Żejtun trounce Saints to go third

Żejtun Corinthians 4
St Patrick 0

As expected, Żejtun did the double on neighbours St Patrick to move into third place on better goals than Melita and sustain their push for a second consecutive pro-motion.

After a balanced start it was Żejtun who scored on their first real threat of the game.

Veteran striker Kenneth Abela hit home with a grounder from just inside the area following some good work by Wisam Elzaredi and Kalin Gantchev.

After that goal, St Patrick looked nervous and lacked cohesion.

With Joey Falzon’s side insisting in attack, Elzaredi sprinted strongly from the centre and tried his luck from the edge of the area with the ball finishing inches wide.

On 34 minutes, Abela almost profited from some hesistant St Patrick defending but his header went wide.

A minute later Abela tried again but with no luck following an Edward Azzopardi cross from the left flank.

Five minutes before the break, Abela saw his attempt saved by Joshua Galea as Blendi Gockaj was close to making it 1-1 with a shot from an angle that caught goal-keeper Ranier Farrugia unawares but finished out.

The second half started with Gockaj beating a couple of Żejtun men before hitting badly from a good position but on 52 minutes the score became 2-0 when from a free-kick, taken by Ganchev, Abela rose high to head home.

Gockaj was stopped by goalkeeper Farrugia from halving the Saints’ deficit but Żejtun soon put the game to bed when Shaun Magro left his opponents in his wake before squaring the ball to Elzaredi who slotted behind Galea.

Deep into stoppage time, substitute Gers Delia scored a fourth for Żejtun after a fine solo effort to complete the rout.

St Patrick: J. Galea, R. Ceka, M. Onourah (S. Zerafa), J. Farrugia, A. Galea, M. Vella, B. Gockaj, S. Spasov (I. Scicluna), E. Grech, C. Camilleri, A. Ellul (R. Cassar).

Żejtun: R. Farrugia, A. Farrugia, C. Magro, M. Borg (R. Cauchi), E. Azzopardi, J. Abela (L. Micallef), N. Filipov, S. Magro, W. Elzaredi, K. Ganchev (G. Delia), K. Abela.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.

Man of the match: Kenneth Abela (Żejtun Corinthians).

Lija Athletic 0
Vittoriosa Stars 0

Vittoriosa dominated possession and created more chances but there was no way past a solid Lija rearguard yesterday.

A draw was the worst possible result for the two sides as both stayed anchored at the wrong end of the table. The Stars should be heartened with their performance though but Lija, who missed a penalty, have to lift their game by several notches to survive.

Vittoriosa started on the attack and the returning Leighton Grech was thwarted by Etim Akpan Ini from close range.

The Stars continued to dictate matters and Kevin Michael Robinson brought the best out of the Lija keeper.

On 30 minutes Gary Muir dribbled past two Lija defenders but his shot finished wide.

Lija, with new coach Brian Spiteri on the bench, had the best chance to forge ahead just before half-time when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Erjon Beu in the box.

However, Keith Darmanin’s spot-kick was stopped by Jean Matthias Vella.

Vittoriosa continued to play the better football and on the hour a Pereira shot was saved by Ini.

Then, it was Muir’s turn to try his luck but with scant award as his shot drifted away from target.

In stoppage-time Gilbert Camilleri could have won it for Lija but the former Naxxar man dallied to conclude and the chance was lost.

Lija: E. Ini, C. Giordmaina, R. Con-ceicao, D. Scerri, E. Beu, K. Darmanin (E. Briffa), J.P. Scerri, A. Scicluna, A. Sacco (G. Camilleri), M. Fleri Soler, A. Ige.

Vittoriosa: J.M. Vella, L. Vella Critien, J. Camilleri (L. Lagana), M. Barbara (A. Spiteri), G. Muir, L. Rocha Dos Santos, M. Pereira, K.M. Robinson (L. Scerri), M. Buttigieg, R. Brincat, L. Grech.

Referee: Andre Arciola.

Man of the match: Leighton Grech (Vittoriosa Stars).