Dingli Swallows 1
Bonnici 80 og
Ħamrun Spartans 3
Micallef 2, 42, Cucciardi 27
Ħamrun Spartans hoisted themselves out of the bottom three after earning a convincing victory over Dingli Swallows which lifted them level on points with Sliema Wanderers in sixth place in the standings.
This was another excellent result for Ħamrun, another bad one for Dingli, which has been the way of it of late, as the Swallows have only one win to show from 11 matches.
The teams came into the match on the back of contrasting results. Ħamrun came from two goals down to earn a deserved draw against champions Hibernians while Dingli were beaten by Tarxien Rainbows.
A vibrant start from Ħamrun Spartans threw Dingli into early disarray. The fingers of Ivan Cassar, deputising for Jeffrey Farrugia in the Swallows goal, were still smarting from an early Marcelo Pereira effort when Rupert Mangion aimed a well-flighted corner, Ħamrun's first of the game, into the box. Shrugging off the attentions of Shaun Tellus and Renato Conceicao, Manolito Micallef nodded a firm header beyond Cassar to claim his first Premier League goal this season after just two minutes.
The Spartans were particularly threatening on the flanks with the pace and direct running of Pereira to the fore on the left, the combined efforts of the ever-willing Mangion and Micallef who was a constant danger on the right.
With Andre Rocha Da Silva pulling the strings in midfield, Dingli sought a swift response and might have been rewarded when after six minutes, Ivan Casha caused momentary mayhem in the Ħamrun area. Dingli striker Joseph Okonkwo chased down a pass back, the goalkeeper's attempted clearance hit the Nigerian on his back, only to see the ball going agonisingly wide.
Yet just as Dingli were trying to get a foothold in the game, Ħamrun doubled their lead. The clock marked 27 minutes when from another corner, Clyde Camoin clipped a precise ball towards Diego Armando Cucciardi who outjumped Victor Fiteni to direct the ball behind the poorly-positioned Cassar.
After 42 minutes, Mark Anthony Bonnici's precise cross-field pass found Micallef, who cut inside from the left, went round Cassar before hitting a composed shot that made any goal-line clearance impossible.
Ħamrun continued to press forward after the break but were met with a more resolute Dingli. On 47 minutes, Casha charged off his line to punch away Da Silva's free-kick.
Following a lull in play, Micallef should have completed his hat-trick, but missed from inside the box after exchanging the ball with Joao Batista Mawete on 75 minutes.
The Spartans took their foot off the pedal as the clock ran down, and Dingli took full advantage to reduce the deficit. On 80 minutes, Etienne Farrugia's cross should have been cleared by Bonnici instead he sliced the ball into his own net.
Deep in stoppage time, Mead Mifsud, who had just replaced Bonnici, unleashed a powerful drive that was pushed away by Cassar as the Spartans had enough grit to hold Dingli at arm's length and notch their fourth win of the season.
Dingli
I. Cassar-5, R. Briffa-5.5, R. Conceicao-6, S. Tellus-5, H. Doda-5 ('78 D. Zarb), K. Formosa-5, V. Fiteni-5 ('66 C. Azzopardi-5), K. Borg-5, M. Borg ('15 E. Farrugia-6), A. Rocha Da Silva-5.5, J. Okonkwo-5.5.
Ħamrun Spartans
I. Casha-6, M.A. Bonnici-6 ('85 M. Mifsud), R. Mangion-6, R. Fenech-6, M. Micallef-8, D.A. Cucciardi-6.5, M. Pereira-6, M. Hrubsa-6, J.B. Mawete-5, J. Holland-5.5 ('53 M. Barbara-6), C. Camoin-6.
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Yellow cards: Holland, Da Silva, Okonkwo, Fenech, Cucciardi, Conceicao.
BoV player of the match: Manolito Micallef (Ħamrun Spartans).