Żebbuġ Rangers 1
Britto 72;
Mosta 1
Matteus 40;

Brazilian Mauricio Britto scored a second-half equaliser as lowly Żebbuġ Rangers held fourth-placed Mosta to a 1-1 draw.

The disappointment on the faces of the Mosta players and officials was evident at the final whistle after the match officials annulled a last-gasp ‘goal’ that would have boosted their chances of pushing for the top places.

The Rangers, struggling at the bottom of the standings, deployed a 4-3-3 system with Carlo Monti and Matthew Bartolo acting as wingers with the freedom to roam behind Britto, a lone striker.

The defence was once again marshalled by the sturdy Yessous Camilleri while Mexican defender Luis Pena Marquez made his debut on the left flank.

Mosta coach Peter Smith had to reshuffle his pack as well as make a spate of positional changes as Kurt Magro and Dyson Falzon were suspended and Manolito Micallef was sidelined with injury.

Towering striker Bojan Kaljevic also missed out on a starting berth but came on late in the first half after replacing Daniel Mariano Bueno.

The Rangers started on a positive note with Britto often breaking free on the right as Tyrone Farrugia struggled to contain the surging runs of the Żebbuġ striker.

The Brazilian forward’s fierce drive from inside the penalty area, after just three minutes, was blocked by Omar Borg, the Mosta goalkeeper.

In the 18th minute, Mosta were foiled by the goal frame as Pedrinho’s free-kick rattled the crossbar.

Scoring chances were few and far between but five minutes from half-time, Mosta took the lead in the most bizarre of circumstances.

Fabricio Rapchan Morales, the Rangers goalkeeper, took a short clearance and the ball dropped at the feet of the unmarked Matteus less than a metre outside the box.

The Brazilian unleashed an unstoppable effort that flew into the net after deflecting off Camilleri.

At the start of the second half, Alfonso Greco, the Żebbuġ coach, effected a substitution as Matthew Gauci made way for Miguel Ciantar. The nippy striker was the first player to get a sniff of goal in the second half as his fierce drive after 58 minutes had the ball shaving the crossbar.

In the next Mosta foray, Kaljevic outwitted two defenders to create space for a shot but his curling effort drew a great save from Morales.

When Matteus served the unchallenged Kaljevic on the right, nine minutes later, another Mosta goal loomed but the Brazilian goalkeeper threw his body at the striker’s feet to block his attempt.

Mosta paid dearly for this miss as Żebbuġ made it 1-1 after 72 minutes.

Bartolo’s long cross from the right sailed towards Britto who made perfect contact with the ball to head past Borg.

Mosta thought they had scored the winner at the death when Kaljevic bundled the ball home from Matteus’s cross but the ‘goal’ was ruled out for offside.

Żebbuġ Rangers
F.R. Morales-6, J. Borg-6, L. Galea-6, Y. Camilleri-6, M. Gauci-5 (46 M. Ciantar-5), T. Paris-6, M. Muchardi-6.5, C. Monti-6, L. Pena Marquez-5.5 (61 B. Mamic-6), M. Bartolo-6.5, M.R. Britto-6.5.

Mosta
O. Borg-6, R. Ekani-6, T. Farrugia-6, A. Borg-6, K. Pulo-5.5, N. Milovanovic-5.5, R. Grech-5, K. Zammit-5, D.M. Bueno-4 (42 B. Kaljevic-6.5), Pedrinho-5.5 (61 K. Frendo-5), Matteus-7.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Camilleri; Monti; Galea; Pulo; Zammit; Farrugia; Kaljevic.

BOV player of the match: Matteus (Mosta).

Standings