Saints forfeit points

Leaders St Patrick have now forfeited six points to the bottom two teams in the standings following the 2-1 upset to Rabat yesterday.

After the surprise 3-0 defeat to lowly Senglea in their previous outing, the Saints were again on the receiving end of a struggling side, putting their promotion chances in danger. St Patrick had some players missing but surely this was no excuse for producing a drab performance and missing a hatful of chances to secure the points.

One, however, must also commend Rabat for their plucky display. Now, they are in a better position to fight against the drop.

St Patrick had the better of the first half and after only 13 minutes Thomas Caruana was thwarted by James Borg in the Rabat goal. A minute later Peter Anizoba turned well to shoot at goal but, again, the Magpies no.1 was alert to save.

Winston Muscat's team continued to attack but Rabat soon came out of their defensive shell and started to give the Saints some trouble. On 37 minutes Emmanuel Muscat tried his luck from just outside the area but his shot went astray.

On resumption, it was Rabat who went close first when Albanian Vilson Cawshi found time and space on the left but his shot was neutralised by David Cassar.

St Patrick replied soon after when a Caruana effort finished just over the bar. That was the prelude to a goal. In fact, on the hour the Saints took the lead when Anizoba slotted the ball past Borg .

Those at the stadium thought Rabat would collapse but they were proved wrong.

The Magpies levelled matters on 67 minutes when Adrian Mifsud hit the ball home from close range and five minutes later the same striker made it 2-1 with a header from a Cawshi free-kick.

To make matters worse for the Saints, they had Caruana sent off for dangerous play.

On 80 minutes Rabat's Joseph Caruana's shot went just over and then Muscat was sent off for Rabat after a second booking. Deep into stoppage time Kurt Formosa was unlucky not to score for St Patrick as his header flashed just wide.

• Shawn Magro scored a dramatic equaliser for Mqabba, four minutes into stoppage time to earn his team a precious point.

Mqabba saw more of the ball in the initial stages but it was Mosta who ventured forward first and took the lead after only eight minutes.

It was Steve Borg who slotted the ball past Kris Calleja following an Elton Vella free-kick.

Mqabba tried to respond immediately and floated long balls inside the Mosta box. The closest they came was when Gilbert Camilleri booted the ball away for a corner before Paul Chimezie and Claudio Calleja could do any damage.

Both sides had their chances but Mqabba's Ryan Borg went closest when he saw his header superbly stopped by Jonathan Debono in the Mosta goal.

Mqabba were unlucky not to have equalised on 50 minutes when Magro hit the post with a rasping shot from just inside the area. From the rebound Paul Chimezie's shot was cleared off the line by Adrian Borg.

Mosta were almost on the mark on 66 minutes but Camenzuli missed a sitter with a gaping goal at his mercy.

When it all looked that Mosta were going to win the points at stake, Mqabba were back on level terms. On 94 minutes, Magro blasted the ball into the net with a fierce shot following some good work by John Paul Muscat.