Lija Athletic 0
St George’s 1
St George’s survived the second-half dismissal of Mark Borg to clinch their first win of the season at the expense of Lija Athletic.
The Saints managed to overcome the numerical handicap as inspired by some excellent goalkeeping from Thomas Galea they managed to soak up Lija’s pressure to secure a morale-boosting victory.
Lija fielded the same team that beat Żurrieq in their league opener while St George’s effected one change to their starting XI as Henrique Alves Viana started ahead of Daniel Zerafa who is nursing an injury.
The Saints started brightly and on 15 minutes veteran David Camilleri drove the ball just over.
Lija almost grabbed the lead six minutes later when Predrag Babic’s drive from just inside the area hit the upright.
But it was the Saints who continued to dictate matters.
On 23 minutes Larsson Mallia burst into the Lija area but fired wide.
The Saints took the lead on 29 minutes when Gabriel Okechukwu latched on to a Camilleri measured pass to hit home with a low drive.
Seven minutes before the break Mark Tanti hit the ball just over after good build-up play by Okechukwu.
On 57 minutes, Okechukwu was foiled by Justin Spiteri who saved well.
The Saints’ hopes suffered a blow on the hour when Borg was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
From the resulting free-kick Cleavon Frendo hit the upright, and from the rebound Adeshina Ige’s header was saved by Galea.
On 72 minutes Tanti’s free-kick sailed over and with nine minutes to go Okechukwu should have sealed the issue but took too much time to conclude.
Frendo was again close three minutes from time but his fierce drive from a free-kick was well blocked by Galea.
Lija Athletic: J. Spiteri, P. Babic, P. Borg, K. Vella (D. Mintoff), L. Casha, C. Frendo, C. McAllister, D. Mizzi (I. McCarthy), E. Beu, B. Antignolo (D. Zarb), A. Ige.
St George’s: T. Galea, L. Mallia (A. Hales), M. Tanti, D. Camilleri, R. Tanti, E. Sevasta, G. Okechukwu (T. Caruana), B. Muscat, H. Alves Viana (A. Bonello), M. Borg E. Amaira.
Referee: Trustan Farrugia Cann.
Man of the match: Gabriel Okechukwu (St. George’s).