Dingli Swallows 1
Okonkwo 69 pen
Qormi 4
Grima 28; Camilo 50, 89; Effiong 76
Qormi turned up the pressure on faltering Valletta as they swept Dingli Swallows aside with another goal spree last night.
With Valletta dropping two precious points on Tuesday, the pressure was on Qormi to put on something of a show at the Victor Tedesco Stadium and they responded. They did it against a distinctly second-best Dingli, making the 1,000 or so Yellows fans feel that it had all been worthwhile.
Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo inevitably provided the inspiration as Qormi sent out a clear intent of their credentials as title contenders after extending their lead at the top to five points.
Valletta may still have a game in hand but the Lilywhites' recent dip in form - ironically after their comfortable victory over the same Qormi - helped the Yellows to start believing they can overhaul their rivals over the course of the next six months.
Dingli coach Jesmond Zammit had to do without midfielder Rocha da Silva, injured, and the suspended Roderick Spiteri as Joseph Okonkwo was dropped to the substitutes' bench.
'Never change a winning side' seems to be Jesmond Zerafa's credo as he decided to field the same starting formation which earned Qormi the win against Ħamrun Spartans last weekend, leaving Joseph Chetcuti out of his starting XI.
Ryan Deguara's selection ahead of Chetcuti certainly had an immediate impact, the midfielder penetrated the Dingli backline with precise passing only to see Alfred Effiong's drive hitting the foot of the post in the early stages of the match.
Effiong then fired a shot across goal just wide of the far post after combining well with Joseph Farrugia.
Dingli almost made the leaders pay for their missed chances but Jeremy Agius headed high with a gaping net wide in front of him.
But it was no great surprise when Qormi broke the deadlock through Massimo Grima. The former Valletta player slotted in Farrugia's centre after Dingli failed to clear a corner on 28 minutes.
Qormi's superiority was overwhelming but Grima's goal lulled the team into a quiet spell until Camilo got them on the goal trail five minutes after the interval.
While Camilo deserved much of the credit for the goal, Deguara was the key contributor. He found space on the right flank before delivering a deep cross for the Brazilian striker to fire a rising shot into the top corner of the net.
Qormi continued to dominate and Camilo's powerful volley was repelled by Renato Conceicao on the hour mark.
Matthew Farrugia was not nearly as busy as Jeffrey Farrugia and Zammit's decision to leave Okonkwo on the bench was not exactly enhancing Dingli's scoring chances.
However, on 69 minutes, Qormi dropped an unexpected lifeline to Dingli when Haruna Doda was brought down in the box by Stephen Wellman. The Dingli coach had introduced Okonkwo in time to convert the penalty.
The fightback was short-lived though as Effiong restored Qormi's two-goal cushion on 76 minutes after a sweeping counter-attack.
In a typical Qormi move, Camilo released Effiong to put the ball behind Farrugia after he had space and plenty of time to pick his spot.
Then, one minute from time, Camilo scored his second and Qormi's fourth when he slid a precise low finish beyond Farrugia.
Qormi then played out time to conserve energy for battles ahead - safe in the knowledge that they had sent out a warning signal to Valletta.
Dingli Swallows
J. Farrugia-5, C. Caruana-5, R. Conceicao-6, H. Doda-5.5, S. Tellus-6, K. Formosa-5, V. Fiteni-5, C. Muscat-5 ('60 E. Farrugia-5), J. Agius-5 ('68 J. Okonkwo-5), K. Borg-6 ('85 D. Zarb), M. Borg-5.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, R. Dos Santos-6, R. Sammut-6, J. Bondin-6.5, S. Wellman-5.5, J. Farrugia-6, K. Fenech-6.5 ('90 Y. Stanger), M. Grima-7, R. Deguara-7 ('86 R. Spiteri), A. Effiong-7.5, Camilo-7 ('90 G. Buttigieg).
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Fenech, Wellman.
BoV player of the match: Alfred Effiong (Qormi).