Lija Athletic 0
Gudja United 2
Two goals inside the opening 19 minutes saw Gudja United chalking up three precious points to continue with their promotion charge and hand notice to their rivals that they will be a team to reckon with at the top positions of the standings.
Lija fell further behind in the promotion race and now they will have to be wary not to get em-broiled in the tussle to avoid the drop so tight are the teams this season. Gudja are second with 25 points, the same as St Andrews.
Pembroke lead the table with 26 points after beating St George’s 1-0 on Saturday.
Although Lija had their good moments, they practically gave up hope after conceding the second goal as Joe Borg’s Gudja had goalkeeper Yenz Cini making his debut following his loan move from Valletta in midweek.
Gudja went in front after seven minutes when Angelo Catania released Ryan Cauchi who beat his direct marker before hitting low past goalkeeper Justin Spiteri.
With the wind blowing behind their backs Gudja continued to move forward. A Ryan Buhagiar free-kick deceived the Lija rearguard but Adrian Carabott headed over.
At the other end, Cini was on the right spot to keep out Luca Casha’s effort and then, from a quick counter-break, Iaac McCarthy sprinted strongly down the Gudja half but his shot lacked precision and ended in the side netting.
However, Gudja made it 2-0 a few minutes later as Catania scored his eighth goal of the season after being put through by an inviting Carabott throughpass.
Lija looked better in the second half and on 51 minutes they protested heavily for a penalty when Beppe Antignolo looked to have lost his balance after a contact with Clayton Giordimaina.
Lija tried hard to get back into the match but they never succeeded in finding a way past a solid Gudja rearguard.
With nine minutes left substitute Donato Antonucci hit inches wide after a Catania pass.
That was Gudja’s best move of the entire second half as they opted for prudence to retain their slim lead.
Lija: J. Spiteri, P. Babic, P. Borg, K. Vella, L. Casha, C. Frendo (R. Taliana), I. McCarthy, E. Beu, B. Antignolo (L. Mifsud), N. Spiteri (D. Mintoff), A. Ige.
Gudja: Y. Cini, G. Sammut, R. Cauchi (D. Antonucci), R. Buhagiar, C. Giordimaina, C. Farrugia, E. Micheletti Awoh, M. Brincat, A. Carabott (G. Di Mare), U. Nwoko, A. Catania (P.P. Sammut).
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Man of the match: Angelo Catania (Gudja United).