Qormi rout Msida to revive hopes

Msida St Joseph 0
Marsaxlokk 5
J. Farrugia 28, 71; Effiong 58, 67, 81

Qormi hammered Msida St Joseph yesterday to throw the relegation battle wide open.

After Tarxien Rainbows demolished Ħamrun Spartans to the tune of 5-1 on Saturday, both Qormi and Msida were expected to go into their clash with added motivation to revive their hopes after both lost their opening Relegation Pool matches.

But, it was Qormi who left the National Stadium with a smile on their face as they outplayed a fading Msida side.

Joseph Farrugia and Alfred Effiong played a key role in Qormi's win yesterday. The Qormi skipper capped a fine performance with a brace of goals while Effiong rediscovered his lethal form when hitting an impressive hat-trick.

Qormi coach Jesmond Zerafa was without four first-team players for yesterday's match. Joseph Chetcuti was ruled out by suspension, Clifton Ciantar was unavailable and Stephen Wellman and Anatole Debono are still recovering from injuries.

Keith Fenech, Paul Camilleri and Matthew Borg were roped into the starting formation while Matthew Farrugia replaced Reuben Gauci in goal.

With Tyrone Farrugia ruled out by suspension, Msida coach Joe Abdilla recalled Kenneth Spiteri to the first team. Marcos Aurelio made his first start since recovering from injury, taking the place of Mark Camilleri who was among the substitutes.

Msida created the first scoring chance when, with only four minutes gone, Pedro Calcado's stinging shot from a free-kick just missed the bar.

Midway through the first half, Msida protested for a penalty when Roderick Sammut looked to have clipped the leg of Aurelio in the area but referee Andre Arciola waved play on.

At the other end, Josivan Da Silva regained possession just outside the area and quickly set up Farrugia whose first-time shot was blocked by Kenneth Spiteri.

On 27 minutes, Effiong's deft footwork saw him drift past his marker before he passed to Da Silva whose low drive was pushed away by Matthew Camilleri.

However, this was just the prelude to Qormi's opener which arrived a minute later. Farrugia bamboozled his marker and beat Camilleri with a low drive.

Nine minutes from half-time, Aurelio should have put Msida level but headed over the bar from close range after being picked out by Adrian Farrugia.

Msida's Brazilian forward was unlucky on 43 minutes when his grounder, following a pass from Calcado, came off the upright before the Qormi defence cleared.

Eight minutes into the second half, Abdilla tried to boost his team's attacking impetus with the introduction of forward Mark Camilleri for Adrian Farrugia, a midfielder.

However, it was Qormi who struck again five minutes later when Farrugia's through-ball found Effiong just outside the area and the Nigerian's low shot rolled beneath the body of Msida goalkeeper Camilleri.

Msida tried to respond and on 61 minutes, Calcado served Aurelio whose curling drive was pushed away for a corner by Matthew Farrugia, the Qormi goalkeeper.

The Saints' woes were further compounded on 67 minutes when Spiteri's back-pass towards goalkeeper Camilleri inadvertently finished in the path of Effiong who easily deposited the ball into an empty net.

Qormi were not finished yet and on 71 minutes, they made it 4-0. Massimo Grima released Farrugia with an excellent pass and the Qormi captain had little difficulty beating the onrushing Camilleri.

Zerafa's men completed the rout nine minutes from time when Msida's backline was again exposed by Grima's throughball and Effiong was on hand to rifle the ball home.

Msida SJ
Mat. Camilleri-3, S. Grima-4.5, A. Spiteri-4.5, K. Mifsud-4 ('76 E. Navarro), K. Spiteri-4, A. Farrugia-6 ('53 Mark Camilleri-5), D. Cachia-5, A. Da Silva-5.5, K. Magro-5 ('73 S. Vella), P. Calcado-5, M. Aurelio-5.5.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, R. Dos Santos-6.5 ('83 S. Tellus), M. Grima-7, K. Fenech-6.5 ('84 G. Chircop), A. Effiong-7.5, J. Farrugia-8, R. Sammut-6, M. Borg-6, J. Da Silva-6.5 ('78 J. Gerada), P. Camilleri-6, A. Ciantar-6.5.

Referee: Andre Arciola.

Yellow cards: Calcado; Ciantar; Grima.

BoV player of the match: Joseph Farrugia (Qormi).

Playing today

National Stadium: 19.30 Sliema Wanderers vs Hibernians.