Balzan 2
Elton 63; Pedrinho 90;
Qormi 1
Bello-Osagie 7;

Pedrinho has been in the transfer news lately amid widespread reports of an imminent move to champions Valletta. If yesterday’s appearance turns out to be Pedrinho’s last in a Balzan shirt, he ensured it was a memorable one as his last-gasp free-kick handed his team a 2-1 win over Qormi.

Like most of his team-mates, Pedrinho had been subdued in the opening 45 minutes as Qormi were in command after taking an early lead through Abubakar Bello-Osagie but the latter then contrived to miss two excellent chances that would have put his team out of Balzan’s sight.

Qormi’s failure to translate their first-half superiority into goals, allied with a stroke of bad luck when Edison Zarate’s piledriver cannoned off the crossbar early in the second half, came back to haunt them as Balzan fought back to level with an Elton penalty before Pedrinho’s late salvo.

No wonder, Qormi left the stadium cursing their luck while Balzan greeted the final whistle with a mixture of relief and delight as this was their first win after three straight defeats, one that lifted them two points above their vanquished opponents.

Balzan coach Ivan Zammit handed a debut to Spanish goalkeeper Daniel Miguelez Martinez who replaced Fredrick Tabone. Zammit’s options were also boosted by the return of Jamie Pace and Renato Conceicao, who skipped the 2-0 defeat to Mosta due to suspension, and Stefan Giglio who has recovered from injury.

Flank defenders Matthew Mendy, suspended, and Renie Forace, injured, were missing for Balzan.

Qormi coach Jesmond Zerafa duly restored Matthew Farrugia to his starting formation after injury forced the goalkeeper to miss the 4-0 derby win over Ħamrun.

Bello-Osagie, back from suspension, was deployed as a central striker, replacing Sebastiano Siritto who is no longer on Qormi’s books.

Qormi were first to threaten when Jonathan Bondin’s drive from just outside the box was saved by Martinez.

Elton then hit wide for Balzan after receiving from Dylan Grima but in their next attacking foray, Qormi broke the stalemate.

Six minutes from referee Marco Borg’s initial whistle had elapsed when Bello-Osagie provided a reminder of his qualities as the Nigerian veered infield from the left before rifling past Martinez who may have been wrong-footed by a deflection.

Qormi’s early opener was a setback for Balzan and their hopes of ending their negative run.

Pedrinho swung in as teasing cross-shot from a right-wing free-kick but Farrugia fisted the ball away.

It was Qormi who should have doubled their advantage when Joseph Chetcuti sent Bello-Osagie through but the Nigerian forward fired wide with only Martinez to beat.

Bello-Osagie’s agile movement and pace were causing Balzan all sorts of problems and on 20 minutes he raced through the unsteady Balzan defence but his attempt was repelled by Martinez.

The ease with which Qormi were bypassing the Balzan midfield and defence was a cause of concern for Zammit who called on his players to eradicate the defensive flaws on the eve of the match.

Balzan were devoid of inspiration and flair, struggling to make headway in attack where Elton, their lone striker, was largely a peripheral figure.

Just past the half-hour, Christian Caruana, playing off Elton, made a surging run into the Qormi box but his shot was blocked by the sliding Kris Thackray.

The second half started on a low-key note but after 13 minutes, Qormi nearly increased their advantage. Capitalising on the gaps in Balzan’s midfield, Edison charged clear before letting fly a thunderous shot that shook the crossbar.

Reprieved, Balzan earned themselves a tonic in the shape of a penalty after Chetcuti clattered into the advancing Grima inside the box. Elton hammered his shot into the net from the spot.

The equaliser had an uplifting effect on Balzan who threatened to take the lead when Steve Wellman’s clearance from inside the box came off the charging Elton who sent the ball soaring towards goal but Farrugia saved.

With 16 minutes remaining, Zarate picked out Chetcuti who ran through before trying to lob Martinez who managed to get his gloves to the ball before Giglio cleared.

Three minutes from time, Balzan had a goal disallowed for offside after Pedrinho’s free-kick was headed in by Yessous Camilleri.

Qormi were let off the hook but not for long.

On the stroke of time, Balzan were awarded a free-kick outside the box and Pedrinho curled his shot past Farrugia.

Balzan
D. Miguelez Martinez-6.5, A. Agius-5, D. Grima-6 (67 J. Borg-5), Y. Camilleri-6.5, J. Francica-5 (55 B. Bondin-6), S. Giglio-6.5, R. Conceicao-5.5, J. Pace-5, C. Caruana-6 (84 M. Licari), Pedrinho-6.5, Elton-7.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-5, K. Thackray-6.5, J. Chetcuti-5, A. Bello-Osagie-7, L. Sciberras-6.5, M. Gauci-5, Edison Zarate-7.5, J. Bondin-5, S. Wellman-5.5, A. Cassar-5, L. Grech-6 (84 M. Bartolo).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Elton; Thackray; Pace; Giglio; Pedrinho; Chetcuti; Zarate; Cassar.

BOV player of the match: Abubakar Bello-Osagie (Qormi).

  P W D L F A Pts
Hibernians 16 10 2 4 33 18 32
Valletta 16 8 6 2 32 13 30
Birkirkara 16 8 6 2 30 16 30
Sliema 17 9 3 5 28 16 30
Mosta 16 9 1 6 29 16 28
Tarxien 16 8 4 4 31 24 28
Balzan 17 6 4 7 26 29 22
Floriana 16 5 6 5 24 22 21
Qormi 17 6 2 9 25 29 20
Ħamrun 16 3 4 9 20 39 13
Melita 16 2 4 10 15 44 10
Rabat Ajax 17 0 6 11 10 37 6

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