Naxxar Lions 1
Dingli Swallows 1

Naxxar Lions and Dingli Swallows shared the spoils in a balanced match with the goals coming in the space of seven second-half minutes.

The match was devoid of action with scoring chances few and far between.

Dingli were close to an opener on 16 minutes when Leontiv Konda’s shot was somehow kept out by Naxxar keeper Justin Spiteri. Minutes later it was Warren Chircop who was well-positioned but his drive finished just wide.

Naxxar’s response arrived on 35 minutes when from a Lydon Micallef cross, Darren Falzon nodded the ball into the path of the unmarked John Debono who took too much time to conclude and was blocked by Francis Owusu.

On 41 minutes, Hallison De Lima Siquiera’s shot flew just over and on the stroke of half-time Debono’s shot finished just wide.

On the restart,Chircop came close for Dingli but his firm drive missed the target. The Swallows striker made no mistake on the hour when he beat the onrushing Spiteri with a perfect lob.

Naxxar reacted immediately and drew level seven minutes later when Darren Falzon found Glenn Magri who found no difficulty in slotting the ball home.

After this goal, both teams seemed happy with a point even though Falzon almost snatched a late winner for the Lions when his fierce drive was parried away by goalkeeper Jeffrey Farrugia.

Naxxar L.: J. Spiteri, A. Attard, V. Bellia, M. Maccari, A. Fenech, D. Falzon, A. Farrugia, H. de Lima Siqueira, R. Schembri (K. Fenech), L. Micallef, J. Debono (G. Magri).

Dingli S.: J. Farrugia, F. Owusu, A. Portelli, L. Konda, W. Chircop (C. Mizzi), K. Formosa (M. Pace), R. Ceka, E. Farrugia, R. Vella (S. Meilak), R. Briffa, C. Azzopardi.

Referee: Malcolm Spiteri.

Man of the match: Darren Falzon (Naxxar Lions).