Vittoriosa Stars 1
Rabat Ajax 1

Rabat Ajax were held to a draw by a rejuvenated Vittoriosa side and now they are sharing top spot with Melita.

The Magpies did most of the running after falling behind midway through the first period but a second-half onslaught won Silvio Vella’s side a deserved point.

Rabat started the livelier side but the Vittoriosa defence was sound and difficult to break down.

On 23 minutes, it was the underdogs who took the lead.

The Rabat rearguard was caught napping following a Roberto Brincat cross and Leighton Grech nipped in to find the net from close range.

Play got stuck in midfield after that even though Rabat came close to an equaliser when Ryan Micallef’s effort fell inches wide following an inviting Adam Smeir corner.

On 53 minutes, a Dylan Falzon grounder was well saved by Jean Matthias Vella and ten minutes later Rabat shouted penalty when Justin Camilleri looked to have shoved Smeir off the ball inside the box.

A minute later it was Sean Mintoff who saved the Magpies as Grech dashed through but was foiled by the keeper.

Ramon Dos Santos almost committed an own goal following a daring back header as Rabat again protested for a penalty when the ball looked to have hit Dos Santos’s arm following a Smeir cross soon after.

Rabat continued to press forward and Ryan Micallef failed to get the power out of his shot from just inside the area.

The Magpies finally drew level on 81 minutes with a stunning Smeir free-kick that flew past Vella.

Rabat tried hard in the last few minutes to win the game but to no avail as the Stars held on.

Vittoriosa: J.M. Vella, B. Bonnici (J. Camilleri), M. Buttigieg, L. Vella Critien, R. Dos Santos, L. Scerri, A. Spiteri (J. Spiteri), R. Brincat, M. Pereira (J. Dalli), G. Muir, L. Grech.

Rabat: S. Mintoff, C. Schembri, J. Caruana (J. Felice), A. Smeir, D. Falzon, C. Muscat, Y. Cauchi, R. Micallef, S. Gauci, D. Azzopardi (V. Caushi), C. Gauci.

Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann.

Best player: Adam Smeir (Rabat Ajax).

Standings