Lions on top, Tigers doomed

Sannat Lions 1
Xewkija Tigers 0

Sannat Lions moved three points clear at the top of the standings after this close victory over Xewkija Tigers.

It was a deserved success for Sannat who outplayed their opponents but failed to convert their superiority into more goals.

For Xewkija, this defeat has shattered their hopes of avoiding the drop as they are mathematically relegated to Division Two.

The Lions hit the ground running and Cristiano de Oliveira put them ahead on 13 minutes.

Sannat maintained the upperhand, Ricardo Saverino and Sabri Rais failing to hit the target from inviting positions.

After the break, Sannat remained in control but the Tigers almost levelled matters late on. Efforts from Jonathan Buhagiar, Mark Camilleri and Andreas Fotso just missed the target for Xewkija.

Sannat: P. Galea, A. Debono, M. Muscat, C. De Oliveira, F. Magrin, N. Borg, J. Vella, E. Grima, S. Rais, S. Galea (J. Agius), R. Saverino.

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

Referee: Mario Apap.

Xaghra United 2
Qala St Joseph 2

Having squeezed their way back into the title reckoning with a 4-0 rout of Nadur Youngsters earlier last week, Xaghra United failed to maintain their title charge when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Qala St Joseph.

Ejofor Nkowocha fired Xaghra ahead with a low shot on 26 minutes.

Qala came back strongly to level matters on the stroke of half-time thanks to a Mario Mifsud free-kick.

After the break, Xaghra went all out to regain the lead and their efforts paid off when Anthony EviParker put them 2-1 ahead. Xaghra laid siege on the Qala rearguard but goalkeeper Inim Aktpan denied them with a series of good saves.

Deep into stoppage time, Qala snatched a dramatic equaliser when Denis Abela's shot was deflected into the net by Dione Lautier.

At the final whistle, Xaghra protested vehemently over the amount of stoppage time given by the referee. It took some time for the two teams to reach the dressing rooms.

Six players were shown a red card, namely Qala's Ivan Grech and Joe Xerri and Sammy Frank Bajada, Joseph Vella, Josef Galea and Donald Gauci, all of Xaghra United.

Meanwhile, last Wednesday Xaghra had extended their unbeaten run to seven matches when a brace each by John Camilleri and Chris Camilleri gave them an emphatic 4-0 victory over Nadur Youngsters.

For their part, Qala St Joseph had been involved in another draw last week after their match with Ghajnsielem ended 1-1. Qala were first to score through a Rufin Oba penalty but Ghajnsielem earned a sharing of the spoils thanks to Frank Buttigieg's 79th minute equaliser.

Xaghra: D. Gauci, S. Sultana, J. Bartolo, A. EviParker, J. Attard, J. Camilleri (J. Vella), J. Sultana (S.F. Bajada), C. Camilleri, B. Njoku, J. Galea, E. Nkowocha.

Qala: I. Aktpan, G. Cefai, B. Portelli, P. Camilleri (I. Grech), M. Bonello, R. Oba, D. Abela, M. Mifsud (J. Rapa), C. Attard, D. Lautier, J. Xerri.

Referee: Gordon Barbara.