Xewkija Tigers beat bottom-placed Xagħra United 3-1 for their second consecutive win in the GFA Division One league to stay in touch with the front-runners in the standings. It was a hard-earned victory for the main challengers for the title.
It wasn’t that easy for Xewkija though as they had to hit back from a goal down following Cisse Dybril’s opener on 15 minutes.
The Tigers regrouped after the shock and levelled matters on the half-hour mark. Thiago Melo Dos Santos blasted in following a good move by Dene Shields.
Xagħra did not wilt under the pressure and Xewkija had to wait until the 67th minute to score again through Shields.
The Blues’ tried to save the match but their hopes were dashed on 86 minutes when Dos Santos scored the third goal with a strike from outside the box.
Nadur Youngsters also came from a goal down to beat SK Victoria Wanderers 2-1 and move on the six-point mark in the table.
The Citizens opened the score early on through a header by Milanko Raskovic. They held territorial supremacy but failed to add more goals to their tally.
Nadur lifted their game significantly and Wanderers keeper Matthew Vella was called to make a series of fine saves to deny his opponents.
However, there was little Vella could do on 53 minutes when Nadur were awarded a penalty after Mario Azzopardi handled the ball inside his own box in an attempt to clear the danger from a corner.
Claudio Antunes converted from the spot to make it one-all.
The Wanderers could have regained the lead on 69 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Ronaldo Da Silva on Raskovic. However, Predrag Djordevic saw his spot-kick stopped by the upright.
The Citizens were immediately punished for the missed chance as Nadur scored the goal that mattered soon after when Michael Zerafa hit home from a corner.
Division Two
Sannat Lions took sole leadership after a narrow 1-0 win over Żebbuġ Rovers in their last match.
The Lions produced more offensive play and grabbed a deserved winner following a 47th-minute goal by Antoine Camilleri.
St Lawrence Spurs collected their first points thanks to a 5-0 win over Munxar Falcons.
The Spurs’ goals were all scored during the first half and came through a Mohammed Senussi Telessi hat-trick and a double by Charlon Tabone.
In another match, Għarb Rangers and Qala Saints shared the spoils in a goalless draw.
Rangers had keeper Daniel Spiteri sent off for retaliation on 78 minutes.
They still had a golden opportunity to win the match but Christian Attard’s penalty was stopped by Qala goalkeeper Franco Buttigieg.