Mqabba back to winning ways
Mqabba 3Vittoriosa Stars 1 Vittoriosa, winners of the replayed derby against St George's in midweek, were brought down back to earth by Mqabba who produced a spirited display to return to winning ways and improve their position in the standings. Mqabba...
Mqabba 3
Vittoriosa Stars 1
Vittoriosa, winners of the replayed derby against St George's in midweek, were brought down back to earth by Mqabba who produced a spirited display to return to winning ways and improve their position in the standings.
Mqabba are now on the 15-point mark in seventh place but still with an outside chance for a promotion slot so tight is this season's championship.
Mqabba took the lead on 16 minutes when Mead Mifsud delivered a perfect cross into the Stars' box for Mauro Bonnici to tap the ball home.
Anthony Eviparker was denied by Mqabba's Kris Calleja at the other end of the pitch. The Stars' forward could not believe his luck when he was through with only the keeper to beat.
Vittoriosa had a Keith Darmanin free-kick saved by Calleja but right on the hour Mqabba doubled their lead when Paul Chimezie was floored inside the box for a penalty. The Nigerian took the spot-kick himself, sending Alex Camilleri the wrong way to make it 2-0. Here, Larry Lagana was dismissed for persistent protests. An Eviparker first-time effort was stopped by Calleja as Vittoriosa surged forward in attack in their attempt to save the match.
But, it was Shawn Magro who almost made it 3-0 with a rasping drive and 18 minutes from time it was all over for Vittoriosa when Chimezie's looping header finished inside the net.
The game finished off with a couple of controversies.
First, referee Jurgen Spiteri almost sent off Johan Spiteri by mistake but realised that the Vit-toriosa player was not booked before being shown a late yellow card.
Then, the referee ordered Mqabba to bring Mifsud back from the dressing room for a caution after kicking the corner flag following his substitution. Mifsud never made a showing though.
For the record, Vittoriosa managed to pull one back on 90 minutes thanks to Eviparker who hit home from close range .
Mqabba
K. Calleja, M. Bonnici, P. Grima, J. Debattista, P. Borg (M. Borg), S. Magro, D. Azzopardi, P. Chimezie, C. Calleja, J.P. Muscat, M. Mifsud (E. Borg).
Vittoriosa Stars
A. Camilleri, J. Spiteri, K. Abela (S. Piscopo), K. Darmanin, C. Cachia (H. Hughes), L. Lagana. A. Eviparker, J. Camilleri, N. Chukunyere, L. Scerri, D. Gauci (D. Grech).
Referee: Jurgen Spiteri.
Man of the match: Shawn Magro (Mqabba).