Lija Athletic 2
Vittoriosa Stars 2
An injury time penalty scored by Obinna Obiefule earned Vittoriosa Stars a point against Lija Athletic to share top spot with Naxxar.
A draw was a fair result, although Lija will feel hard-done to have dropped two points that would have surely boosted their push for a top-flight berth.
Lija had three players missing through suspension – Erjon Beu, Daniel Scerri and Yanis Tonna.
It was Vittoriosa who looked the brighter side early on with Farrugia’s shot well saved by goalkeeper Luke Bonnici while at the other end Bello Osagie was denied by Magri.
As the minutes passed scoring chances were rare. The next scoring opportunity arrived on 51 minutes.
Lee Joe Schembri found Paolo Dandolo who scored from close in.
Vittoriosa made it 1-1 on 64 minutes. From a melee inside the box, Obiefule saw his shot pushed away by Bonnici but from the rebound the Nigerian bundled the ball home.
Lija regained their lead on 76 minutes. From a Da Silva Santos free-kick, defender Patrick Borg sent a firm header into the net.
Vittoriosa threw more men forward but at times they were exposed to Lija’s counter-attacks.
Three minutes from time, Schembri could have put the game to bed when he rounded Bonnici but fired wide from a close angle.
That turned to be a costly miss as in stoppage time, Petar Mrvic was brought down by Carl Cassar and Obiefule scored from the spot.
Lija: L. Bonnici, C. Cassar, P. Babic, L. Muscat, P. Borg, L.J. Schembri (R. Sammut), M. Clinch, P. Dandolo (A. Sammut), E. Santos, A. Bello-Osagie, A. Borg.
Vittoriosa: K. Magri, A. Farrugia, L. Gauci, O. Obiefule, P. Mrvic, D. Fava, O.L. Agbeobina (D. Pisani), A. Galea (G. Sultana), R. Previ, C. Spiteri (E. Mbong), J. Pace.
Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann.
Best player: Patrick Borg (Lija).
Melita 1
Qormi 1
Melita: N. Grima, J. Abela, A. Mizzi, R. Parrado, K. Pace (M. Galea), S. Schranz, E. Cornago, J.P. Attard, A. Borg Olivier (N. Bradshaw), T. Singleton, A. Xuereb (L. Micallef).
Qormi: J. Azzopardi, D. Vukovic, Q. Bregman, A. Abela, O. Sidibe, C. Farrugia (T. Gusman), M. Barbara, D. Medic (N. Ojuala), L. Chiedozie, M. Camilleri, B. Grech (J. Sciriha).
Referee: Darryl Agius.
Scorers: Grech (Q) 12, Borg Olivier (M) 62.
Best player: Mark Barbara (Qormi).
Senglea Athletic 6
Sirens 1
Senglea: T. Aquilina, K. Farrugia, K. Tanti, M. Borg, J. Farrugia (C. Gusman), P. Doffo, B. Muscat, T. Vella, M. De Souza Dias (M. Garzia), P. Sammut (R. Dalli), J. Cabral.
Sirens: J.M. Vella, D. Zampa (D. Bonnici), L. Zammit, D. Sant, L. Gabrieli, I. Curmi (S. Grech), C. McLaren, L. Grech, M. Ciantar, R. Vaduva, D. Agius (R. Sciberras).
Scorers: Cabral (Senglea) 20, 43 pen, 54, 59; Ciantar (Sirens) 77, Dalli (Senglea) 84, Vella (Senglea) 88.
Referee: Stefan Pace.
Best player: Juninho Cabral (Senglea Athletic).