San Ġwann 0
Mosta 2

Defender Ryan Newell handed an early Christmas present to his former club when he gave away a penalty, that cost him a red card, to pave the way for Mosta to win this match and join St Patrick and St George's at the top of the standings on six points.

Newell handled the ball inside his own box to concede a penalty and from then onwards it was Mosta who dominated the match. With Bryan Agius and Ryan Deguara tormenting the Saints' rearguard, Sandro Zammit Fava's side could do little to contain their opponents.

The game had a slow start even though Anthony Ewurum could have given Mosta the lead after three minutes but fired straight at goalkeeper Justin Spiteri from a few metres out.

Nigerian Ewurum was the only one who tried to create something for Mosta up front and on 22 minutes the Blues should have gone 1-0 up when his perfect pass released Gianluca Calabretta who missed the target with a shot from close range.

The Saints replied when a Chris Cuschieri shot went wide following a Sergio Hili knock-down from just inside the area. Hili then tried his luck from an acute angle but still to no avail.

Mosta forged ahead on 32 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after Newell punched the ball following an Agius corner.

Newell was sent off and Steve Borg easily converted from the spot.

Two minutes later Mosta doubled their lead when Agius took another corner and Borg, again, headed the ball home.

Mosta continued to dictate matters in the second half and came close to a third goal when Steve Borg's free-kick missed the target by a whisker.

Despite the numerical handicap, San Ġwann tried hard to at least score a consolation goal but Mosta held tight to keep their net intact.

San Ġwann
J. Spiteri, C. Giordemaina (S. Pisani), M. Francica, L. Cumbo, M. Caruana, R. Newell, C. Cuschieri, A. Borg, F. Aboulez (R. Zammit), A. Zahra, S. Hili.

Mosta
J. Debono, B. Agius, A. Borg, J. Borg, S. Borg (J. Bajada), M Brincat, G. Calabretta (G. Camilleri), R. Deguara (C. Camenzuli), A. Ewurum, M. Farrugia, E. Vella.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Scorer: S. Borg 32 pen., 34.

Man of the match: Steve Borg (Mosta).

Second draw

Senglea Athletic 1
Pieta Hotspurs 1

A controversial penalty deep into injury time gave Pieta their second draw of the season against a committed Senglea team who defended admirably in their bid to win their first match.

A draw was perhaps a just result as Senglea were on the receiving end for most of the second half, but Jimmy Briffa's side will feel they deserved more.

Senglea saw more of the ball in the opening half but Pieta had substitute Terrence Vella in the team after the restart and the Hotspurs were much improved.

Senglea, on the contrary, suffered badly when Leeroy was taken off on 69 minutes as he was the one who gave Pieta plenty of problems with his darting runs.

Senglea forged ahead on 10 minutes when a Brady Zerafa free-kick finished at the back of the net after taking a deflection off the Hotspurs' wall.

Briffa's men continued to push forward and could have easily doubled their lead with Pieta goalkeeper Ivan Cassar having an off-day.

Just before half-time Bonnett sped past Sharlon Pace but lobbed the ball high over the bar from a good position.

Pieta looked better after the break but were still finding it difficult to find a way through. On 55 minutes Vella's shot was punched away into a corner by George Vella and from the flag-kick, Simon Shead's header was stopped by the Senglea keeper.

The Hotspurs' pressure was unrelenting but the Senglea defence, led by Simon Aquilina, was rock solid.

However, three minutes into stoppage time, Martin Deanov won a dubious penalty for Pieta amid the Senglea protests. The Bulgarian himself slotted in despite Attard's touch to the ball on its way home.

Senglea
G. Attard, N. Abela (J. Felice), S. Aquilina, J. Farrugia, L. Bonnet (A. Sciortino), O. Ellul, S. Zahra, J. Abela (M. Schembri), B. Zerafa, E. Azzopardi, D. Zahra.

Pieta
I. Cassar, C. Spiteri, J. Delia (D. Mifsud), G. Busuttil, M. Deanov, S. Ciscaldi (T. Vella), C. Pulo, S. Shead, J.L. Poulangoye, C. Cassar (K. Cassar), S. Pace.

Referee: Esther Farrugia.

Scorers: Zerafa (S) 10; Deanov (P) 90 pen.

Man of the match: Simon Aquilina (Senglea).