Qormi 2
Nilsson 20; Villalobos 48;
Pietà Hotspurs 1
Newuche 47;
Qormi made a significant step towards safety after beating Pietà Hotspurs 2-1 to ease their relegation worries.
But not so can be said of Pietà who after their victory over Żebbuġ had entertained hopes of remaining in contention until the last week of the championship.
However, this defeat, coupled with Tarxien’s win over Żebbuġ, condemned them to relegation.
Qormi coach Mark Miller fielded the same formation that started the 4-0 win over Tarxien last week.
Pietà’s line-up showed only one change yesterday as Christian Grech was back from suspension.
It was Pietà who made the stronger start. Inside the first seven minutes, Gabriel switched flanks to set up Charles Newuche but his angled shot was pushed away by keeper Matthew Farrugia.
The first noteworthy chance for Qormi fell on the quarter of the hour mark. The move originated from Alfred Effiong. He made headway on the left before slipping a through-ball to Alex Nilsson who strode into the box but keeper David Cassar threw his body in the way of the Qormi forward to thwart his effort.
Nilsson soon atoned to his previous miss, however, when he chested the ball to field a clearance by the Pietà defence. He outplayed his marker Leonardo Fortunato before unleashing a powerful shot that flew past the stranded Cassar.
Just before half-time, having repelled a promising Hotspurs attack, Qormi broke quickly on the counter as Grech accelerated on the right flank before slipping an excellent through-ball to Effiong who tried to beat the keeper but Cassar was on the right spot to save his fort.
Having preserved their lead at half-time, Qormi might have thought that they were good enough to complete the job but they were given a shock soon after the restart.
In fact, it took the Hotspurs a minute to score an equaliser, Newuche directing a header past Farrugia after meeting Gabriel Frances’s inviting cross.
Pietà’s joy was short-lived though as Qormi were soon back in front thanks to Gustavo Villalobos who beat Cassar with a ferocious drive from inside the box.
Hotspurs coach Noel Coleiro’s decision to withdraw Gabriel for Rafael Rodrigues led to a few murmurs of disapproval on the terraces. Before the substitution, the Brazilian midfielder had been among the the team’s most industrious players.
Pietà squandered a gilt-edged chance to go back on level terms 20 minutes from time.
Substitute Luke Micallef hit a grounder that crashed against the post. The rebound sailed towards the unmarked Jurgen Pisani who incredibly shot over from close in.
Seven minutes of added time were signalled by the match officials following a lengthy stop for Pietà defender Fortunato to receive treatment after colliding with substitute Alejandro Mendoza.
At the death, Frances broke forward and let fly a rising shot which Farrugia pushed around the post.
From the corner, Grech put the ball into the Qormi net after a melee inside the box but the ‘goal’ was annulled for offside.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, Marcelinho-6, A. Effiong-5, C. Gauci-5.5, Z. Levnaic-7.5, D. Pisani-5.5, J. Bondin-6, B. Berntsson-6, G. Villalobos-7.5, L. Grech-6 (89 R. Micallef), A. Nilsson-6.5 (72 A. Mendoza, 79 S. Agius).
Pieta Hotspurs
D. Cassar-6, C. Attard-5.5 (46 L. Micallef-6), C. Grech-6, L. Fortunato-4.5, J. Pisani-5, O. Anonam-5 (43 K. Micallef-5), Gabriel-6.5 (61 R. Rodrigues-5), K. Cesare-5.5, C. Newuche-5, C. Francis-6.5, R. Costa-5.5.
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Yellow cards: Anonam, Marcelinho, Agius, Grech, Newuche, Gabriel.
BOV player of the match: Gustavo Villalobos (Qormi).