Qormi 3
Jorge 6; Farrugia 32 pen.; Bondin 77;
Marsaxlokk 1
Deanov 90;
Qormi made amends for their 1-0 upset to Mqabba as they turned in a much-improved performance to see off Marsaxlokk in a clash between two Championship Pool hopefuls.
Sound tactical organisation and incisive counter-attacks were the hallmarks of Qormi’s deserved win yesterday as the speed and astute movement of man-of-the-match Jorge Pereira Da Silva and Abubakar Bello-Osagie brutally exposed Marsaxlokk’s defensive weaknesses.
More was expected from Marsaxlokk after their 4-2 win over Tarxien but the southerners reverted to type yesterday, their shambolic start leaving them with a mountain to climb as Qormi moved two goals up inside the opening 32 minutes.
Italian defender Federico Mirarchi made his bow for Qormi as coach Stephen Azzopardi made two changes from the team that lost to Mqabba. Stephen Wellman and Luke Sciberras made way for Jonathan Bondin and Mirarchi.
Azzopardi deployed Jeffrey Chetcuti in front of defence in a 4-1-2-3 formation with Jorge, Daniel Nwoke and Bello-Osagie leading the attacking charge.
Marsaxlokk coach Winston Muscat handed a starting role to Sunday Eboh as Patrick Borg had to settle for a place on the bench. Muscat retained a 4-4-1-1 tactical approach with Martin Deanov operating behind Obinna Obiefule.
Trevor Templeman was again conspicuous by his absence as the midfielder has a dispute with the club over financial matters.
Qormi threatened to open the scoring straight from kick-off. Jorge’s run went unchecked by the Marsaxlokk defenders as the Brazilian surged into the box before squaring to the unmarked Nwoke who fired wide.
Joseph Farrugia’s free-kick was fractionally off target as Qormi tore out of the blocks. Their initial pressure was rewarded on six minutes as Jorge rose high to head Matthew Bartolo’s cross past Reuben Gauci.
Two minutes later, Qormi almost doubled their lead but another swerving free-kick by Farrugia whistled past the far post with Gauci rooted to his spot.
One-nil down after only six minutes, Marsaxlokk struggled to get going. A sweeping Qormi counter-attack ended with Bello-Osagie pulling the ball back for Bartolo who skewed his effort high.
Matthew Farrugia, the Qormi goalkeeper, was forced into his first meaningful save midway into the first half as he tipped Obiefule’s piledriver over the bar.
A minute past the half-hour, Qormi again demonstrated their ability to counter-attack with speed and purpose as Bello-Osagie tricked his way past Carlo Mamo before delivering a perfect pass to Jorge who moved clear of Malcolm Licari only for the latter to bring down the Brazilian.
Referee Esther Azzopardi pointed to the spot and Farrugia converted the penalty with an emphatic finish.
Five minutes from the end of the first half, Muscat effected his first substitution, Borg coming on for Licari who left the field clutching his thigh.
Marsaxlokk saw more of the ball in the early stages of the second half but it was Qormi who came close to increasing their lead. Bello-Osagie’s strong run took him to the edge of the penalty area but his well-hit strike was beaten away by Gauci.
Nwoke, anonymous so far, headed wide from Bartolo’s corner. The Nigerian missed an even better chance to put his name on the scoresheet, miscuing his shot after being put through by Bello-Osagie.
Marsaxlokk almost made Qormi pay as Obiefule’s diagonal run spread panic among the black-shirted defenders. Farrugia rushed out of goal to close down the Nigerian but the half-clearance rolled to Emiliano Lattes who chipped towards goal but Roderick Sammut headed the ball off the line.
Any hopes Marsaxlokk might have had of forcing a comeback fizzled out 14 minutes from time when Bondin despatched a low drive past Gauci from inside the box after the Marsaxlokk ’keeper had partially blocked Joseph Chetcuti’s effort.
Gary Caruana, who replaced Dylan Kokavessis, boosted Marsaxlokk’s attacking threat. The young forward’s cross-cum-shot almost led to an own goal by Jeffrey Chetcuti but Farrugia spared his team-mate’s blushes.
Raimy then fired over from Deanov’s pass but Marsaxlokk suffered another setback on the stroke of time when Clive Brincat’s late charge on goalkeeper Farrugia in a corner action earned him a second booking.
In stoppage time, Deanov scored a consolation goal for Marsaxlokk with an audacious lob from an angled position.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-7, Jef. Chetcuti-6.5, R. Sammut-8, M. Bartolo-6.5, J. Farrugia-7 (80 D. Cachia), D. Nwoke-4 (70 Jos. Chetcuti-5), F. Mirarchi-6, K. Scicluna-7, J. Bondin-6.5, Jorge-8, A. Bello-Osagie-7 (85 C. Sammut).
Marsaxlokk
R. Gauci-5, C. Mamo-4, M. Licari-5 (40 P. Borg-4), C. Brincat, S. Eboh-6, C. Campagnoli-4, F. Raimy-4, E. Lattes-4 (80 M. Valeriani), D. Kokavessis-4 (77 G. Caruana), O. Obiefule-6.5, M. Deanov-6.5.
Referee: Esther Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Licari; Brincat; Scicluna; Mamo; Jef. Chetcuti.
Red card: Brincat (M) 90.
BOV player of the match: Jorge (Qormi).