Msida move closer to 'promised land'

Msida St Joseph 1
Calcado 2
Qormi 0

Sometimes, one match can make or break the fortunes of a number of teams and yesterday's clash between Msida St Joseph and Qormi was a classic example.

Victory for the Saints would take them eight points clear of seventh-placed Marsaxlokk and all but ascertain their presence in the Championship Pool.

On the other hand, a win for Qormi would narrow their gap on Msida to five points and throw the race for the final place in top six wide open.

In the end, an early strike from man-of-the-match Pedro Dos Santos Calcado, in what could have possibly been his last appearance in an Msida shirt, maintained Joe Abdilla's unbeaten run since taking charge of the Saints and pushed the club closer to completing their top-six mission.

Qormi paraded their latest signing, Stephen Wellman, who joined the Premier League newcomers from Marsaxlokk last Thursday. Wellman was deployed in attack alongside Joseph Chetcuti.

Msida could not have had a better start to the game as they stormed ahead only 70 seconds after the referee's initial whistle.

Adrian Farrugia steered the ball past a wall of Qormi players for Calcado to sneak between the defenders and beat the shocked Matthew Farrugia with a low shot.

This early opener boosted the Saints' confidence and after 10 minutes, Kurt Magro did well to get in a cross from the left towards the unmarked Adrian Farrugia who headed over the crossbar.

Msida maintained the initiative and on 26 minutes, Calcado tested Farrugia's reflexes with a crisp free-kick which the Qormi custodian managed to tip away for a corner.

Moments later, Qormi fashioned their first shot on target through Adrian Ciantar whose drive was palmed away by Matthew Camilleri.

Qormi were now showing signs of improvement. Past the half hour, Anatole Debono missed a sitter after receiving the ball just inside the penalty area. The former Pietà midfielder fluffed his effort much to Msida's relief and Qormi's frustration.

Seconds before the end of the first half, Msida almost doubled their lead as Calcado outwitted Keith Fenech before producing a curling shot that was parried away by Farrugia. The ball fell at Adrian Farrugia's feet but his effort hit the side-netting.

At the start of the second half, Qormi coach Jesmond Zerafa replaced Debono with experienced striker Chucks Nwoko in a bid to add more muscle to his forward line.

Five minutes into the second half, Joseph Farrugia's menacing corner forced Msida goalkeeper Camilleri to tip the ball over the woodwork and deny Qormi an equaliser.

On 64 minutes, Qormi created an excellent chance as Camilleri only managed to partially clear the ball. The melee that ensued, Massimo Grima's exquisite scissor-kick was somewhat blocked by a maze of Msida players who had crowded the box to try and counter Qormi's attack.

Qormi's hopes of cancelling out Calcado's goal suffered a blow five minutes from time when midfielder Fenech was sent off for dissent.

The final minutes of the match were littered with fouls and stoppages caused by injuries. Qormi tried their utmost to salvage a point but Camilleri and the Msida rearguard held firm in a tense finish that saw the referee allow around eight minutes of added time.

With the anxious Saints fans waiting eagerly for the final whistle, substitute Mark Camilleri nearly doubled their lead but he shot straight at Qormi goalkeeper Farrugia.

Qormi's Wellman headed against the bar in the dying moments.

Msida St Joseph
M. Camilleri-7, S. Grima-6.5, A. Spiteri-6.5 ('82 M. Camilleri), K. Spiteri-6.5, T. Farrugia-7, K. Mifsud-6, D. Cachia-6, A. Rocha Da Silva-6.5, P. Calcado-7.5, A. Farrugia-7 ('90 S. Vella), K. Magro-7.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, R. Dos Santos-6, M. Grima-6.5, A. Debono-6 ('46 C. Nwoko5.5), K. Fenech, J. Chetcuti-6. ('77 C. Formosa), J. Farrugia-7, S. Tellus-6, S. Wellman-6, P. Camilleri-6 ('83 M. Borg), A. Ciantar-6.

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Yellow cards: Calcado; Ciantar; Dos Santos.

Red card: Fenech (Q) 85.

BoV player of the match: Pedro Calcado (Msida St Joseph).