Qormi ease past 10-man Dingli

Dingli Swallows 0
Qormi 4
Deguara 28; Bartolo 35, Giglio 70; Effiong 90

Qormi moved to the top of the Premier League standings yesterday after coasting past 10-man Dingli in a one-sided encounter at the Tedesco Stadium.

There weren't any doubts whether Qormi would collect their second successive win even when Joseph Farrugia missed an early penalty as the Yellows have now opened a one-point lead over Valletta who have a game in hand.

It was a commanding performance from Jesmond Zerafa's men who took control right from the outset as they pegged Dingli into their own half, scoring two quick goals in the first period to put them on their way to a comfortable victory.

For Dingli, the match was always going to be a struggle given the excellent form of their opponents and the early dismissal of Shaun Tellus.

Qormi coach Jesmond Zerafa effected only one change from the team that beat Ħamrun on Monday as Alfred Effiong was back from suspension but striker Camilo is still unavailable as the striker is recovering following groin surgery.

Qormi were on the offensive right from the start and after only four minutes Dingli goalkeeper Jeffrey Farrugia was forced to make an excellent save to keep out Steve Wellman's fierce shot.

Zerafa's men kept pounding Dingli's defensive lines and on 13 minutes they were awarded a penalty when Massimo Grima put Effiong clean through but the Nigerian was upended in the area by Tellus who got sent off for a professional foul.

Farrugia took the spot-kick but his shot was pushed against the upright by Farrugia and from the rebound Matthew Bartolo's shot was deviated to a corner by the alert Dingli keeper.

Qormi remained the better side but they had to wait till the 28th minute to forge ahead.

Grima freed Ryan Deguara on the right and the Qormi winger sped into the Dingli box before despatching the ball past Farrugia.

A minute later, Grima went close to put his name on the scoresheet but his rising shot just missed the target.

There was only one team on the pitch and it was no surprise when Qormi doubled their lead.

Deguara again made inroads on the wing before crossing the ball into the path of Effiong who failed to make connect but in came Bartolo who made no mistake from routine distance.

Both teams remained unchanged after the interval with Qormi looking to administer their lead while the Swallows trying hard not to suffer more goals.

In a rare attack, Etienne Farrugia had a good chance to pull one back for Dingli but his grounder on 62 minutes hit the side-netting.

Two minutes later, Effiong could have increased Qormi's lead but he was thwarted by Farrugia after being set up by Bartolo.

However, that was just a temporary reprieve for Dingli as on 70 minutes Bartolo sent another dangerous cross that was turned home by Stefan Giglio for his first goal in the Qormi shirt.

Eight minutes from time, Effiong stole the ball in midfield and sped past three defenders but messed up all the good work when he fired over the bar.

The Nigerian did manage to put his name on the scoresheet in stoppage time when he dashed through on goal before beating Farrugia and placing the ball inside an empty net.

Dingli Swallows: J. Farrugia-5, R. Briffa-5, S. Tellus, R. Spiteri-5.5, K. Formosa-5, C. Muscat-4.5, D. Cachia-5, E. Farrugia-5 ('80 C. Azzopardi), K. Borg-4 ('79 V. Fiteni), A. Rocha Da Silva-5 ('79 D. Zarb), J. Okonkwo-5.5.

Qormi: M. Farrugia-6 ('81 M. Camilleri), R. Dos Santos-6, J. Bondin-6, S. Wellman-6.5, D. Pisani-6, R. Deguara-7, J. Farrugia-6.5, M. Grima-6.5 ('85 G. Chircop), S. Giglio-7, M. Bartolo-7 ('74 G. Buttigieg), A. Effiong-5.5.

Referee: Chris Lautier.
Yellow card: Buttigieg.
Red card: Tellus (D) 13.
Missed penalty: Farrugia (Q) 14.
BOV Player of the match: Ryan Deguara (Qormi).