Ħamrun Spartans 0
Mosta 3
Obiefule 50, 61, Bogdanovic 70
This match took a while to ignite but once Obinna Obiefule put Mosta ahead early in the second half, there was no doubt where the points were heading to.
Mosta came into this game under growing pressure to arrest their slide down the table but, despite dominating large swathes of possession in a lifeless first half, they failed to punish the out-of-sorts Ħamrun Spartans.
Indeed, the stakes were somewhat high for both teams as, while Mosta needed a win to strengthen their top-six push, Ħamrun were seeking their first win after five consecutive defeats.
But, there is no end in sight for the Spartans’ troubles as their squad limitations and lack of quality were there for all to see yesterday.
Despite their undoubted supremacy, Mosta were nowhere near their sparkling best but they were still good enough to win at a canter with Obiefule stealing the show with a well-taken brace.
With this win, Mosta climbed into fourth on 25 points but their nearest rivals, Tarxien and Sliema, have a game in hand.
What about Ħamrun? The fallen giants, third from bottom, must reinforce their squad and step up their game to avoid becoming embroiled in a grim relegation fight.
Mosta coach Steve D’Amato reshuffled his team from the 2-0 loss to Sliema, making no fewer than five changes.
Luke Dimech and Bryan Agius, both back from suspension, replaced injured duo Steve Bezzina and Jonathan Bajada while Ferdinando Apap was preferred to Steve Chiemeka as the latter made way for Ousseni Zongo.
With midfielder Firas Aboulezz only declared fit to make the bench, young Kurt Zammit was awarded a start while Daniel Bogdanovic, who is reportedly eyeing a move abroad in January, was among the substitutes.
Veteran Massimo Grima reverted to a central defensive role to fill the void left by Roderick Fenech who received a one-match ban along with Anton Vergilov.
Luke Grech deputised for the latter while Adrian Borg came in for the injured Angel Yoshev.
The two teams made a low-key entrance as not even a shout of encouragement was forthcoming from the paltry crowd in the stands.
The first notable contribution was made by Zongo who cut inside Borg but his cross from the left was intercepted by Andrea Cassar, the Ħamrun goalkeeper.
On 16 minutes, Zammit advanced through the middle before serving Mitev whose piledriver was deflected away for a corner.
Mosta continued to produce the better stuff while the Spartans hardly ventured out of their own half for much of the opening half-hour.
Cassar preserved the stalemate when pushing away Mitev’s cross-shot from a corner. From the ensuing flag-kick, Apap headed the ball into the net but his effort was ruled out for a foul inside the Ħamrun box.
For all their possession, Mosta were devoid of the flair and cutting edge to make an impact up front.
At the start of the second half, D’Amato introduced Bogdanovic for Alex Cini and instructed Micallef to revert to right-back, a sensible decision as the former Floriana winger was ineffective in an attacking role.
Five minutes into the second half, Mosta opened the scoring, Obiefule heading home from Zongo’s corner.
The Blues established a stranglehold on the proceedings. Bogdanovic’s grounder was blocked by Cassar after the Mosta winger had been served by Micallef.
In a rare foray into Mosta’s half, Ħamrun’s Grech guided the ball towards Spiteri who let fly a powerful shot that brought a fine save from Justin Haber, the Mosta goalkeeper.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Mosta threatened again when Obiefule’s run outfoxed the back-pedalling Ħamrun defence but out came Cassar to repel the Nigerian’s effort.
Just past the hour, Mosta widened their margin when Obiefule tapped the ball home from Micallef’s cross.
The Spartans looked shell-shocked but they nearly gained a lifeline when Vella’s shot had the better of Haber but Agius was on the right spot to hook the ball off the line.
With 20 minutes remaining, Mosta applied the killer blow when Bogdanovic guided the ball home from Mitev’s cross.
Spiteri ought to have reduced the deficit for Ħamrun as the young forward came one-on-one with Haber only to drive wide.
Three goals to the good, Mosta continued to toy with the dispirited Spartans. Cassar rushed out of goal to block Zongo’s effort, after the latter had been sent through by Bogdanovic.
An isolated breakaway by the Spartans saw Adrian Ivanov run through on the left before picking out Vella whose first-time effort was pawed away by Noel Attard, who had just come on for Haber.
Ħamrun did find the net when Ivanov’s flick ricocheted off substitute Glenn Debattista but the latter was offside.
Hamrun Spartans: An. Cassar-6, A. Ivanov-5.5, L. Vitanov-5, D. Zerafa-5 (78 G. Debattista), M. Grima-4, G. Calabretta-4, R. Spiteri-4, T. Vella-5, D. Camilleri-5, A. Borg-4 (75 G. Azzopardi), L. Grech-6.5, C. Failla-6.
Mosta: J. Haber-6.5 (83 N. Attard), A. Cini-4 (46 D. Bogdanovic-6.5), B. Agius-6.5, F. Apap-6, L. Dimech-6, C. Campagnoli-6.5, K. Zammit-6.5 (73 F. Aboulezz), D. Mitev-7, O. Zongo-6.5, O. Obiefule-7, M. Micallef-6
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow Card: Apap.
Bov Player Of The Match: Obinna Obiefule (Mosta).