Kerċem Ajax closed the gap on leaders Nadur Youngsters to six points after beating Victoria Hotspurs 3-1 in their last outing.
The Hotspurs had a golden opportunity to open the scoring on 12 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Nkwocha but Saturday Nanapere’s spot-kick was stopped by keeper Mercieca.
Nanapere and James Farrugia created other good chances for Victoria but the score remained unchanged until the break.
Kerċem looked more aggressive on resumption and soon opened a two-goal lead follo-wing goals from Ian Xuereb (47) and Malcolm Vella (50).
The Hotspurs re-opened the issue on 64 minutes when Nanapere fired home following a quick counter-break.
However, the Ajax continued to be the better side and on 82 minutes, keeper George Vella kept the Hotspurs in contention with a fine save from Sakaliev.
But, Kerċem made sure of victory with a third goal in stoppage time, Xuereb tapping home to conclude a fine move between Sakaliev and Jean Paul Mizzi.
In a clash between two sides in the lower half of the table, SK Victoria Wanderers trounced Xagħra United 4-0 to leapfrog them into fifth place.
The Wanderers, who gave a debut to Nigerian midfielder Bernard Ocholoche, took a three-goal lead in the first half-hour thanks to Oliver Farrugia (13), Kenneth Mercieca (20) and Eric Nwankwo (29).
Xagħra were a spent force and rarely threatened before Nwankwo sealed his team’s victory with a fourth goal late on.
Division Two
Oratory Youths underlined their supremacy in Division Two after beating nearest rivals Munxar Falcons 1-0 to open a nine-point lead at the top of the standings.
The match lived up to expectations as Munxar produced a battling display. They had the better chances in the opening half but Oratory showed their true mettle after the break and scored the goal that mattered from a penalty on 51 minutes, courtesy of Shaun Attard.
In another match, Qala Saints cruised to a 3-0 win over bottom-placed Għarb Rangers with the goals coming from Mario Mifsud (32), Christoph Caruana (56) and John Rapa (68).