Xewkija Tigers are the winners of 65th championship in Gozitan football after securing top spot in the standings with a match to spare following a 3-1 victory over fourth-placed Kerċem Ajax last Sunday.
Xewkija embarked on a run of positive results in the second round, consolidating their position with victory over nearest rivals Nadur Youngsters in the Championship Pool.
This is the Tigers’ second consecutive league title, their third in four seasons and the seventh in the club’s history.
The Ajax took the field without Anderson Ribeiro and Joseph Azzopardi, both suspended, but they shocked Xewkija in the sixth minute with a goal from Luke Meilak.
However, Xewkija, backed by their numerous fans in the stands, staged a strong reaction to turn the result in their favour thanks to goals from John Camilleri (10) and Dene Shields (21).
Xewkija retained the initiative and sealed victory 10 minutes from the restart with a header by Eric Nwankwo following a corner action.
On 70 minutes, Kerċem finished with 10 men when player-coach Sabri Rais, who had been on the field for less than three minutes, was sent off for lashing out at Shields who had to be treated after suffering a facial wound.
After the match, Kerċem Ajax condemned the incident and terminated Rais’s contract with immediate effect.
In another game from the Championship Pool, Nadur Youngsters beat Victoria Hotspurs 2-0.
Christian Debono opened the scoring on 18 minutes and Claudio Antunes doubled Nadur’s lead on 68 minutes. The Brazilian striker is now the favourite to win the best scorer accolade as he is leading the list with 20 goals, four more than Shields who claimed the honour in the last two seasons.
Meanwhile, SK Victoria Wanderers became the first team in the Relegation Pool to make sure of their place in the top flight next season after they beat St Lawrence Spurs 2-1 last weekend.
The Wanderers played the better football and were eventually rewarded for their efforts.
After missing a series of open chances, the Wanderers went ahead on 55 minutes through Sunday Baala.
The Spurs, who were without William Barbosa, levelled matters with a Jonathan Micallef goal 14 minutes from time but the Citizens clinched victory when Baala scored at the death.
In midweek, the Wanderers sealed top spot in the Relegation Pool after completing their league commitments with a 2-0 victory over already-relegated Sannat Lions.
Oliver Farrugia and Nicholas Vella scored the goals for the winners inside the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Oratory safe
After beating Sannat Lions 3-0 last weekend, with Brazilian Thiago Dos Santos hitting a brace, Oratory Youths sealed their survival mission in midweek.
The Youths edged St Lawrence Spurs 2-1 in a direct encounter between two teams that were looking to avoid a winner-takes-all play-off against the runners-up of Division Two.
Shaun Attard converted a penalty on six minutes to put Oratory ahead but St Lawrence, who will face Munxar Falcons in the decider, equalised through James Grima two minutes from half-time.
Mark Camilleri scored the all-important winner for Oratory 16 minutes from time.