Mqabba survive late Hotspurs rally

Pietà Hotspurs 2
Mqabba 4

Ten-man Mqabba survived a late Pietà rally to score a precious victory that lifted them into second place, level on points with St George’s.

Clive Mizzi’s side pushed forward immediately with John Paul Muscat and Shawn Magro giving the Hotspurs’ rearguard a hard time with their surging runs.

Pietà tried to contain their opponents and were lucky not to concede a goal after seven minutes when Advan Cakigi beat Miguel Montfort with a crisp drive but Zach Muscat cleared the ball off the line.

Mqabba took the lead on 15 minutes, Cakigi releasing Muscat who beat Montfort with a low drive.

Pietà looked bereft of ideas, particularly upfront where Robson Luiz Bandeira was marked by Branislav Timotic and Mark Anthony Psaila.

Then, just before the break, Mqabba made it 2-0 when Muscat rose high to meet Wilson Caushi’s cross and head the ball home.

The match looked over on 52 minutes when James Shead squared the ball to Muscat who fired past Montfort. But Pietà refused to throw in the towel and pulled a goal back three minutes later.

Daniel Alves Campos was floored in the box and from the penalty Quelin Refalo made no mistake.

Mqabba suffered a severe setback on 65 minutes as Caushi was sent off for two bookings. Pietà soon started piling up the pressure and four minutes from time, they were back in the game when Christian Grech headed home a Muscat cross.

Campos should have made it 3-3 from close in and that miss turned out to be costly for Pietà as Mqabba struck again on 89 minutes. Marlon Briffa won a penalty and Pierre Grima made it 4-2 from the spot.

Pietà: M. Montfort, D. Owuo (J. Pisani), C. Spiteri (T. Agius), R. Mifsud, Q. Refalo, R. Bandeira, S. Grech (C. Grech), D. Campos, Z. Muscat, D. Mifsud, I. Grech.

Mqabba: K. Calleja, P. Grima, A. Scicluna, B. Timotic, M.A. Psaila, D. Azzopardi, J.P. Muscat (I. Curmi), W. Caushi, A. Cakigi (M. Briffa), J. Shead (T. Mazitelli), S. Magro.

Referee: Trustan Farrugia Cann.

Man of the match: John Paul Muscat (Mqabba).

Saints fire blanks

Dingli Swallows 0
St Andrew’s 0

Dingli and St Andrew’s shared the spoils in a game of two stories.

The opening half was a boring affair with little goalmouth action but the second 45 minutes were a totally different proposition with the game more flowing and scoring chances increasing considerably.

The Saints should have won this game with ease. They missed a series of chances but merit also goes to keeper Jeffrey Farrugia whose saves kept Dingli in the match.

The opening stages saw a Declan McAvoy header stopped by Farrugia and a Michael Grima shot also neutralised by the Dingli custodian.

An Andrew Amato volley from outside the Dingli box just missed the target as St Andrew’s saw more of the ball in an uneventful first half.

The Saints had a Michael Valenzia shot sailing over the bar as the second half got underway and Grima shot straight at Farrugia following a Faisal Akanua pass. Valenzia was unlucky on 56 minutes when his shot hit the bar.

Dingli had their first chance on 65 minutes when Roderick Briffa failed to connect to a Charlon Sammut cross with keeper Filippo Carandente rushing out to retrieve the ball.

At the other end, it was Farrugia, again, who denied St Andrew’s when he dived at the feet of Akanua who was clear on goal.

As the Saints dominance continued, substitute Nicky Vella Petroni entered the area but directed his shot into the side-netting.

Dingli almost forged ahead on 76 minutes when Clayton Caruana was put free by Sammut but his shot hit the upright.

The Saints persisted in attack but with little luck as Grima shot over the bar from just inside the box and Akanua’s chip hit the bar.

In stoppage-time, Dingli’s Kurt Pace was sent off for dissent.

Dingli: J. Farrugia, K. Pace, S. Tellus, R. Vella (C. Ciappara), K. Formosa, L. Konda, E. Farrugia, C. Caruana, R. Briffa, K. Bonavia (K. Borg), C. Sammut.

St Andrew’s: F. Carandente, J. Briscoe White, J. Bugeja, N. Chetcuti, B. Diacano, M. Valenzia, W. Camilleri, A. Amato, F. Akanua, M. Grima, D. McAvoy (N. Vella Petroni).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Man of the match: Jeffrey Farrugia (Dingli Swallows).