Tarxien Rainbows 1
Hevia 12;
Żebbuġ Rangers 2
Mamic 51; Camilleri 90;

Żebbuġ Rangers ended their long wait for a Premier League win yesterday afternoon.

A painful run of 14 games without a win for the newcomers had cast doubt over their credentials to beat the drop this season but Alfonso Greco’s troops collected an unlikely victory over Tarxien Rainbows with a last-gasp header from Yessous Camilleri.

Tarxien will have found it extremely hard to comprehend the manner of their defeat yesterday as they looked to be cruising to victory after a dominant display in the first period.

The game can be described as a tale of two halves as the Rangers rose to the challenge after the break.

Bojan Mamic was detailed to fill the void left by the suspended Carlo Monti on the right.

The Serbian striker, flanking Mauricio Britto and Matthew Bartolo up front, was almost on target after eight minutes but Tarxien goalkeeper Sean Mintoff tipped his effort away for a corner.

The Rainbows, on their part, fielded what could be regarded as their typical formation at the moment, given the injury-related absences of Owen Bugeja and Firas Aboulezz, with Jorge replacing Alex Cini.

Twelve minutes into the game, Tarxien surprised the Rangers with an early goal courtesy of Carlos Menendez Hevia.

The Spanish midfielder demonstrated some excellent footwork as, having dispossessed Matthew Gauci just outside the box, he unleashed a low shot into the corner to beat Fabricio Rapchan Morales in the Żebbuġ goal.

Tarxien’s enterprise contrasted with Żebbuġ’s caution, which was intended as a base for quick counter-attacks. However, the fare was largely unproductive as the target men at both ends were under tight supervision.

The Rainbows, largely through the industry of Hevia, and better collective play kept the upperhand, and three minutes before the interval, Clebinho sensed a half-chance but his shot on the turn brought a fine save from Morales.

Żebbuġ could not have hoped for a better start to the second half as they equalised with their first decent attempt on goal.

The Rangers won a corner, Mattias Muchardi flicked the ball to Mamic who rose above his marker to head the ball home.

A measured pass by Mamic to substitute Miguel Ciantar, who had come on for Melvin Farrugia earlier in the game, brought a whiff of excitement after 69 minutes but the striker dragged his effort wide.

Six minutes later, Mintoff effected two great saves in quick succession to deny Britto from close range.

A few moments later, the Tarxien custodian thwarted Britto again as he pushed the Brazilian’s diagonal shot away for a corner.

Seven minutes from time, Britto looked out of sorts for the Rangers as he wasted a good opportunity, shooting over the bar from the edge of the box.

With the match moving into stoppage time, Żebbuġ Rangers stole the winner as lanky defender Camilleri freed himself in the penalty area and sealed his side’s victory with a perfect header from Muchardi’s free-kick.

Tarxien Rainbows
S. Mintoff-6.5, M. Caruana-5, Alvaro-5 (63 A. Cini-5), Clebinho-6, T. Caruana-6, K. Farrugia-6, R. Sammut-5.5, Jorge-5, M. Tabone-6, A. Lopes Pereira-5, C. Hevia-7.

Żebbuġ Rangers
F.R. Morales-5.5, J. Borg-6, L. Galea-6, Y. Camilleri-6.5, M. Gauci-5, M. Farrugia (27 M. Ciantar-5), T. Paris-5.5 (87 L. Pena Marques), M. Muchardi-7, B. Mamic-7, M. Bartolo-6,M.R. Britto-6.

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

Yellow cards: Camilleri; Ciantar; Cini.

BOV player of the match: Carlos Hevia (Tarxien).

Standings