Saints score winner in stoppage time

St George's 1
Mosta 0

A Glenn Bonello penalty goal, scored four minutes into stoppage time, gave St George's the three points from this mid-table clash to make it a double over Mosta this season.

This match was a photocopy of the corresponding first round encounter with Mosta doing most of the running but the Saints having the last laugh. Joey Falzon's Saints relied mostly on Matthew Xerxen yesterday as the former Gudja goalkeeper kept his side in the game with some superb saves.

Mosta needed a win to keep their promotion hopes alive but a defeat for St George's would have pushed them closer to the drop zone.

Although Mosta looked the more dangerous side, with Ryan Deguara and Gianluca Calabretta very much in the picture, they found the Saints' defence solid as a rock.

In the first 19 minutes, the sizeable crowd at the Tedesco Stadium failed to witness a shot at goal. It was St George's who produced the first real chance when Iro Curmi's drive from the edge of the area was saved by Jonathan Debono.

A minute later, Lyden Micallef sprinted into the Saints' box but his shot was stopped by Xerxen. Five minutes before the break, Micallef exchanged passes with Pio Vassallo but Xerxen was on the right spot to save his shot.

The game became livelier in the second half with Mosta holding a slight edge. On 57 minutes, Xerxen did well to save a Bryan Agius free-kick and three minutes later Micallef headed wide from inside the area.

At the other end, Curmi failed to beat Debono following some good work by Mark Gauci. Xerxen was again the Saints' saviour when keeping out a Calabretta shot.

With the game destined for a stalemate, John Nwoba powered his way past a couple of defenders in the Mosta box but went tumbling to the ground when tackled by Debono. From the ensuing penalty, Bonello sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to score a vital winner for St George's.

St George's
M. Xerxen, E. Degabriele, M. Sevasta, I. Curmi, J. Nwoba, M. Gauci, E. Amaira, B. Fenech (J. Dalli), H. Schembri, G. Bonello, L. Grima.

Mosta
J. Debono, M. Abela, B. Agius, A. Borg, G. Calabretta, R. Deguara (C. Camenzuli), M. Farrugia, L. Micallef (G. Camilleri), P. Vassallo, E. Vella, A. Saliba.

Referee: Jurgen Spiteri.

Man of the match: Matthew Xerxen (St George's).