Hotspurs go top

Pietà Hotspurs 4
Senglea Athletic 2

Pietà Hotspurs moved to the summit after coming from behind to beat lowly Senglea 4-2.

Clive Mizzi's Hotspurs played a blinder in the second half to demolish their opponents and put them into more trouble at the foot of the table.

Again, Martin Deanov did not put a foot wrong and played a part in all four Pietà goals as Simon Shead also left his mark despite starting the match on the bench.

The Hotspurs took control from the outset but despite their dominance it was Senglea who went into the lead when Ibrahim Tarek scored from just inside the area.

Deanov started to run the show for the Hotspurs but found Senglea goalkeeper George Attard in fine form. On 33 minutes, Attard was quick to jump into the feet of Terrence Vella who was put through by Deanov.

Pietà were unlucky on 35 minutes when Vella, again fed by Deanov, hit the bar with a shot. From the rebound Vella looked odds on to score but Attard effected a fine reflex save to again deny the Hotspurs.

Pietà continued to bombard the Senglea defence and Deanov had another shot saved by the Senglea shot-stopper. Pietà were starting to grow edgy and without the experience of defender Jesmond Delia, things were looking a bit rusty.

However, they restored parity three minutes after the break when Deanov hit a scorcher from just outside the area.

Pietà were now in attack mode. Silvan Ciscaldi weaved his way through in the Senglea box but his shot was cleared off the line by the well-placed Stefano Zampa.

After a Quilin Refalo effort finished over the bar, Senglea suffered a setback when they had Jovin Abela sent off for a second booking. This was the 63rd minute.

Pietà immediately made the numbers count and three minutes later Vella rose high to head home a Deanov cross.

Senglea did equalise on 72 minutes, Osbert Ellul beating Cassar from the edge of the area.

However, their joy was short-lived as only a minute later Shead scored from close range following some bad defending by Senglea.

Pietà continued to attack. The woodwork twice came to Senglea's rescue off shots by Ciscaldi and Shead. However, they closed the match late on when Shead headed home from a Deanov free-kick.

Pietà Hotspurs
I. Cassar, C. Spiteri, B. Sciberras, G. Busuttil, M. Deanov, S. Ciscaldi, Q. Refalo (G. Goodlip), C. Pulo (S. Shead), K. Robinson, J. Poulangoye (D. Mifsud), T. Vella.

Senglea Athletic
G. Attard, S. Aquilina, S. Zampa, D. Cosaitis, A. Sciortino (D. Zahra), J. Felice (L. Bonett), E. Mbong, I. Tarek, J. Abela, O. Ellul (C. Borg), E. Azzopardi.

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

Man of the Match: Martin Deanov (Pietà).