Stars rout 10-man Swallows

Dingli Swallows 1
Da Silva 10 pen.
Vittoriosa Stars 4
Makinwa 29; Chitescu 30 pen.; Conceicao 52 og; Borg Olivier 78 pen.

Vittoriosa Stars fought back from a goal down to overpower Dingli Swallows who played for more than an hour with 10 men after the first-half dismissal of defender Shaun Tellus.

Only a week after going down to Dingli on penalties in a first-round match from the U*Bet FA Trophy, Vittoriosa exacted revenge on the Swallows.

It was Dingli who forged ahead after 10 minutes. They were awarded a penalty after Clayton Micallef was adjudged to have floored Kevin Borg inside the box. Brazilian midfielder Andre Rocha da Silva drilled his shot past Henry Bonello.

Vittoriosa's hopes of an equaliser grew when Henry Makinwa made a good run through the middle but the Nigerian's drive flashed wide.

At the other end, Da Silva ran past Jeffrey Chetcuti but skied his shot with only Bonello to beat.

Vittoriosa restored equilibrium on 28 minutes. Micallef got behind the Dingli defence on the right but he looked to have overhit his cross towards the other side of the penalty area. Elton Vella managed to guide the ball back into the goalmouth and Makinwa poked home from close range.

Hardly a minute from Makinwa's equaliser had passed when Dingli suffered a double blow. Makinwa again exposed Dingli's defensive flaws when the Nigerian, latching onto a long ball from midfield, sped towards goal only to be wrestled to the ground by Tellus.

Referee Alan Mario Sant pointed to the spot and dismissed the Dingli defender. Romanian Leo Chitescu beat Cassar with a low shot.

Jesmond Zammit, the Dingli coach, effected a double substitution at the start of the second half.

Da Silva, who looked to have suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury in the opening half, was replaced by Etienne Farrugia and Roderick Spiteri made way for Christopher Azzopardi.

Seven minutes into the second half, Vittoriosa increased their advantage. Makinwa's piledriver cannoned off the crossbar and from the ensuing scramble, Dingli defender Renato Conceicao fired the ball into his own net in an attempt to clear.

Michael Borg Olivier threatened to heap more misery on the stuttering Swallows when he jinked his way into the box from the right but his close-range effort was parried away by Cassar.

Azzopardi should have pulled a goal back for Dingli but he sent his shot over after being sent clear by Dino Cachia.

With 18 minutes left, Haruna Doda curled his free-kick over Vittoriosa's defensive wall but his effort flew over the bar.

Doda then made way for David Camilleri who, at 40, was making his debut for the Swallows this season.

Dingli fell further behind when, 12 minutes from time, Dylan Zarb tripped Borg Olivier in the box, prompting Sant to whistle a penalty for the third time during the match. Borg Olivier made no mistake from the spot.

Bonello had been a spectator for much of the second half but the Malta U-21 goalkeeper was prominent when pushing away Cachia's effort in the closing minutes.

Dingli Swallows
I. Cassar, R. Conceicao, S. Tellus, R. Spiteri ('46 C. Azzopardi), H. Doda ('77 D. Camilleri), K. Formosa, D. Cachia, K. Borg, M. Borg, A. Rocha Da Silva ('46 E. Farrugia), D. Zarb.

Vittoriosa Stars
H. Bonello, J. Camilleri, C. Micallef, J. Chetcuti ('86 G. Agius), B. Bonnici, B. Muscat, J. Spiteri ('82 L. Xerri), L. Chitescu, E. Vella, M. Borg Olivier, H. Makinwa ('68 C. Cachia).

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Conceicao; Micallef.

Red Card: Tellus (DS) 29.