Ten-man Rabat Ajax held out for a goalless draw against Pietà Hotspurs in a Group One match from the Maltco Lotteries Division One Knock-Out yesterday.

Pietà created the first scoring opportunity after 16 minutes but Rabat goalkeeper Jonathan Azzopardi effected a magnificent save on Quelin Refalo in front of goal.

Rabat responded on 21 minutes when Manuel Muscat jumped high to meet a Glenn Magri corner but Refalo headed the ball off the line.

On 36 minutes Joseph Caruana's header for Rabat was tipped away for a corner by Miguel Montfort. Caruana was sent off six minutes later after receiving a second yellow card by referee Clayton Pisani.

The first scoring opportunity of the second half fell Pietà's way on 56 minutes when a Martin Deanov effort was blocked for a corner, with the aid of a post, by goalkeeper Azzopardi.

At the death, a Simon Shead header hit the post following a Terrence Vella cross as Pietà failed to make their numerical advantage count.

In yesterday's second match, San Ġwann and St George's won their first point of the competition after their encounter finished 1-1.

Moreover, St George's are still awaiting the outcome of their protest against Senglea over the eligibility of Joseph Achokwu during the recent Cottonera derby which was won by the latter.

San Ġwann were the better side early on and after missing a couple of chances through Sergio Hili and Lee Cumbo, on 31 minutes they scored a gem of a goal thanks to Cumbo's 30-metre screamer.

St George's reaction was immediate. After Nigerian striker John Nwoba hit wide from a good position, five minutes before the break Emerson Amaira hit home a good drive from inside the box.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Alan Spiteri pounced on a bad clearance from the St George's rearguard but his volley finished over.

Group One: Pietà 5 points; Dingli 4; Mqabba 3; Rabat 2; Vittoriosa 1.

Group Two: Senglea, Mosta 6; St Patrick 3; San Ġwann, St George's 1.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.