Żebbuġ Rangers 1
Britto 34;
Qormi 3
Grech 40, 60, Nilsson 43;
Qormi came from behind to defeat neighbours Żebbuġ Rangers to secure their Premier League status on the final day of the season.
It was a tense evening for the Qormi supporters with emotions ebbing and flowing as scores from the other games were received on radios and mobile phones.
Qormi fans feared the worst when Mauricio Britto put Żebbuġ ahead.
But Qormi’s survival prospects brightened when Leighton Grech equalised and Alex Nilsson sent the fans wild with celebration before half-time. Grech then extended Qormi’s top-flight residency for another year with a calmly-taken goal after the break.
The Blacks started at a blistering pace and should have scored inside the first two minutes when Nilsson burst through the middle but his drive finished just wide.
Qormi were the more adventurous side in the early stages and on 10 minutes, Grech’s cross from the right was met by Billy Berntsson but his header was hooked off the line by David Reano.
That Żebbuġ were determined to stand in Qormi’s way had seemed to be the day’s only certainty. Past the half hour mark, the woodwork came to Matthew Farrugia’s rescue as Carlo Monti’s free-kick ricocheted off the crossbar.
But four minutes later, Paltemio Barbetti played a perfect-weighted long free-kick to the far post and Britto nodded the ball past Farrugia.
The silence that followed this goal told its own story, as at that juncture, despite their best efforts, Qormi were in the play-off berth.
Qormi desperately needed to hit back quickly and Alfred Effiong ran with menace at the Żebbuġ defence, rounded a befuddled Reano to square the ball for the unmarked Leighton Grech who scored with aplomb.
It was Qormi who ended the half in ascendancy.
Marcelinho punted the ball forward and Effiong exploited his speed off the mark to race past the backtracking Żebbuġ defence. His effort was stopped by the foot of the post but the ball fell to Nilsson who struck home and send the Qormi fans into raptures.
In their first notable foray into Qormi’s half after the break, Alfonso Greco’s side almost struck. Kurt Zammit went clear on the left, drifted into the box and upon seeing that Farrugia had strayed off his line to close the angle, he pulled the ball back for Matias Muchardi who hit just inches over the bar.
But it was Qormi who struck as Clifford Gauci, facing his former employers, slipped a pass to Grech who jinked his way past a posse of players before rifling past Farrugia.
Qormi could have sealed the issue 14 minutes from time when Effiong mounted a swift break but his shot was blocked by Farrugia.
Żebbuġ Rangers
J. Farrugia-5, M. Gauci-5.5, D. Reano-5.5, L. Galea-5, P. Barbetti-6, M. Bartolo-5.5, M. Muchardi-5.5 (67 R. Yussuff-4), K. Zammit-6, C. Monti-6, M. Britto-6, L. Montebello-5.5 (82 S. Borg).
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, Marcelinho-5 (62 A. Mendoza-5), A. Effiong-6 (80 R. Micallef), C. Gauci-6.5, J. Bondin-5.5, Z. Levnaic-6.5, D. Pisani-5 (68 S. Agius-5), L. Grech-7, B. Berntsson-6, G. Villalobos-5, A. Nilsson-6.5.
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Barbetti, Galea.
BOV player of the match: Leighton Grech (Qormi).