BALZAN 4

LIJA ATHLETIC 3

Balzan had to come from behind twice to beat Lija Athletic 4-3 in a thrilling derby.

The Reds took 11 minutes to take the lead.

Cadu’s inch-perfect pass ran nicely into the path of a galloping Ryan Fenech in full stride. The Malta midfielder bore down on the Lija goal before slotting the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper Luke Bonnici.

Lija struggled to get hold of the ball early on and their midfielders were rarely involved. Yet, after 18 minutes, they equalised with one of their first attacks.

Albanian striker Erjon Beu dashed into Balzan’s box and fell under a challenge from Clive Brincat. He immediately picked himself up to take the spot-kick and coolly the ball over the diving Ivan Janjusevic.

The goal seemed to buoy Lija and they made a better battle of the rest of the half.

Balzan were rocked again after 25 minutes when Lee Joe Schembri scored a second to the astonishment of those watching. Balzan defenders Michael Johnson and Brincat left it to each other to close down on Schembri, who angled a brilliant strike past Janjusevic.

With the game slipping away from Balzan, Marko Micovic made a substitution at half-time, bringing on Kaljevic for Brincat.

Balzan took six second half minutes to draw level.

Lija defender Ousmane Sidibe knocked Paul Fenech to the ground. Luxembourg referee Laurent Kopriwa was perfectly positioned to see the foul and pointed to the spot. Kaljevic, with little back-lift, slotted past Bonnici.

But Balzan were only level for a few minutes as Schembri instigated the move on the left flank which Abubakar Bello-Osagie finished off with a powerfully-struck shot.

Balzan were throwing everything forward and were rewarded when Ryan Fenech crossed for Kaljevic to beat again Bonnici.

Then incredibly, Alves nodded the ball across the face of goal and Effiong headed in from close range.