Luxol and Ħamrun Spartans secured important victories in the Gatorade Elite Round to maintain their challenge for the major honour this season.
Luxol, top of the table with 42 points, beat Swieqi United 7-2 while the Spartans, five points behind in third place, extended their fine form with a 9-5 win over Msida St Joseph.
Luxol possessed too much ammunition for Swieqi who tried hard to stay in the game but found disciplined opponents in front of them who stuck to their gameplan and held possession for long stretches.
Frane Despotovic, Carlo Scicluna, Clint Cope and Zvezdan Vukovic were on target for Luxol as Swieqi committed three own goals on the evening.
Boicho Marev and Jean Bert Gatt got the goals for Swieqi.
The Spartans assured themselves of a play-off spot in the Elite Round thanks to their win over Msida St Joseph. Raphinha was again their main protagonist after netting a poker.
Daniel Mifsud and Michel Melo Jose hit the target twice with Peter Pullicino completing the scoring for Ħamrun Spartans.
Armando Gjepali scored twice for Msida and Paulo Mendes da Silva, Christopher Navarro and Clayton Farrugia were also on the scoresheet but their efforts proved futile.
In the First Division, Sliema Wanderers beat Sirens 7-2 to replace them at the top of the standings.
The Blues ventured forward from the word go, forcing Sirens keeper Roderick Mascena to make difficult saves to stop Sliema from running riot.
Sirens never surrendered and were unlucky to hit the post twice. However, Sliema proved stronger on the day.
Aleksander Ribic (2), Alan Galea, Paul Bugeja, Josh Parry, Dexter O’Brien and Frankie Scerri provided the goals for Sliema as Sirens hit back with a Ryan Gilmour Cassar brace.
Meanwhile, second-placed Żebbuġ Rangers returned to winning ways after seeing off Qrendi 8-4. Bernard Bonnici hit a hat-trick for the winners who have virtually secured a place in the play-offs.
In other matches, Mqabba strengthened their hopes for a top-four finish after beating Gozo 8-1 while Mdina edged Marsaskala 3-2.
Current Standings
Elite Group: Luxol 42; Valletta 40; Ħamrun 37; Lija 31; Swieqi 23; Msida 22.
First Division: Sliema 25; Żebbuġ 24; Sirens 23; Mqabba 17; Mdina 12; Qrendi, Marsaskala 10; Gozo 1.