Msida's late flurry floors Spartans

Msida St Joseph 3
Aurelio 73, 89; Farrugia 82
Ħamrun Spartans 2
Micallef 26; Kokavessis 34

Msida St Joseph overcame Andre Rocha Da Silva's sending-off early in the second half to stage a remarkable comeback yesterday, coming back from two goals down to topple Ħamrun Spartans.

Two goals to the good by the end of the first half, the erstwhile dominant Spartans looked well poised to record their first win. Da Silva's dismissal was seen as a fatal setback for Msida but the latter achieved the unthinkable in the final 17 minutes.

Two goals from substitute Marcos Aurelio and another from captain Tyrone Farrugia coupled with Gaetan Spiteri's red card saw Msida chalk up a fine comeback win that bolsters their Championship Pool hopes.

On the other hand, the bottom-placed Spartans now look firmly engaged in a relegation battle and their hopes of making the top six are in tatters.

Msida coach Patrick Curmi confirmed the 11 players who started the 2-1 defeat to Valletta.

Marco Gerada, the Ħamrun mentor, replaced the injured Alex Noronha with youngster Carl Magro. Brazilian Ronaldo Ortega is no longer part of the Spartans' squad after being released by the club.

It was the Spartans who created the first scoring opportunity after six minutes. Ryan Fenech's free-kick caused havoc in the Msida defence with the ball falling kindly to Steve Meilaq who shot over from routine distance.

Msida's response arrived on 19 minutes when Adrian Farrugia's free-kick was met by Pedro Calcado but his header hit the bar.

Three minutes later, the Spartans threatened again when Ryan Fenech dashed in the Msida area and tried to pass to Meilaq but Tyrone Farrugia was well placed to clear the ball away for a corner.

The Spartans took the lead on 26 minutes when Meilaq put Dylan Kokavessis clear on the left and the Ħamrun forward's low cross slid under the body of goalkeeper Matthew Camilleri and towards Manolito Micallef who easily tapped home.

Three minutes later, Ħamrun almost doubled their lead when Meilaq's measured pass found Kokavessis just outside the area but the young striker's volley brushed the upright.

However, the second goal duly arrived on 34 minutes when Kokavessis pounced on some hesitant defending from Kenneth Spiteri, sprinted into the area and rifled the ball into an empty net after rounding Camilleri.

After the change of ends, Curmi tried to reshuffle his pack, replacing Kenneth Spiteri and Kurt Magro with Stacey Vella and Aurelio.

But, their hopes of a comeback suffered another blow on 47 minutes when Da Silva received a straight red card after hitting out at Lee James Agius.

On 55 minutes, Ryan Fenech powered his way into the Msida area but was blocked by Andrew Spiteri.

Aurelio almost took advantage of a rare mistake by the Spartans defence on 63 minutes but his powerful drive was pushed away by Michael Falzon, the Ħamrun goalkeeper.

Msida managed to get back into the match on 73 minutes when Aurelio swept past two opponents just inside the area and unleashed a shot that flew into the far corner of the net. A fine goal indeed.

Numerical parity was restored 13 minutes from time when Ħamrun's Spiteri was sent off after receiving a second booking for dissent.

The pressure was now growing on the Spartans and eight minutes from time, Msida drew level. Calcado's piledriver was partially blocked by Falzon and from the rebound, Tyrone Farrugia hammered the ball home.

The Spartans looked out for the count and it was no surprise when Msida struck the winner a minute from time. Substitute Mark Camilleri served the speedy Aurelio who slotted the ball past the onrushing Falzon to complete an amazing turnaround for Msida.

Msida
M. Camilleri-4.5, S. Grima-4, A. Spiteri-5.5, K. Spiteri-4 ('46 S. Vella-6), T. Farrugia-6.5, A. Farrugia-6, D. Cachia-4.5 ('65 M. Camilleri-6), A. Da Silva, C. Camilleri-6.5, P. Calcado-6.5, K. Magro-4 ('46 M. Aurelio-8).

Ħamrun
M. Falzon-6, Z. Levnaic-6.5, A. Attard-5, Roderick Fenech-5, S. Meilak-6.5 ('80 S. Sultana), Ryan Fenech-6, R. Mangion ('41 L.J. Agius-6), K. Magro-6 ('59 N. Galea-4), G. Spiteri, D. Kokavessis-7, M. Micallef-6.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Levnaic; Spiteri; Calcado; T. Farrugia; Micallef.

Red cards: Da Silva (M) 48; Spiteri (Ħ) 77.

BoV Player of the match: Dylan Kokavessis (Ħamrun).