Qormi back in hunt after 3-1 win

Senglea Athletics 1
Qormi 3

Qormi registered an important victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Senglea yesterday at the Tedesco Stadium and are now three points behind second-placed Mosta in the standings.

In one of the best Division One games this season, Qormi got the win they so badly needed against a Senglea side who slipped to fourth place, one point behind their conquerors.

Thanks to this win, Qormi made the double on Senglea this season after beating them 1-0 in the first round. Qormi paraded Michael Borg Olivier from the start, instead of Carmel Formosa, while new foreigner Aloysius Ihebulu made his debut.

After only four minutes of play it was Anthony Ewurun who gave Senglea the lead when, following a swift counter attack in which Mark Tanti and Kenneth Abela were also involved, the Nigerian sped through before forcing his way past goalkeeper Matthew Farrugia and slotted the ball home with relative ease.

At the other end, in the ninth minute, Simon Aquilina was slow to clear at the heart of the Senglea defence but Joseph Chetcuti could do nothing better than lob the ball high and wide from an acute angle.

Qormi continued to venture forward and managed to equalise in the 11th minute, and what a goal it was.

Borg Olivier delivered a perfect pass into the path of Chetcuti whose first-time effort from just inside the area flew past George Attard.

Two minutes later a Joseph Farrugia free-kick for Qormi was turned to a corner by the alert Attard. From the flag-kick, taken by Chetcuti, Borg Olivier headed just over the bar.

The game continued on a high tempo and on 17 minutes Senglea were unlucky when an Ewurun cross was headed goalwards by Abela but the ball bounced off a defender in the last minute.

Qormi took the lead in the 32nd minute. Borg Olivier exchanged passes with Farrugia before hammering the ball home from inside the area.

One expected more from Senglea in the second half, especially with Qormi now adopting a more cautious approach.

They had a chance to equalise when Qormi defender Mario Caruana slipped in his own half and Chris Cuschieri's instant effort just missed the target by a whisker with keeper Farrugia beaten.

Richard Mercieca's side saw more of the ball in the second half but were rarely dangerous. It was Qormi who added to their score again with 15 minutes to go. From a quick break Chetcuti released Borg Oliver who had all the time he needed to calibrate his shot beyond Attard's reach.

In the end, Qormi showed better qualities and composure to win this crucial match.

The outcome kept the promotion issue wide open in the straight for home.

Senglea: G. Attard, A. Ewurun, C. Cuschieri (E. Azzopardi), M. Tanti, D. Grech (B. Zerafa), S. Aquilina, C. Caruana, G. Bonello, K. Abela, D. Okonkwo, D. Cosaitis.

Qormi: M. Farrugia, M. Caruana, J. Francica, M. Borg, P. Camilleri, J. Farrugia, C. Camoin, J. Chetcuti, A. Ihebulu (L. Grima), M. Borg Olivier (C. Formosa), K. Zammit (A. Galea).

Referee: Anton Zammit.

Man of the match: Michael Borg Olivier (Qormi).