TARXIEN RAINBOWS 1
Galea 19

ST ANDREWS 1
Beltre 90

The encounter between St Andrews and Tarxien Rainbows featured a sting in the tail as Enmy Beltre struck a last-gasp equaliser to deny Tarxien's new coach Jesmond Zerafa a dream start.

Tarxien made an energetic start. Past the quarter-of-the-hour mark, they broke the deadlock with a well-engineered move. Marcelina flicked the ball forward towards Alex Alves on the left flank, who advanced and spotted the Brazilian midfielder in the Saints area, and the latter released Galea with a delicate header as the former Melita striker completed formalities.

The Rainbows maintained a stranglehold on the game but six minutes from half-time, Kastrevec spurned a gilt-edged opportunity to re-open the match. Felix Udoh flicked the ball towards the laky striker whose header finished just over the bar.

After the break, the exchanges continued to be balanced with neither team seemingly capable of gaining a foothold in the match.

A double substitution by Veselji - when he brought on Nenad Belacevic and Ryan Darmanin for Udoh Felix and Kastrevec respectively - did little to alter the course of the game as Tarxien, freshened up by the inclusion of Andrew Agius, remained in control.

On 70 minutes, McKay floated a good cross and Darmanin nipped in with a good shot which went wide off Jake Galea’s far post.

Another well-crafted interchange unnerved St. Andrews as Marcelina exchanged the ball with Galea who delivered an excellent pass to Alves, who shrugged off the challenge of Bong Won Che, only to see his close-range shot blocked by Jake Galea.

Ten minutes from time, St Andrews, who had reverted to four at the back, gained a glimmer of hope as they were awarded a penalty by referee Malcolm Spiteri for Matthew Tabone’s charge on Paz. For the second consecutive match, Joseph Farrugia saw his effort from spot crashing against the crossbar.

One-nil up as the match drifted its dying stages, Tarxien had good reason to be optimistic about their chances of gaining their first win under Zerafa but their hopes were dashed at death. Enmy Pena Beltre sped past two defenders to arch the ball past the despairing hands of Andrea Cassar.

At the other end, Baker almost marked his return with a goal when his shot from Alves’s freekick came off the bar with Galea beaten.