ghajnsielem knocked out Sannat before beating Kercem on penalties in the semi-finals.