Gżira United 4
Marsaxlokk 0

A win for Marsaxlokk would have put them at the top of the table but Gżira had other ideas and brought the southerners down to earth.

Thanks to this win, the Maroons are now on the 15-point mark, seven ahead of Dingli Swallows and Birżebbuġa with bottom-placed Mqabba four points behind.

After four minutes it was Yanis Tonna who found space in the Marsaxlokk area but his shot was kept out by Omar Borg.

The Maroons continued to dominate and it was the Marsaxlokk keeper again who made two superb saves off Sunny Ogbemudia and Steve Meilak to deny Gżira. With barely ten minutes gone Borg was again the protagonist when he kept out headers of veteran Simon Shead and Ogbemudia.

Marsaxlokk’s first threat at goal came on 13 minutes but Andre Grabowski was foiled by Simon Agius who tipped the header over for a corner.

But Gzira forged ahead on 16 minutes when Shead saw his volley hitting the upright but was on target in his second attempt.

Marsaxlokk had a Rupert Mangion grounder saved by Agius and at the other end Gżira doubled the score. An Ogbemudia effort was stopped by Mark Brincat and from the rebound Tonna saw his effort pushed in by Shead.

Marsaxlokk were never able to get to grips with the situation and had goalkeeper Borg to thank soon after the break when he stopped Tonna’s shot from just inside the area.

But from the corner Ogbemudia’s header hit the back of the net to make it 3-0.

Marsaxlokk were down and out but the Maroons had to wait until the 90th minute to score a fourth when Ogbemudia thundered in a fierce drive that flew past Borg.

Gżira: S. Agius, R. Deguara, J. Chetcuti, A. Xuereb, P. Grima, S. Meilak (J.P. Vella), A. Shennowo, J. Hussey, Y. Tonna (D. Cachia), S. Ogbemudia, S. Shead (S. Grixti).

Marsaxlokk: O. Borg, R. Mifsud, M. Brincat (P. Paris), K. Scicluna (D. Tabone), M.P. Clarke, D. Attard (M. Caruana), D. Grech, R. Mangion, D. Micallef, D. Attard, A. Grabowski.

Referee: Philip Farrugia.

Man of the match: Sunny Ogbemudia (Gzira United).

Mqabba 1
St Andrew’s 1

Mqabba and St Andrew’s figured in a low-key draw with both goals coming in the opening half.

The outcome did not satisfy the two teams as St Andrews badly needed a win to keep aspiring for promotion while bottom-placed Mqabba cannot continue to drop points in their bid to avoid a second successive demotion after playing in the Premier League last year.

Mqabba missed a good opportunity early on when Andrew Caligari blasted high from an ideal position.

On 16 minutes the Saints made their first attempt at goal with a Rumen Kerekov shot from the edge of the area that was neutralised by goalkeeper Kris Calleja.

St Andrews took the lead soon after. A Neil Chetcuti cross deceived Calleja and Peter Anizoba was free to serve Trayo Grozev who fired home from close range.

However, Mqabba were back on level terms three minutes later after Clayton Micallef drew the teams level with a spectacular shot from outside the box that took goalkeeper Matthew Towns by surprise.

The Saints dominated the last part of the first half and went close with an Anizoba header and a Nicky Vella Petroni effort.

The pace slowed significantly after the break with goalmouth action nowhere to be seen.

Anizoba surged forward to meet a Kerekov ball on 65 minutes but his shot was deflected by a defender and St Andrews were unlucky not to regain the lead late on when a Grozev shot hit the base of the upright.

Mqabba: K. Calleja, A. Scicluna, J. Anegbe, A. Caligari, D. Azzopardi, C. Calleja, J.P. Muscat, O. Farrugia, C. Micallef, R. Akande, J. Okonkwo.

St Andrew’s: M. Towns, N. Chetcuti, B. Diacono, W. Camilleri, B. Said, J. Farrugia, J. Briscoe White, N. Vella Petroni (L. Cesareo), P. Anizoba, R. Kerekov, T. Grozev.

Referee: Stefan Pace.

Man of the match: Trayo Grozev (St Andrew’s).