Gzira United - 0, Sliema Wanderers - 1

Sliema Wanderers chalked up their first win after two straight defeats as they saw off neighbours Gzira United with a sole goal scored from Gabriel Aquilina on the brink of the full-time whistle.

Meanwhile, this was Gzira United’s first loss after three straight wins as they failed to push themselves further clear from the danger zone.

On five minutes, Denni Dos Santos attempted his luck from inside the box but goalkeeper Jurgen Borg promptly cleared away the danger.

The Brazilian proved to be Sliema’s reference point as he was dangerous on a couple of occasions.

On 10 minutes, he triggered a shot from long-range but failed to hit the target while past the half-hour mark, he whipped in a free-kick but Jurgen Borg squirmed the ball.

In the second half, Gzira pushed forward in an attempt to break the duck but it was Sliema who almost draw first blood, when Frank Temille tried to place the ball behind Jurgen Borg but Gzira’s number 1 managed to deflect into corner.

On 80 minutes, Dos Santos sent a close-range effort over the cross bar and as the match was heading towards a stalemate, Aquilina found the jackpot.

Ryan Spiteri fired a shot towards Jurgen Borg, with the latter failing to clear the danger away from Gzira’s penalty box and Aquilina reacted first to put the ball into the net, earning Sliema three precious points.