Birkirkara 3
Herrera 15; Mendoza 64; Scicluna 89;
Qormi 1
Effiong 78;

Birkirkara made a giant step towards securing top spot ahead of the start of the Championship Pool after stretching their lead to six points with a straightforward 3-1 victory over lowly Qormi yesterday.

After watching Hibernians and Valletta drop points, Birkirkara entered the field determined to profit for their rivals’ slip-ups in order to strengthen their position at the summit.

Straight from the outset, Birkirkara dominated the proceedings and took a deserved lead after 15 minutes. However, their only flaw was their failure to score a second despite creating a hatful of chances, leaving Qormi with a chance to spoil their plans.

Alejandro Mendoza’s goal 19 minutes into the second half seemed to have given more security to the Stripes but poor defending gave Qormi the chance to reopen the issue late on.

Midfielder Ryan Scicluna, on as a substitute, sealed the points with a late third as Birkirkara extended their winning run to an impressive 11 matches.

More significantly, perhaps, they increased their lead on Valletta who were held to a goalless draw by Sliema Wanderers in yesterday’s early kick-off.

Birkirkara coach Paul Zammit made two changes to his starting formation as Brazilian Jhonnattann was recalled after missing the 3-0 victory over Floriana. The other alteration was in defence as Joseph Zerafa was preferred to Zach Muscat who was on the bench alongside the returning Scicluna.

Karel Zeman, the Qormi coach who was facing his first major test since taking over from Tommaso Volpi, was boosted by the return from suspension of Leighton Grech who was handed a starting role against his former club at the expense of Ghanaian striker Abudulai Isakka.

Christian Terribile received the nod to start ahead of Duncan Pisani who was included among the substitutes.

Birkirkara were soon on the offensive. Paul Fenech almost gave them a headstart after nine minutes when he received the ball on the edge of the area but his curling drive flashed just wide.

That was just the prelude to Birkirkara’s opener which arrived on 15 minutes. They were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area and Jhonnattann’s swerving drive came off the bar but Edward Herrera nipped in to easily head the ball past Matthew Farrugia, the Qormi goalkeeper.

Birkirkara kept pushing forward and on 21 minutes, Jhonnattann sped past Roderick Sammut but his low drive was off target.

Qormi finally threatened on 26 minutes when Tristan Caruana found Alfred Effiong in ample space inside the area but the Nigerian failed to connect with the ball and goalkeeper Justin Haber was alert to avert the danger.

Three minutes later, Shola Shodiya Haruna should have done better when Gareth Sciberras’s through-ball put him clear but the Nigerian lifted the ball over the bar with only Farrugia to beat.

Qormi’s first real attempt at goal arrived on 35 minutes when Caruana’s shot from a free-kick finished just over the bar.

On 42 minutes, Jhonnattann came close again when he connected with Frank Temile’s free-kick but his first-time volley flew over.

A solitary goal was not a comfortable buffer for coach Zammit who had already seen his charges pegged back by Qormi in the corresponding first-round fixture.

No doubt, his main focus during the half-time talk was the importance to gain more breathing space with a second goal.

Ten minutes into the second half, Temile’s cross was deflected by Sammut but luckily for Qormi Farrugia produced a fine one-handed save to push the ball away.

On the hour, Zammit withdrew Haruna and roped in Terence Vella as he looked to infuse fresh energy up front.

But it was Qormi who almost struck on 63 minutes when Effiong profited from some hesitant defending in the Birkirkara defence to wriggle his way through but his shot was pushed away by Haber.

At the other end, midfielder Rowen Muscat put Jhonnattann through inside the area but the Brazilian was again thwarted by Farrugia.

However, the Qormi goalkeeper was left helpless from the ensuing corner as Spanish defender Mendoza was first to Jhonnattann’s flag-kick and his downward header was deflected past Farrugia.

Faced with this setback, Zeman hauled off Emerson Vella and Terribile and roped in Pisani and Gianluca Nucera.

The Yellow-Blacks managed to halve the deficit 12 minutes from time when Caruana played in Effiong and the Nigerian striker turned past Haber before depositing the ball into an empty goal.

Ten minutes from time, the Stripes almost restored their two-goal lead when, from a free-kick action, Nikola Vukanac’s piledriver was tipped away by Farrugia.

Qormi continued to threaten and seven minutes from time Caruana’s volley ended just wide.

Scicluna, who had replaced Temile, ensured there would be no surprises for the leaders when four minutes from time, he stabbed the ball into the net after receiving from Jhonnattann.

Birkirkara
J. Haber-6.5, J. Zerafa-6, A. Mendoza-7, N. Vukanac-6.5, Jhonnattann-7.5 (86 R. Camenzuli), G. Sciberras-6, F. Temile-6 (79 R. Scicluna), R. Muscat-6, S.S. Haruna-6 (61 T. Vella-6), P. Fenech-6.5, E. Herrera-6.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-6.5, A. Effiong-6, R. Sammut-5.5, C. Terribile-5 (69 G. Nucera-5), L. Grech-5, R. Bajada-5, Gabriel-5 (76 A. Issaka), T. Caruana-6, E. Vella-5.5 (69 D. Pisani), O. Bugeja-5, J. Bondin-5.

Referee: Andre Arciola.

BOV player of the match: Jhonnattann (Birkirkara).

Attendance: 1,617.

Standings

  P W D L F A Pts
Birkirkara 18 15 2 1 36 14 47
Valletta 18 13 2 3 39 12 41
Hibernians 18 12 2 4 44 21 38
Sliema W. 18 8 7 3 32 20 31
Naxxar Lions 18 8 3 7 26 24 27
Mosta 18 8 2 8 35 33 26
Floriana (-6) 18 8 3 7 27 25 21
Balzan 18 5 4 9 19 28 19
Qormi 18 4 3 11 21 34 15
Vittoriosa S. 18 4 3 11 21 37 15
Tarxien R. 18 3 4 11 18 37 13
Rabat Ajax 18 1 3 14 13 46 6

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