Mqabba 1
Marsaxlokk 5
Marsaxlokk found little difficulty to see off bottom-placed Mqabba and join third-placed Lija Athletic on the 13-point mark, albeit the latter, have played a game less.
The southerners were on top for long stretches against an Mqabba side who had Mark Anthony Psaila dismissed early in the second half. For the Reds this was their fifth defeat and are still in search of their first win.
Marsaxlokk created the first chance on 20 minutes when Mark Brincat’s shot was saved by Kris Calleja.
Mqabba responded on the half hour when Andre Scicluna headed wide while at the other end Kenneth Scicluna saw his header finish over the bar.
Five minutes from the break, Mqabba were unlucky when Emiliano Lattes’ grounder came off the post.
Marsaxlokk took the lead a minute from the break when Andre Grabowski was brought down in the area by Chris Cutajar and from the resultant penalty the Swedish striker made no mistake.
The southerners doubled their lead two minutes into the second half when Grabowski released Douglas Da Silva Silveira whose low shot was somehow kept out by Calleja but the ball bounced onto Mqabba’s John Anegbe and finished into the back of the net.
Mqabba pulled one back on 55 minutes when Abeeb Williams turned past his marker to beat Omar Borg with a low drive.
However, any hopes of a recovery for Mqabba were ended on 64 minutes when Psaila was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Marsaxlokk soon profited from their numerical advantage as on 75 minutes Gary Caruana released Grabowski who shot past Calleja.
Da Silva Silveira made it 4-1 on 77 minutes when he turned past his marker and hit a low shot that rolled into the net.
The Brazilian striker wrapped up the points for Marsaxlokk on 86 minutes when he beat two defenders before slotting the ball past Calleja.
Mqabba: K. Calleja, A. Scicluna, C. Cutajar (P. Anizoba), J. Anegbe, M.A. Psaila, A. Caligari, D. Azzopardi, C. Calleja (J.P.Abela), M. Bonnici, A. Williams (C. Camoin), E. Lattes.
Marsaxlokk: O. Borg, R. Mifsud, K. Scicluna, M. Brincat, M.P. Clarke (P. Paris), G. Caruana (D. Grech), A. Grabowski, D. Micallef (W. Chircop), D. Attard, R. Mangion, D. da Silva Silveira.
Referee: Andre Arciola.
Man of the Match: Andre Grabowski (Marsaxlokk).