Melita 2
Vittoriosa Stars 1

Melita bounced back from their loss to St George’s in their previous match to beat Vittoriosa Stars and get back in the reckoning for a place in the promotion play-off.

Melita dominated the first half but Vittoriosa came back strongly after the break only for them to fall short of their attempt to save the match. The Amateurs are now third in the standings following Gżira’s 3-1 defeat to Lija at the Centenary Stadium.

Melita showed more urgency in their game at the start and could have taken the lead early on when the unmarked Kurt Coleiro headed wide from an Emilio Cornago cross.

However, Coleiro made amends on 11 minutes after firing home from an acute angle.

Neil Zarb Cousin’s side came close again when Nigel Rizzo latched on to a long ball and dribbled past two defenders but his progression was stopped by Luke Vella Critien who managed to clear the ball away for a corner.

Vittoriosa responded with an inviting Lamine Ndiaye cross that found no takers but Melita made it 2-0 on 32 minutes as defender Ivan Tufegdzic rose high to head home from a free-kick.

Five minutes before the break Coleiro’s header was stopped by keeper Karl Magri.

Melita continued to dictate matters as the second half got underway. A Mennini Righini free-kick came off the wall and from the rebound, the Italian again tried his luck but found Magri in his way.

Vittoriosa started to get more into the picture. They reduced the arrears on 57 minutes when Liam Gauci hit home from a Vella Critien delivery.

Now it was all Vittoriosa who came close to levelling matters with a Carlos Compagnoli header that came off the bar from a Felipe Canavan corner.

Michael Camilleri missed a sitter for the Stars when he drove the ball wide in front of goal as the Cottonera team continued to press forward.

However, Melita weathered the storm in the final minutes to seal a precious victory.

Melita: P. Schranz, N. Micallef, G. Gribbon, I. Tufegdzic, L. Bianco (G. Schranz), M. Fenech (I. Curmi), J. Attard, F. Mennini Righini, E. Cornago, N. Rizzo (K.Micallef), K. Coleiro.

Vittoriosa: K. Magri, L. Vella Critien, C. Compagnoli, K. Scicluna, M. Buttigieg, S. Grech (G. Calabretta), L. Ndiaye (E. Guedes), C. Spiteri, M. Camilleri, L. Gauci (R. Mifsud), F. Canavan.

Referee: Andre Arciola.

Man of the match: Carlos Compagnoli (Vittoriosa Stars).

Saints promoted

St Andrew’s joined neighbours Pembroke Athleta in securing promotion to the Premier League after beating strugglers Żurrieq2-0 yesterday.

The win lifted the Saints to top spot, level with Pembroke on 49 points and eight clear of rivals Melita with only two games remaining.

In yesterday’s match at the Centenary Stadium, Matteo Desira Buttigieg put St Andrew’s ahead on 36 minutes and an own goal from Żurrieq’s Matthew Borda, 19 minutes from time, sealed their win and promotion to the top flight.

Summaries

Żurrieq 0
St Andrew’s 2

Żurrieq: J. Alden, M. Attard, K. Sacco, R. Bakare, M. Borda, G. Ghigo (E. Sevasta), M. Mifsud, A. Agius, M. Schembri (D. Darmanin), J. Ogonuppe, O. Lucky Agboebina.

St Andrew’s: N. Grima, N. Vella Petroni (J. Walker), M. Sehitaj, B. Said, M. Johnson, D. Camilleri, J. Farrugia, N. Bradshaw (M. Scicluna), T. Grozev, M. Desira Buttigieg (K. Nwoko), G. Murakami.

Referee: Matthew Degabriele.

Scorers: Desira Buttigieg 36; Borda 71 og.

Man of the match: Matteo Desira Buttigieg (St Andrew’s).

Mqabba 3
Birżebbuġa St Peter’s 0

Mqabba: S. Cini, M. Bonnici, O. Farrugia, R. Gomes, S. Tape, G. Guedes de Freitas, C. Calleja, K. Cutajar (M. Baldacchino), B. Grech (D. Bonnici), A. Cassar, R. Schembri (R. Vella).

Birżebbuġa: A. Boatto, L. Camilleri, D. Grech, K. Muscat, G. Camilleri, L. Micallef, R. Micallef (P. Camilleri), A. Ewurum (N. Clerico), J. Xerri, L. Santoiemma (E.L. Bonati), S. Eboh.

Referee: Glenn Tonna.

Scorer: Guedes De Freitas 31, 56, 64.

Red card: L. Micallef (B) 57.

Man of the match: Guedes De Freitas (Mqabba).

Gżira United 1
Lija Athletic 3

Gżira: A. Curmi, J. Ani (P. Dandolo), D. Scerri, J. Camilleri, D. Vukovic, J.P. Scerri, G. Aquilina, J. Mifsud, J. Nwoba (M. Caribotti), D. Agius (J. Pace), R. Dalli.

Lija: J. Spiteri, P. Babic, M. Clinch, E. Beu, R. Taliana (M. Borg), D. Mintoff, A. Caruana (L. Mifsud), P. Borg, B. Antignolo, I. McCarthy, A. Ige.

Referee: Emmanuel Grech.

Scorers: Beu (L) 33 pen; McCarthy (L) 36; Dalli (G) 79; Mintoff (L) 90.

Man of the match: Isaac McCarthy (Lija Athletic).

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Pembroke	24	15	4	5	45	19	49
St Andrew’s	24	15	4	5	46	29	49
Melita	24	13	2	9	32	26	41
St George’s	24	11	7	6	40	32	40
Fgura Utd	24	10	10	4	31	25	40
Gżira Utd	24	12	3	9	43	30	39
Gudja Utd	24	10	8	6	39	26	38
Vittoriosa	24	11	5	8	44	38	38
Lija Athletic	24	11	2	11	39	39	35
Mqabba	24	9	6	9	36	34	33
Rabat Ajax	24	6	5	13	23	36	23
Żurrieq	24	5	4	15	23	40	19
Msida SJ	24	4	3	17	23	53	15
Birżebbuġa	24	3	3	18	25	62	12