Matchday 10 of the Gozitan championship saw Għajnsielem pull off a 3-1 victory over Oratory Youths to open a six-point gap on Kerċem Ajax and Xewkija Tigers at the top.

Oratory enjoyed the better start, going close to surprising their more-quoted opponents through efforts by Anderson Ribeiro.

The Youths were punished for their missed chances as Għajnsielem opened the scoring on 34 minutes. Dhonatan Santos Da Hora launched a quick counter-attack and Milos Stojanovic fired home from an angled position.

Oratory’s reaction was sterile and Għajnsielem were in command in the opening stages of the second period.

The Blacks practically made sure of victory with a brace from striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza (56, 65) who thus scored his first goals since joining the GFA leaders from Valletta last month.

As Għajnsielem eased the pressure, Oratory got a consolation goal on 69 minutes, Christian Mercieca scoring with a low drive.

Title hopefuls Kerċem Ajax obtained a 2-0 win over bottom side St Lawrence Spurs to join Xewkija Tigers in second place.

Kerċem dominated the game but Claudio Antunes and Ricardo Saverino failed to convert a number of scoring chances.

The Greens had to wait until the initial minutes of the second half to take the lead as substitute Shaun Attard found the net on 52 minutes.

They sealed the points in the dying stages with Jean Paul Mizzi scoring from the penalty spot after Antunes had been fouled in the box.

After these results, the direct clash between Għajnsielem and Kerċem Ajax this weekend has gained added importance as the Ajax need a victory to remain in the title race.

On the other hand, Għajnsielem, the only undefeated team in the top flight, will make a decisive step towards ending their 10-year wait to win the title if they gain three points from their match against Kerċem.

In another Division One match, St Lawrence suffered their second defeat in four days after losing 2-0 to Oratory Youths.

First-half goals from Sam Frank Bajada (19) and Manwel Cordina (31) handed Oratory a deserved win.

The derby between Victoria Hotspurs and SK Victoria Wanderers ended goalless. The result highlighted the attacking limitations of the two sides while the point obtained satisfied neither team.

The Hotspurs lost further ground on the top teams while the Wanderers remain in the relegation zone.

Żebbuġ break duck

Żebbuġ Rovers earned their first points in this season’s Division Two championship after registering a 3-1 victory over Għarb Rangers.

Għarb looked overconfident at the start of the match and the Rovers took advantage to open a deserved two-goal lead by half-time through Fabian Xuereb (17) and William Cassar (45).

Għarb reduced the deficit through a penalty converted by Christian Attard (52) but Żebbuġ withstood the pressure to make sure of victory with a late goal by Joel Xuereb (87).

In the other match from the lower category, Sannat Lions consolidated third spot with a 2-0 win over Qala Saints.

Sannat scored a goal in each half through Antoine Camilleri and Josiah Buttigieg.

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