Dingli Swallows 0
Sliema Wanderers 2
Dronca 15 pen.; Bartolo 62
Sliema Wanderers maintained their ascendancy towards the top positions of the Premier League standings with a hard-fought win over Dingli Swallows in a drab encounter.
Although the scoreline may suggest that the Wanderers had a rather comfortable afternoon, this was not the case as the Blues failed to impress and had to dig deep into their reserves of fighting spirit before claiming their second successive win.
Lucian Dronca's early breakthrough seemed to have put Sliema in command but they failed to maintain their early superiority. Thereafter, the Blues went through several uneasy moments before finally killing off Dingli's hopes with a controversial second goal, scored by Matthew Bartolo.
Dingli certainly felt that the result was harsh on them as they put up a strong fight. Inspired by the powerful running of Andre Rocha Da Silva in midfield and Joseph Okonkwo up front, Jesmond Zammit's men had several chances to get back in contention but their finishing was poor.
Sliema coach Stephen Azzopardi confirmed the starting XI that crushed Ħamrun Spartans 5-0 in their last outing. Alex Muscat and John Mintoff were still ruled out with injuries.
Dingli, on their part, were boosted by the return to fitness of Rocha Da Silva who recovered from a hamstring injury.
Sliema were off to a flying start, taking the lead inside the opening 15 minutes. Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza tried to dribble past Shaun Tellus but was upended by the Dingli defender, prompting referee Saviour Tanti to immediately point to the spot.
Dronca stepped up for the penalty kick and sent goalkeeper Jeffrey Farrugia the wrong way to put the Wanderers ahead.
Dingli's response was immediate. A minute later, Da Silva tried his luck from a central free-kick but his fierce drive was blocked in two attempts by Simon Agius, the Sliema goalkeeper.
Midway through the first half Ian Azzopardi's sloppy backpass was intercepted by Okonkwo but the Nigerian's shot was blocked by the advancing Agius.
Scoring chances remained few and far between as the Wanderers were finding it tough to establish a grip on the proceedings.
Three minutes before the break, the Blues were forced to make their first change as Mifsud Triganza limped out injured. His place was taken by Ivan Woods.
After the interval, the Wanderers seemed more determined to up the tempo and increase their efforts in search of a second goal.
Two minutes into the second half, Ryan Fenech stormed into the box but his low shot was pushed away for a corner by Farrugia. From the ensuing flag-kick, Sliema defender Josef Mifsud was first to Fenech's cross but his dipping header drifted wide.
Just past the hour, Sliema doubled their lead in somewhat controversial circumstances.
Bartolo's cross-shot from the right appeared to have been blocked by Farrugia on the goal-line but assistant referee Malcolm Mercieca signalled that the ball had crossed the fatal line. The referee heeded his assistant's call and awarded a goal to Sliema despite strong protests from the Dingli players.
After this setback, Dingli tried to regroup. On 69 minutes, they could have reduced the deficit but Da Silva's swerving shot finished over.
Seventeen minutes from time, defender Ian Ciantar came to Sliema's rescue when clearing off the line Okonkwo's drive that had the better of the diving Agius.
With 12 minutes left, Woods threatened to pile more misery on Dingli when he collected a poor clearance from the Swallows defenders but his low shot was stopped by Farrugia.
Dingli
J. Farrugia-5.5, R. Conceicao-6, S. Tellus-5, R. Spiteri-6 ('68 M. Borg-6), H. Doda-5.5 ('79 K. Farrugia), K. Formosa-6.5, V. Fiteni-6.5, C. Muscat-6, D. Cachia-6.5, A. Rocha Da Silva-7 ('77 D. Zarb), J. Okonkwo-7.
Sliema
S. Agius-6, I. Azzopardi-5.5, J. Mifsud-6.5, R. Fenech-7, M. Scerri-6.5 ('74 N. Turner), J.P. Mifsud Triganza-6 ('42 I. Woods-6), M. Bartolo-6 ('84 M. Ciantar), C. Gatt Baldacchino-5.5, L. Dronca-6, I. Ciantar-6.5, C. Failla-6.
Referee: Saviour Tanti.
Yellow cards: Failla; Da Silva; Spiteri.
BoV player of the match: Josef Mifsud (Sliema Wanderers).