Licari to the rescue

Marsaxlokk 1
Dingli Swallows 0

Malcolm Licari saved Marsaxlokk's blushes yesterday when he came off the bench to fire home the winner and steer his team past a stubborn Dingli side.

The result was a hard blow for the Swallows who played at a par with their opponents but in the end they were made to pay for a rare defensive blip from which came the goal that decided the match.

Marsaxlokk coach Patrick Curmi will have been unimpressed with the performance of his players, however. They looked disjointed for long stretches, their minds, perhaps, set to the club's off-field pending problems.

The Swallows were a far improved team on the one that lost to Tarxien 4-1 last week.

In fact, they could have easily taken something from this match had they been sharper in front of goal but coach Jesmond Zammit must have seen enough to suggest that his players are finally finding their feet in the top flight.

Curmi effected two changes to the team that lost to Hibernians 3-1 as Dylan Kokavessis was given the nod to start ahead of Licari in attack while Brian Said was back in defence after serving a suspension.

Dingli were boosted with the return of Andre Rocha Da Silva after a late fitness test while Kevin Borg also shrugged off groin trouble and was available to start.

Marsaxlokk made all the early running and after 11 minutes they should have taken the lead when Gareth Sciberras did well to win an aerial duel and put Kokavessis clean through but the latter saw his shot pushed away by Dingli keeper Jeffrey Farrugia.

Dingli's response arrived on 17 minutes when Da Silva's free-kick was parried away by Glenn Zammit.

The Swallows kept pushing forward and on 21 minutes Da Silva again powered through but his shot was kept out by Zammit. From the rebound, Okonkwo's effort was cleared away by the well-positioned Carlo Mamo.

Marsaxlokk were struggling to cope and on 26 minutes Dingli came close when Kurt Formosa's dipper just missed the upright.

The Southerners finally threatened on 32 minutes. Kokavessis did well to turn past his marker but his drive was stopped by Farrugia. Deanov's inswinger then just missed the upright.

Kokavessis was unlucky ten minutes from the break when he tried to surprise Farrugia with a lob but the ball came off the bar.

The match remained evenly balanced but on 55 minutes Dingli almost broke the stalemate when Okonkwo did well to skip past his marker before squaring the ball towards Renato Conceicao whose drive was dealt with by Zammit.

Marsaxlokk were showing signs of frustration with Emil Yanchev and Licari booked for cynical challenges.

But, Curmi's team finally clicked into gear and on 73 minutes scored the goal that mattered in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. Shaun Tellus's attempted clearance hit Kokavessis with the ball rolling into the path of Licari whose stinging shot flew into the net.

Marsaxlokk almost doubled their lead soon after but Deanov's volley hit the bar.

Dingli tried to push more men forward in search of a late equaliser but Marsaxlokk had little difficulty in controlling play, much to the chagrin of Dingli who for long stretches looked a good bet to chalk up their first points of the season.

Marsaxlokk G. Zammit-6, C. Mamo-5.5, G. Sciberras-6, B. Said-5.5, M. Deanov-7.5, P. Pullicino-6.5, W. Camenzuli-5 ('70 T. Templeman), R. Bajada-5.5 ('57 M. Licari-7), D. Kokavessis-7 ('74 C. Camilleri), E. Yanchev-6, F. Raimy-6.

Dingli J. Farrugia-6.5, R. Conceicao-6, S. Tellus-5.5, R. Spiteri-6 ('76 H. Doda), K. Formosa-6, C. Muscat-6, D. Cachia-6.5, K. Borg-6 ('70 D. Zarb), M. Borg-6, A. Rocha Da Silva-7 ('60 R. Briffa-5), J. Okonkwo-6.5.

Scorer Licari 73

Referee Andre Arciola.

Yellow cards Yanchev, Licari, Raimy.

BoV Player of the Match Martin Deanov (Marsaxlokk).