Ħamrun Spartans 1
Shields 70;
Qormi 0

Scottish striker Dene Shields helped Ħamrun to beat rivals Qormi in a Relegation Pool clash yesterday.

In a flowing match that saw both teams miss a string of scoring chances, the Spartans pounced on a defensive error by Qormi’s rearguard to gain full points and further improve their chances of avoiding the drop.

Qormi looked the more cohesive of the two sides early on as Joseph Farrugia struck a good understanding with Jorginho to make early inroads into the Spartans defence.

Qormi’s opening flurry should have produced a goal after 17 minutes but Farrugia’s penalty was saved by Ħamrun goalkeeper Omar Borg.

After Shields’s goal, Qormi simply did not have the strength for a fightback.

Both teams went into the match on a high after winning their previous games. The Spartans handed out a memorable thrashing to Marsaxlokk as Qormi beat Tarxien to recover from the shock defeat against the southseasiders.

Stressing the importance for either team to continue their good form, the Spartans coach Stefan Sultana confirmed the same line-up that began the 6-1 victory over Marsaxlokk whereas his counterpart, Stephen Azzopardi made only one change as Matthew Bartolo came in for Ranier Buhagiar.

The Spartans’ current form – two victories and two draws from their last five matches – has captured the imagination of the Ħamrun supporters who filled their side at the Hibs Stadium, equipped with a brass band and waving red-and-black flags and balloons.

Encouraged by the backing of their fans, Ħamrun tried to force a breakthrough as early as the second minute when Anderson Ribeiro’s low shot was cleared off the line by Vincent Kouadio.

On the other side, Qormi were finding plenty success playing through the middle of the pitch. In fact, after eight minutes, Farrugia sliced open the defence with a lovely passing move that ended with Jorginho hitting narrowly wide.

Three minutes later, Tristan Caruana created space for a shot on the edge of the box but sliced his effort just over the bar.

On 17 minutes, Qormi won a penalty after Ħamrun defender Ronnie Hartvig felled Bartolo inside the box. But, Qormi were denied by Borg who blocked Farrugia’s shot with his legs.

Qormi’s failure to break the deadlock left them vulnerable to a Spartans raid as Gaetan Spiteri was foiled by Matthew Farrugia and Massimo Grima’s header was cleared away.

On the half-hour mark, Azzopardi’s men had the Spartans defence on the backfoot again. The modus operandi was always the same but this time it was Jorginho who sent a precise ball to Farrugia who burst clear only to shoot just wide with only Borg to beat.

Three minutes from the half-time whistle, Jorginho outpaced Spiteri on the right and pulled the ball inside the penalty area but his chip was off target.

Both teams were unable to maintain the tempo in the second half but they still created a number of moves which had both sets of supporters on tenterhooks.

In the 52nd minute, Grima’s piledriver finished over the Qormi bar. The ball was moved quickly up front to Abubakar Bello Osagie who crossed for Joseph Chetcuti but the latter’s volley sailed wide of the Reds’ goal.

A few minutes later, Farrugia’s free-kick caused havoc in the Spartans defence to the point that Grima almost committed an own goal as he flicked it backwards.

After 68 minutes, Sultana made his first substitution, bringing on Matthew Gauci for Spiteri.

This change seemed to do the trick immediately as Gauci, overlapping on the left, found Shields with virtually his first touch as the Scotsman found the target when left unmarked in a defensive black-out by Qormi.

After that goal, Qormi failed to make a reaction before producing a chance in the dying stages.

Bello-Osagie found Jorginho who exchanged passes with Caruana before the on-loan Hibs player’s excellent volley struck the bar with Borg beaten. The Spartans withstood the aerial siege from the rebound to gain a vital win.

Ħamrun Spartans
O. Borg-7, M. Grima-7, A. Ribeiro-6, L.J. Agius-6 (76 D. Zerafa), K. Sammut-6, R. Hartvig-5.5, G. Spiteri-6 (68 M. Gauci-5), D. Camilleri-5.5, S. Bonnici-6, G. Calabretta-6, D. Shields-7.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, R. Sammut-6, J. Farrugia-7, M. Bartolo-6.5, J. Chetcuti-5, J. Bondin-6, Jorginho-7.5, T. Caruana-7, V. Kouadio-6.5, K. Thackray-7, A. Bello-Osagie-6.5.

Referee: Paul Caruana.

Yellow cards: Kouadio; Hartvig; Sammut; Bello-Osagie; Camilleri; Calabretta; Bonnici; Chetcuti.

Missed penalty: Farrugia (Q) 17.

BOV player of the match: Dene Shields (Ħamrun).

Attendance: 1,111.

Standings