MOSTA 3 (Mensah 14, Ekani 82, Mensah 90)

PEMBROKE ATHLETA 3 (Villalobos 26 pen, O’Brien 28, Laudisi 36)

Mosta staged a thrilling comeback as two stoppage-time goals gave them a well-earned draw against Pembroke who had been 3-1 up with only nine minutes left. A rip-roaring clash that conjured up in the final eight minutes to leave Pembroke dazed and confused.

Pembroke were taken aback by Mosta’s forceful take-off with the Blues storming ahead inside the first quarter of an hour. James Brincat’s cross from the left found Godwin Mensha in the box who beat Mario Muscat with a well-placed shot.

After that rather cautious start, Pembroke’s offensive midfield started oiling its gears and Omar Borg, in goal, had to stretch himself to stop efforts from Micallef and Gustavo Villalobos. These were the prelude of things to come as Mosta were demoralised by a goal rush which yielded three goals in ten minutes.

Villalobos equalised for Pembroke when he fired home from the spot after Mosta midfielder Fatai Alabi had been adjudged to have handled a cross in the area.

Their second goal, two minutes later was created and executed by O’Brien who shrugged off a challenge and drifted into the box before producing a delightful lob that stunned Borg in the Mosta goal.

In the 36th minute, the hard-working Ariel Laudisi grabbed a wonder goal when he hit a fierce shot from the narrowest of angles as the shot flashed into the net behind the left upright.

Mosta had shown little till then but were revived eight minutes from time when Brincat squared for Rodrigues Ekani to score with a precise finish.

Mosta’s hopes of an equaliser looked to have vanished two minutes later when Brincat unleashed a well-hit free-kick that crash against the post.

But on stoppage time, they were given a penalty when referee Alan Mario Sant ruled that Alex Cini handled the ball inside the area. Substitute goalkeeper Matthew Farrugia saved Mensah’s spot-kick but the rebound fell perfectly for the striker to tap home into the net.