Qormi 6
Bello-Osagie 45 pen., 50; Jorginho 65; Bartolo 67; Sciberras 88; Sammut 90 pen.;
Ħamrun Spartans 0
Qormi needed a point to put the seal on their survival mission but they refused to settle for a draw.
Facing Ħamrun for the fourth time this season, they came of age in the second half with a fine display that exposed their opponents’ lack of pace in defence and midfield.
Partnering Abubakar Bello-Osagie, scorer of a brace, Jorginho tormented the Spartans all afternoon with his fast and elusive runs as Qormi outclassed their neigh-bours to ensure another season in the top flight.
The returning Jonathan Bondin was preferred to Kenneth Scicluna in the only change from Qormi’s starting XI in the 2-1 victory over Tarxien.
Gianluca Calabretta returned to his familiar station on the left of the Spartans’ defence as coach Stefan Sultana also handed first-team roles to David Camilleri and Lee James Agius.
Qormi, set up in a 3-5-2-cum-4-4-2 formation, shaded the early exchanges but it was the Spartans who created the first glimmer of a chance when Anderson Ribeiro’s free-kick sailed over the bar after seven minutes.
Sultana opted for 4-1-3-2 module with Gaetan Spiteri and Ribeiro leading their attack.
Despite it being a derby and a direct duel between two teams seeking to erase their lingering relegation worries, the game only attracted a meagre crowd.
On 26 minutes, Joseph Chetcuti released Jorginho in the box but his grounder was too weak to trouble Omar Borg in the Ħamrun goal.
At the other end, Kevin Sammut hit wide from an angled position but the game was so uneventful that, at times, it looked as though the two teams were treating it like a training session.
Ribeiro had the chance to break the boredom when Sammut’s corner was deflected into his path but the Brazilian scuffed his shot over the bar.
Qormi managed to put together a fluid move when Chetcuti again found Jorginho but the latter’s shot was easily dealt with by Borg.
The first half looked set to end goalless but just before the interval, Qormi won a penalty.
Jorginho nutmegged Calabretta who reacted by pulling back his opponent, prompting referee Malcolm Spiteri to point to the spot.
Bello-Osagie planted his shot beyond Borg’s reach to put Qormi 1-0 up.
Qormi stormed into the Spartans at the start of the second half.
Borg blocked Jorginho’s effort but, five minutes into the second half, the Ħamrun goalkeeper was beaten by Bello-Osagie’s low strike after Jorginho’s run had sparked panic in the Spartans’ box.
Bello-Osagie was wide after receiving from Matthew Bartolo and Ħamrun should have narrowed the deficit when Camilleri’s floated free-kick fell to the un-marked Spiteri at the far post but his shot was beaten away by Matthew Farrugia.
On 55 minutes, the Spartans appeared to have earned a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty when Vincent Kouadio hauled down Agius in the box.
However, Ribeiro rammed his shot against the crossbar.
Having just replaced his brother Gaetan as part of a double substitution, Ryan Spiteri had a glorious chance to revive the Spartans’ hopes as he ran through to reach Sammut’s clever pass but the youngster’s effort was kept out by Farrugia.
From their next attack, Qormi wrapped up their win.
The Spartans were again caught out at the back as Bello-Osagie broke on the counter before slipping the ball to Jorginho who advanced and beat Borg.
Qormi inflicted more pain on the Spartans as Bartolo made it 4-0 when lobbing Borg from outside the box after receiving from Jorginho.
The Spartans were out for the count. Camilleri tried to reduce the deficit with a long-range free-kick that ended just wide of the far post. Calabretta then denied Qormi a fifth goal as he hurled himself in the way of Jorginho’s goalbound effort.
But, with two minutes remaining Qormi completed the rout.
First, substitute Luke Sciberras’s effort cannoned off the crossbar and over the line.
Then, the Spartans’ misery increased when, in stoppage time, Roderick Sammut converted a penalty after Steve Bonnici had touched the ball with his hands.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6.5, R. Sammut-6.5, M. Bartolo-7, J. Chetcuti-6.5 (72 L. Sciberras), J. Farrugia-6, J. Bondin-6, Jorginho-8.5, K. Thackray-6.5 (72 S. Wellman), T. Caruana-6.5, A. Bello-Osagie-7, V. Kouadio-6 (82 C. Farrugia).
Ħamrun Spartans
O. Borg-4, G. Calabretta-4, D. Camilleri-4, M. Gauci-4 (71 M. Grima-4), R. Hartvig-3, S. Bonnici-3, D. Zerafa-4, L.J. Agius-5 (60 R. Mangion-3), K. Sammut-5, A. Ribeiro-4, G. Spiteri-5 (61 R. Spiteri-4).
Referee: Malcom Spiteri.
Missed penalty: Ribeiro (Ħ) 55.
Yellow cards: Thackray, Agius, Hartvig.
BOV player of the match: Jorginho (Qormi).