Reds knock wind out of Qormi's sails

Qormi 1
Effiong 68
Ħamrun Spartans 2
Spiteri 12; Comvalius 24

Easter Sunday brought joy for Ħamrun Spartans. Pitched in a 'six-point' relegation tiff, the Reds inched closer to retaining their Premier League status after edging Qormi by the odd goal in three.

On a grey and windy afternoon, the Spartans tore into Qormi from the off as they strove to make amends for the 5-1 reverse against Tarxien the previous weekend.

By contrast, Qormi had come into this match in high spirits on the back of a 5-0 thrashing of Msida but their disjointed performance in the first half suggested that they had forgot to refocus on the task at hand.

Ħamrun capitalised on their opponents' weaknesses by surging into a two-goal lead to turn up the heat on their opponents. Qormi managed to narrow the deficit after the break but their confused efforts posed little concern for the Spartans, now back at the top of the Relegation Pool.

The return from suspension of Roderick Fenech and Mano Micallef enabled Ħamrun coach Stephen D'Amato to make two alterations from the team that was humbled by Tarxien.

Mark Anthony Bonnici was absent after failing to shake off injury while Diego Armando Cucciardi was relegated to the bench.

Jesmond Zerafa, the Qormi coach, handed a first-team recall to Joseph Chetcuti, the striker having missed the 5-0 win over Msida with suspension. Josivan Da Silva started on the bench.

Just over 11 minutes from the start of the match had elapsed when Ħamrun broke the stalemate. Micallef started the move with a forward pass to Sylvano Comvalius who held off Ramon Dos Santos's challenge and lifted the ball over Matthew Farrugia. Gaetan Spiteri applied the decisive touch as he slid in to tap the ball home.

Qormi's task became more of an uphill struggle on 24 minutes as the Reds made it 2-0. Profiting from lax defending in Qormi's half, Steve Meilak and Spiteri traded passes with the ball being deflected by the Qormi defence but only as far as the unmarked Comvalius who evaded Farrugia's intervention and deposited the ball into the net.

After a shot by Adrian Ciantar had been charged down by Zoran Levnaic before Comvalius's goal, Qormi manufactured another chance on the half hour. Receiving a set-piece pass from Massimo Grima, Ciantar lofted the ball towards Keith Fenech but the latter miscued his volley.

Alfred Effiong then shot against the side-netting but on 32 minutes, Qormi came tantalisingly close to reducing the gap.

Fenech swung a cross from the right towards the far post where Chetcuti outjumped his marker to nod the ball to Effiong. The ex-Ħamrun player seemed certain to score but his scrambled effort was blocked by Roderick Fenech.

Reprieved, the Spartans almost tripled their lead when Spiteri's diving header, from a Comvalius centre, was just off target.

Zerafa showed his dissatisfaction with his team's first-half display by making a double substitution. Clifton Ciantar and Da Silva came on for Grima and Roderick Sammut respectively.

Da Silva almost made an instant impact but his thundering drive ended wide.

As another downpour swamped the National Stadium, Spiteri jinked his way past Clifton Ciantar and Matthew Borg in the inside-right channel but lost his footing as he was about to shoot.

Midway into the second half, Effiong revived Qormi's hopes when he pulled one back. The Nigerian made the most of the Spartans' hesitant defending by stepping inside Levnaic before unleashing a shot that soared above the leaping Casha and into the net. Game on.

With the Qormi fans now in full voice, their team strode forward with renewed vigour. Qormi had the ball in the net, Effiong heading on Ciantar's cross from a corner, but he was penalised for pushing.

Aided by the wind, Qormi continued to dictate matters as Ħamrun opted for a hit-them-on-the-counter approach but scoring chances remained few and far between.

Ciantar, who had a positive outing, tried his luck with a shot from the distance but the ball flew wide.

In the dying moments, Casha fisted away a menacing cross from Chetcuti. The Spartans keeper made an easy save from Chucks Nwoko's overhead kick and, at the other end, Farrugia thwarted Comvalius as D'Amato's team easily administered their lead.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-5, R. Dos Santos-5.5, M. Grima-4 ('46 C. Ciantar-5.5), K. Fenech-5, A. Effiong-6, J. Chetcuti-4, J. Farrugia-5.5, R. Sammut-5 ('46 J. Da Silva-4), M. Borg-5.5, P. Camilleri-5 ('79 C. Nwoko), A. Ciantar-6.5.

Ħamrun Spartans
I. Casha-5.5, Z. Levnaic-7, S. Comvalius-6, Rod. Fenech-6.5, S. Meilak-5.5, Ryan Fenech-6 ('65 D.A. Cucciardi-5), R. Mangion-6.5, F. Anton-5.5, G. Spiteri-7, J. Bondin-6.5, M. Micallef-7.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Micallef; Levnaic; A. Ciantar; Mangion.

BoV player of the match: Sylvano Comvalius (Ħamrun Spartans).