Balzan Youths 1
Xghajra Tornadoes 1

It looks as though the virus which hit Msida in midweek, when they were held to a draw by lowly Gozo, has also hit the two other promotion contenders Senglea and Balzan who yesterday failed to win against a modest opposition.

For Balzan, things are starting to look bleak as they failed to win any of their last four outings. Yesterday, they only managed to escape defeat thanks to a late equaliser.

Xghajra had goalkeeper Michael Carter in fine form. They are now second from bottom while Balzan stay third - two points adrift of leaders Senglea and one behind Msida.

Balzan dominated the first half but for all their possession they rarely created any goalmouth action. They surged forward repeatedly but Xghajra defended solidly as Balzan had to wait until the half-hour to break through their opponents' rearguard only for Jankovic to shoot weakly in Carter's safe hands.

Three minutes before the break, a Mark Marlow volley nearly deceived Carter but the ball finished wide of goal.

The same pattern was maintained in the second half. Leonid McKay saw Carter punching away his drive and four minutes later Sadowski tried his luck but again Carter did well to block.

On 59 minutes, Xghajra took the lead against the run of play when they were awarded a penalty after Kevin Naudi was floored in the Balzan box. Naudi made no mistake from the spot.

Balzan threw everything forward. On 69 minutes, they almost equalised when Xghajra's Kevin Chircop headed towards his own goal in a bid to clear a Zahra lob but Patrick Muscat averted the danger.

Carter then misjudged a cross but Chircop hooked the ball away from the goal line.

The Tornadoes should have sealed the issue soon after when Chris Camilleri came face-to-face with goalie Paolo Bugeja but the latter was well-positioned to avoid a second goal.

Balzan levelled matters two minutes from time, McKay scoring from an angle to make it 1-1. Jankovic could have netted a last-gasp winner but his curling effort finished inches wide.

Balzan: P. Bugeja, S. Sadowski, I. Bilocca (M. Galea), C. Micallef, S. Tellus, K. Farrugia, J. Agius (M. Marlow), M. Caruana, L. McKay, N. Jankovic, S. Zahra.

Xghajra: M. Carter, G. Mock, E. Zammit, E. Bobolayefa, J. Zammit (K. Chircop), P. Muscat, L. Grima, M. Catania, K. Naudi (N. Attard), B. Gilford (C. Camilleri), A. Buhagiar.

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Senglea Athletics 0
Mqabba 0

This was a useful point for Mqabba who are battling against the drop but not the same could be said of Senglea who are eyeing a return to top-flight football after a long absence.

Darren Micallef was Mqabba's inspiration yesterday. His dashing runs down the left were a joy to watch. This player has a wide vision of play which confirms his potential as a classy wing-back.

Both teams were after the points for different reasons.

Senglea were in search of another success, after beating Msida in their previous match, that would have put them firmly on top. Mqabba, on their part, needed a win to move to safer waters.

Senglea knew that in Mqabba they would face dangerous opponents knowing that they were also held to a 1-1 in the corresponding first-round fixture.

Senglea controlled proceedings early on with Mqabba goalkeeper Reuben Cini called to action on several occasions. The Cottonera side had a perfect opportunity to take the lead after only seven minutes when they were awarded a penalty after Kevin Tonna was upended in the area by Micallef.

The referee immediately pointed to the spot but Gera saw his shot hitting the upright with Dingli messing up the rebound.

Senglea were not demoralised but had to wait until the 38th minute to come close to scoring again. Simon Aquilina was first on a Darren Grech corner but the ball just missed the post.

Mqabba's only chance in the opening 45 minutes arrived on the stroke of half-time, when Micallef saw his firm grounder saved by Tyron Ghirxi in the Senglea goal.

At the other end, Attard's cross was met by Stephen Said but the header went wide.

On the resumption, Senglea tried their luck from set-pieces.

On the hour Lawrence Attard (I) headed a Grech corner goal-wards but Cini responded with a fine save. Nine minutes later, Aquilina headed wide another Grech flag-kick.

Mqabba's reply arrived on 71 minutes with a Micallef shot that was saved by Ghirxi. A minute later Senglea's Attard (I) headed off target from a Said corner.

Mqabba could have claimed all three points a minute from time but goalkeeper Ghirxi was alert to stop a menacing Scicluna free-kick.

Senglea: T. Ghirxi, F. Dingli, L. Attard (I), S. Aquilina, D. Grech, S. Said, A. Gera, K. Mifsud, K. Tonna (D. Aquilina), L. Attard (II) (J. Fsadni), E. Attard.

Mqabba: R. Cini, R. Farrugia, D. Micallef, C. Gatt (L. Grech), M. Gauci, M. Cocks, J. Scicluna, S. Callus (E. Borg), I. Chibueze, J.P. Muscat (E. Spiteri), K. Mallia.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.