BALZAN 1; ST ANDREWS 0

Balzan stayed in the hunt for the runners-up spot with a hard fought 1-0 victory over St Andrews.

Olivier Spiteri’s troops looked to be heading a second consecutive disappointing draw as they struggled to break down a determined Saints outfit.

But a sublime header from Micallef created a 70-minute winner for Aleksandar Vujacic that sealed Balzan’s win.

In a rather quiet start in which St Andrews seemed capable of keeping their opponents’ forwards at bay, Balzan gradually gained the upperhand.

The clock marked 11 minutes of play when Balzan created their first scoring opportunity. Justin Grioli’s cross was met by the towering Effiong whose firm header was blocked by Jake Galea, the Saints goalkeeper.

Needing a win to keep their chances of claiming a European football spot, Balzan were in no mood to dish out favours as they continued to pile the pressure on the Saints defence.

Past the half hour mark, a corner by Grioli with a perfect scissor-kick from Effiong which was deflected for another corner.

After the change of ends, Balzan’s dominance was evident from the initial moments of the second half.

Yet on the hour mark, Joseph Farrugia turned in a floating corner towards the centre of the penalty area from where the agile Bong Won Che headed goalwards but his effort was blocked for a corner.

St Andrews’ resistance was finally breached after 70 minutes when Grioli’s cross was met by Micallef heading the ball into the path of the sprinting Aleksandar Vujacic who nodded the ball behind Jake Galea.

Minutes after their breakthrough, Balzan’s Ivan Janjusevic pulled off a fine save from Jonatan Perez Cuestra’s close-range after the midfielder was set up by Salomon Wisdom.

On the other side, Alan da Silva Souza, a second half substitute, could have doubled Balzan’s advantage when he played an exquisite one-two with Effoing before flicking the ball goalwards but Galea was once again on the alert to thwart the danger.