Qormi 2
Cantoro 58; Effiong 83;
Tarxien Rainbows 4
Barbosa 27, 42 ; Demba 55,63;
Tarxien Rainbows brought their league season to a positive ending after they breezed past Qormi.
The Rainbows were definitely the better outfit with William Barbosa, Demba Toure and Jorge looking sharper than the rest.
Eight minutes into the encounter, Miguel Ciantar’s fine solo run had Qormi’s rearguard stretched to its limits as he left two defenders in his wake before hitting a shot over the bar.
Jorge’s low free-kick was then stopped by Matthew Farrugia’s outstretched hands.
In the 27th minute, the Rainbows stormed into the lead. Barbosa veered infield before executing a swerving shot which left the Qormi netminder stranded.
Nine minutes later, Qormi were caught out again on the break but Toure failed to keep his effort down.
Three minutes from the break, Leighton Grech’s poor backpass found its way to the right flank where Barbosa cut inside and fired a precise finish past Farrugia.
On 48 minutes, Qormi’s Alfred Effiong embarked on a surging run that took him inside the area before Luca Martinelli’s suspicious challenge on the Qormi striker was sanctioned by a penalty. The Nigerian striker picked himself up to assume responsibility from the spot but his shot crashed against the foot of the post.
In the 55th minute, Manuel Caruana fed Toure who powered his way through the defence before burying the ball into the net.
It took Qormi less than three minutes to claw their way back into the encounter as Effiong tracked a pass towards the far left for Lucas Cantoro to plant a low shot into the net.
But past the hour mark, Toure profited from a short clearance to make it 4-1.
On 83 minutes, Effiong pulled one back for his team when Jonathan Bondin served the Nigerian who sped into the box to dink past Nicky Vella, the Tarxien custodian.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-4 (66 S. Sultana), J. Bondin-6, R. Sammut-5.5, O. Bugeja-6, D. Pisani-5.5, R. Bajada-6, T. Caruana-6 (62 K. Sciortino-5), P. Dandolo-6, L. Grech-6 (61 M. Bance-5), L. Cantoro-6, A. Effiong-5.
Tarxien Rainbows
N. Vella-6, C. Mamo-6 (46 L. Zahra-5), M. Caruana-6, F. Lopez-6.5, L. Martinelli-5, D. Toure-7, M. Ciantar-5, W. Barbosa-7.5, R. Sammut-6, C. Hevia-5 (46 A. Agius-5), Jorge-6 (52 N. Vella I-5).
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow card: Ciantar.
Missed penalty: Effiong (Q) 49
BOV player of the match: William Barbosa (Tarxien Rainbows).