As expected, leaders Sannat Lions beat lowly Qala St Joseph in their latest outing from the GFA Division One to edge closer to the title as Victoria Hotspurs left it late to win the derby and leapfrog SK Victoria Wanderers in third place.

A sizeable crowd was present for the derby at the Gozo Stadium. There was little entertainment though as both sides looked more interested in closing up gaps at the back than venturing forward in attack.

The Wanderers had two early attempts by Joseph Vella which were dealt with by keeper Grima and on another occasion an angled shot by Ige Adesina finished wide.

The Hotspurs gained territorial supremacy as time passed with Jason Portelli and Martin Hanus testing the Wanderers keeper with a couple of shots from the distance.

The Wanderers looked better after the restart and on 48 minutes Ajibade Adesina concluded badly from a good position following an Ige Adesina free-kick. However, the Hotspurs went closest to scoring on 64 minutes when a header by Noel Borg hit the woodwork.

The Hotspurs keeper was kept busy in the final stages of the match as he was called to make difficult saves on shots by Simon Gatt, Ajibade Adesina, Joseph Vella and Ige Adesina.

But the Hotspurs were not finished yet and scored a dramatic winner in the second minute of stoppage time.

Alex Tramboo's centre was met by Martin Hanus and the Czech striker flicked the ball behind keeper Mercieca from a tight angle to the delight of the Hotspurs clan.

Sannat took 29 minutes to put their minds at rest against Qala.

John Camilleri opened the score after eight minutes with a fine shot from an angle. Qala almost levelled matters on 22 minutes when an Eric Nkwankwo shot was saved with difficulty by Paul Galea.

However, Camilleri dashed Qala's hopes on 29 minutes when he hit home from a Frank Debono service following a fast break.

After that, the Lions slowed down the pace but Qala were never able to get back into the match.

Late on, Sannat could have increased their lead but lost good scoring opportunities through John Camilleri and Sandro Brazilino.

In another match, Nadur Youngsters beat fellows-in-distress Kerċem Ajax to improve their chances of staving off relegation at the end of the season.

The Youngsters opened the score after six minutes thanks to a Bojan Brajovic goal. Kerċem's reaction was sterile as Nadur had a goal by Anthony Portelli disallowed for offside. Portelli was unlucky on 29 minutes when his effort hit the crossbar.

Nadur kept insisting after the break but had to wait until the 89th minute to seal the issue when Branislav Timotic made it 2-0 with a headed goal from a corner.

Oratory U-14 champions

Oratory Youths won the U-14 league in Gozo following a 2-0 victory over Nadur Youngsters in the last match of the championship.

The two sides were sharing first place in the standings prior to this decider.

The Youths played better and opened the score midway through the first half through Andre Azzopardi. Sam Marland sealed the issue in the final stages.

Summaries

SK Victoria Wanderers 0
Victoria Hotspurs 1
Hanus 90

SK Victoria Wanderers
M. Mercieca, F. Magrin, D.U. Monday, K. Azzopardi (S. Gatt), M. Grech, M. Buttigieg, J. Refalo, A. Williams, I. Adesina, A. Adesina, J. Vella.

Victoria Hotspurs
M. Grima, A. Tramboo, A. Zammit, M. Vella, N. Borg, J. Xerri (J.P. Grima), J. Portelli, D. Farrugia, R. Grech (R. Mercieca), M. Hanus, F. Bassi (M. Cordina).

Referee: Anton Zammit.

Sannat Lions 2
Camilleri 8, 29
Qala St Joseph 0

Sannat Lions
P. Galea, A. Debono (C. Mercieca), J. Agius, M. Azzopardi, M. Muscat, B. Njoku, M. Formosa, S. Brazilino, J. Camilleri (N. Micallef), F. Debono, S. Rais (R. Farrugia).

Qala St Joseph
V. Agius, M. Secco (M. Tabone), P. Camilleri, D. Lautier, J. Galea (L. Buttigieg), D. Abela, M. Mifsud, P. Said, J. Xerri, E. Nkwankwo, N. Portelli (R. Saverino).

Referee: Gordon Barbara.

Nadur Youngsters 2
Brajovic 6, Timotic 89
Kerċem Ajax 0

Nadur Youngsters
S. Sultana, P. Buttigieg, J. Meilaq, B. Timotic, A. Simoncic, M. Portelli, J. Buttigieg (J. Said), B. Brajovic, S. Attard, A. Portelli, S. Muscat (R. Meilaq).

Kerċem Ajax
L. Camilleri, E. Hussain, D. Stojanovic, M. Tabone, M. Vella (L. Attard), M. Cvetic, J. Debrincat, J. Mercieca, J.P. Mizzi, D. Mercieca, A. Grech.

Referee: Anton Zammit.