Qormi show top-six resolve

Mqabba 1
Nwoba 80;
Qormi 4
Jorginho 8, 72, Bondin 52; Caio 90;

Qormi had no margin for error.

Six losses in their last seven outings had jeopardised their Championship Pool bid as Qormi slid to seventh with only three games remaining before the end of the first phase of the championship.

A clash with an enterprising Mqabba team was seen as a tricky test for Qormi but they were not found wanting.

Showing fighting spirit and tactical cohesion, they mustered a brave performance to overpower Mqabba who were a pale shadow of the team that shocked Ħamrun last week.

Mqabba were made to look ordinary by Qormi who bossed midfield and attacked with speed.

Jorginho, scorer of a brace, posed endless problems to the Reds whose miserable day was summed up by their finishing the match with nine men after Julian Briffa suffered an injury and Mark Anthony Psaila was dismissed in the dying minutes.

Mindful that the euphoria of the 2-0 win over Ħamrun might alienate some of his players, Mqabba coach Clive Mizzi made three changes to his starting XI.

Pierre Grima came in for the suspended Timotic while Marlon Briffa and David Azzopardi were preferred to John Paul Muscat and Claudio Calleja respectively.

Striker Bojan Mamic was flanked by Thiago dos Santos Mazzitelli as Mizzi stuck with 4-4-2.

Jorginho was restored to Qormi’s initial formation after returning from suspension. Keeper Matthew Farrugia and Joseph Chetcuti were also handed starting roles.

Qormi coach Stephen Azzopardi sought to exploit the speed of Jorginho and Chetcuti to open up the Mqabba defence.

Joseph Farrugia’s early free-kick was too weak to stretch Kris Calleja beyond routine work.

Qormi didn’t have to wait long to put their noses in front. Latching on to Farrugia’s pass, Chetcuti charged into the box but his cross-shot was partially blocked by Calleja. Jorginho was on hand to stab the ball home.

Mqabba’s afternoon looked to have taken a turn for the worse when, on 20 minutes, they conceded a penalty after Calleja tripped Jorginho inside the box.

Calleja was cautioned for his foul but he redeemed himself with an excellent leap to keep out Farrugia’s penalty.

The Reds sighed with relief but remained lethargic. Qormi maintained a foothold as Azzopardi’s 3-5-2 tactical module gave them an extra man in the middle.

When Mqabba’s half-clearance landed just outside the box, Farrugia reacted quickly to hit the ball on the volley but his attempt ended wide of the near post.

Mizzi made his first substitution midway through the first half, taking off Ryan Sammut for Psaila.

Five minutes from half-time, Jorginho pulled clear of Mauro Bonnici but the Mqabba defender recovered ground to cut out the Brazilian’s shot.

Just over two minutes from the start of the second half had elapsed when hesitant defending by Vincent Kouadio left the way clear for Marlon Briffa to surge into the box and retrieve a seemingly lost ball. The Mqabba forward, however, drove wide from an angled position.

At the other end, Jorginho nipped behind the Mqabba defence but out came Calleja to repel the effort.

Kouadio headed over from Jorginho’s corner but seven minutes into the second half, Qormi doubled their lead.

Jorginho’s measured cross was met by Bondin who guided the ball past Calleja.

Frustrated by his team’s lame showing, Mizzi effected his third substitution on 57 minutes, John Nwoba replacing Marlon Briffa.

Qormi should have made it 3-0 when Farrugia sent Jorginho clear but the latter fluffed his chance by opting to pass to Chetcuti instead of shooting and the Mqabba defence cleared.

Another excellent Qormi chance went abegging when Chetcuti, freed by Abubakar Bello-Osagie, sent his cross straight into Calleja.

By pushing more men forward, Mqabba left themselves vulnerable at the back. Qormi duly took advantage to apply the killer touch. Powering clear to reach a through-ball from midfield, Jorginho surged past Julian Briffa and chipped Calleja.

Mqabba, now playing with 10 men after Julian Briffa’s withdrawal, had a good chance to reduce the arrears but Nwoba failed to connect with Mamic’s cross.

Calleja denied Qormi a fourth goal when turning Farrugia’s dangerous grounder around his near post.

With 10 minutes remaining, Mqabba pulled one back. This time it was Qormi who were caught on the counter as Marko Potezica surged clear and centred for Mazzitelli who failed to control the ball but in came Nwoba to fire home.

However, Mqabba’s hopes disappeared when Psaila was shown the red card after earning a second booking for pushing Kouadio.

And in stoppage time, Qormi re-established their three-goal cushion, substitute Caio dinking the ball over Calleja from close in after receiving from Triston Caruana.

Mqabba: K. Calleja-5, P. Grima-4, M. Potezica-6, J. Briffa-4, M. Briffa-5 (57 J. Nwoba-5), D. Azzopardi-4 (46 C. Calleja-5), Thiago Mazzitelli-4, M. Bonnici-5, D. Fenech-5, R. Sammut-4 (23 M.A. Psaila), B. Mamic-5.5.

Qormi: M. Farrugia-6, R. Sammut-6, M. Bartolo-6.5 (76 L. Sciberras), J. Chetcuti-6 (79 K. Scicluna), J. Farrugia-6.5, J. Bondin-7, Jorginho-7 (72 Caio), T. Caruana-7, K. Thackray-6.5, A. Bello-Osagie-6, V. Kouadio-6.

Referee: Paul Caruana.

Missed penalty: Farrugia (Q) 20.

Yellow cards: Jorginho; K. Calleja; Psaila.

Red card: Psaila (M) 86.

BOV player of the match: Jorginho (Qormi).