Marsaxlokk 1
Alcorse 90
Qormi 1
Da Silva 49
New kids on the block, Qormi, were a couple of minutes away from registering a shock win against former Malta champions Marsaxlokk as Josivan Da Silva's strike on 49 minutes seemed to have been enough to lift them to their first win at the first time of asking.
With five minutes of added time given, Marsaxlokk piled up the pressure and miraculously salvaged a point thanks to a Julio Alcorse goal from close range.
Despite the gulf that exists between the two clubs, Qormi were never outplayed and although they were forced to soak up the pressure for most of the second half, their gallant defence held its own before Alcorse drew his side level.
Qormi have invested heavily in new talent this summer with the aim of avoiding the drop and possibly squeezing into the top six and with a sizeable crowd turning up to see the boys in yellow playing in the top flight for the first time this season, the outcome looked positive for them.
The point registered yesterday will help to fuel aspirations that Jesmond Zerafa's team will be no pushovers and is here to stay with the top guns.
Sporting a sturdy 4-1-3-2 formation, Qormi had seasoned Massimo Grima positioned in front of the defence. With Alfred Effiong and Da Silva spearheading the attack, Zerafa's tactics frustrated Marsaxlokk as man of the match Grima delivered a handful of inch-perfect passes that often had the Southerners sweating to clear the danger.
Brian Talbot, Marsaxlokk's coach, must have been confident that his lads would pick maximum spoils from their first outing. With Alcorse and Christian Cassar leading their forward line, it seemed simply a matter of time before one of the two would draw first blood.
But, in reality, Cassar and Alcorse were blotted out in the first half and the only menace came from the bold runs of Stephen Wellman who was the only player to seriously test Matthew Farrugia in the Qormi goal before the change of ends.
On six minutes, Marsaxlokk tested their opponents' nerves when Cassar delivered a corner in the centre of the penalty area and skipper Mamo hit his header over the bar.
Inside the first quarter, Said was the first and only player to go in the referee's book for handling the ball after a clever flick from Fenech. Da Silva took the free-kick but his shot sailed high.
A minute later, the Qormi supporters were on their feet as Grima's throughball fell into Effiong's path but the Nigerian blasted wide.
Close to the half hour, Grima masterminded another excellent pass with the ball drifting perfectly to Effiong. This time, goalkeeper Darmanin dived at his feet to clutch the ball and deny Qormi.
On 31 minutes, Wellman struck a vicious shot from the edge of the penalty area with Farrugia somehow stopping the menacing attempt.
Four minutes after the interval, Qormi broke the deadlock.
Da Silva latched on to a long cross from Farrugia. The Brazilian calmly beat the offside trap before surging into the box, rounding off Darmanin and planting the ball into the net.
Shocked by this unexpected turn of events, Talbot opted for a double substitution on 55 minutes as Mark Barbara and Claude Mattocks were introduced on the pitch in lieu of Camenzuli and Cassar.
The substitutions meant that Wellman was instructed to patrol central defence while Barbara partnered Alcorse up front.
The changes nearly yielded instant reward as Qormi almost cracked under pressure. Sammut's lob towards a practically open goal was blocked by Do Santos. With the clearance falling at Licari's feet, the defender swung a cross inside the penalty area for Alcorse who headed wide off the post.
On 70 minutes, Da Silva was brought down just outside the penalty area by Wellman. Skipper Farrugia curled a free-kick over the defensive wall but the shot was a fraction too high to bother Darmanin.
On the other end, Marsaxlokk started to pile up more pressure and Qormi had to resort to some hasty clearances to offload the constant harassment that nearly had substitute Barbara drawing level on 73 minutes. His grounder filtered past a maze of players but whizzed past the wrong side of the post.
Marsaxlokk managed to salvage a point deep into stoppage time. Mattocks found space on the right flank and delivered a cross in the centre of the box where Alcorse was quick to hit home an unstoppable shot.
Marsaxlokk
S. Darmanin-6.5, M. Licari-6.5, C. Mamo-6.5, W. Camenzuli-6 ('55 M. Barbara-6.5), B. Said-6, P. Pullicino-6, G. Sciberras-6, K. Sammut-6, S. Wellman-7, J. Alcorse-5.5, C. Cassar-5.5 ('55 C. Mattocks-6).
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6.5, R. Forace-6.5, R. Do Santos-7, M. Grima-7.5, A. Debono-6, A. Effiong-6.5 ('87 J. Saliba), J. Farrugia-6.5 ('81 M. Borg), S. Tellus-6 ('76 P. Camilleri), R. Sammut-6.5, K. Fenech-6, J. Da Silva-6.5.
Referee: Joe Attard.
Yellow card: Said.
BOV player of the match: Massimo Grima (Qormi).
Playing today:
6 p.m. Tarxien vs Birkirkara
8 p.m. Sliema vs Valletta