Sliema Wanderers 2
Farrugia og 32; Mintoff 65
Msida St Joseph 0
For the best part of the opening half-hour it looked as though Msida were capable of springing a surprise as they tore into the erstwhile inept Sliema.
A weird own goal on 32 minutes spoiled Msida's promising start though and steadied Sliema's nerves as they came to their senses to wrest the initiative from their battling opponents.
John Mintoff hit the target on 65 minutes to secure the Blues' first win after back-to-back defeats. However, Sliema's low-key performance again failed to justify their tag as title contenders.
Mintoff filled the void left by the absence of Alex Muscat - who is out for six to eight weeks with a thigh injury - in the only change made by Sliema from the team that lost 1-0 to Valletta.
Msida coach Mark Marlow made three alterations from the side that succumbed to Qormi.
Andrew Formosa, Iro Curmi and Karl Ebejer replaced Ryan Xuereb, Neville Arpa and Lydon Micallef.
Marlow had hoped to bank on Olushola Aganun but Msida have yet to receive the green light from the Malta FA to register the Nigerian striker.
In the opening stages, Emiliano Lattes closed in on goal and pulled the trigger but Clifford Gatt Baldacchino slid in to deflect the Argentine's effort away for a corner.
Msida were the livelier side and 11 minutes from the start Curmi threaded a through-ball to Lattes whose diagonal run had evaded the attention of the Sliema defenders. His grounder rolled past Simon Agius but came off the base of the post.
With Sliema looking out of sorts, Msida maintained their brisk start.
Tyrone Farrugia's header grazed the woodwork before Agius palmed the ball away for a corner.
A long pass from midfield threatened to unpick the Msida defence as Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza was first to the ball but his tame effort was stopped by Manuel Bartolo, the Msida keeper.
Two minutes past the half hour, fortune smiled on the Wanderers who seized the lead thanks to a bizarre own goal. The looming presence of Mifsud Triganza inside the box was enough to prompt Roderick Baldacchino to belt the ball away but his clearance ricocheted off team-mate Farrugia and into the net.
It was harsh on Msida who had been the more enterprising side until then. The Reds threatened to restore equilibrium but Kevin Mifsud's drive was repelled by Agius.
Sliema coach Stephen Azzopardi was forced into his first substitution five minutes into the second half as Mark Scerri was unable to continue after picking up an injury. His place was taken by Noel Turner.
Five minutes later, Sliema would have extended their lead had it not been for a timely block by Cedric Sciberras who was on the right spot to keep out Ryan Fenech's goalbound effort.
Mifsud Triganza, who played alongside Ivan Woods in attack, made way for Nigerian Henry Isaac two minutes past the hour.
In no time, Sliema had made it 2-0.
Woods charged down the left before lifting his cross over the ball-watching Msida defenders and towards the far post where Mintoff powered the ball home.
The goal was a just reward for Mintoff who was proving a handful for the Msida defence with his incursions on the right wing.
Msida looked shell-shocked. Isaac threatened to compound their misery when he met Mintoff's cross but his header bounced inches wide.
Despite Msida's efforts to get back into contention, Sliema continued to produce the better chances. Failla's corner was met by Woods but the latter's header was saved by Bartolo.
Mintoff then spread havoc in the Msida box but his centre was headed away by Farrugia. Msida briefly interrupted Sliema's supremacy with a Zoran Levnaic drive but Agius blocked.
Msida were unlucky not to pull a goal back late on when Lattes swept past Lucian Dronca but his grounder took a deflection and rolled wide.
Sliema Wanderers
S. Agius-6, I. Azzopardi-6, R. Fenech-5, M. Scerri-5 ('50 N. Turner-5), J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5.5 ('63 H. Isaac-5.5), C. Gatt Baldacchino-6, I. Woods-6.5, L. Dronca-5, I. Ciantar-5.5 ('77 J. Mifsud), J. Mintoff-7.5, C. Failla-5.
Msida St Joseph
M. Bartolo-6, S. Grima-6, R. Baldacchino-5, C. Sciberras-5.5, T. Farrugia-5.5, K. Mifsud-6.5, A. Formosa-5.5 ('76 A. Farrugia), Z. Levnaic-6.5, I. Curmi-6 ('63 L. Micallef-5.5), E. Lattes-7, K. Ebejer-5 ('90 L. Saliba).
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Failla; Mintoff; Levnaic; Curmi.
BoV player of the match: Emiliano Lattes (Msida SJ).