Ħamrun Spartans 6
Obifuele 7; Pereira 40, 46, 72 pen., 78; Mifsud 83
Dingli Swallows 0
Marcelo Pereira struck four goals as Ħamrun Spartans moved closer to securing their top-flight status with a crushing win over bottom side Dingli Swallows who yesterday became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League after Floriana's win over Msida.
As the scoreline clearly indicates, there was never any doubt as to which team would bag maximum spoils as the Spartans were in control from the outset. From the moment Obinna Obifuele put the Spartans ahead, the Swallows looked doomed.
Stephen D'Amato's men were all over their opponents with Pereira rediscovering his scoring touch in emphatic fashion. The Brazilian was well supported by Gaetan Spiteri, Rupert Mangion and the young Lee James Agius.
The Spartans will ensure Premier League survival if they beat Msida St Joseph in their next match.
D'Amato effected one change from the team that beat Floriana the weekend before last as youngster Agius replaced the suspended Manolito Micallef. Jonathan Holland was back in the fold after recovering from a hamstring injury but only started on the bench.
Dingli coach Jesmond Zammit handed a start to Matthew Borg who was preferred to Victor Fiteni while Etienne Farrugia was serving a one-match ban. Brazilian Andre Rocha Da Silva was again among the substitutes.
The Spartans attacked from the opening stages. After five minutes, Clyde Camoin served Pereira who sped past his marker but his low shot was blocked by goalkeeper Jeffrey Farrugia. From the rebound, Obifuele fired wide.
The Nigerian made no mistake two minutes later, scoring with a header following a fine cross by Mark Anthony Bonnici.
The Spartans' new signing almost hit a second goal on 11 minutes. Receiving a pass from Pereira on the edge of the box, Obifuele showed excellent footwork as he moved past two defenders but his low show skimmed the upright.
Dingli were forced to make their first change after 14 minutes when Fiteni replaced the injured Dino Cachia.
Four minutes later, the Spartans came agonisingly close to doubling their lead when Farrugia charged out of goal to block Obifuele's run, the ball fell to Agius whose lob just missed the target.
Dingli's first attempt at goal finally arrived on 20 minutes when Joseph Okonkwo's deflected low shot was blocked by Ivan Casha.
Ħamrun were clearly the better side but, for all their possession, they were struggling to break down the Swallows defence for a crucial second goal.
Six minutes from the break the Spartans also had to make their first change as Bonnici limped out injured. He was replaced by Aaron Attard.
However, Bonnici's exit didn't derail the Spartans who doubled their lead soon after. The hard-working Agius released Pereira who had no difficulty beating the advancing Farrugia.
On the stroke of half-time, the Spartans thought they had struck again when Farrugia partially blocked Agius's header and from the rebound, Pereira fired home. However, the 'goal' was disallowed as the Brazilian striker had been in an offside position.
Ħamrun started the second half brightly and inside the opening 60 seconds, they went three up. Ian Zammit's curling cross was met by Spiteri whose header was somehow kept out by Farrugia but Pereira was on hand to bury the ball into the net.
Just past the hour, the Spartans threatened again but Agius's long-range drive flew just wide.
The woodwork denied the Swallows a consolation goal on 70 minutes. Okonkwo was first to Roderick Spiteri's cross but his header was somehow repelled by Casha with the aid of the crossbar.
The Spartans scored goal no.4 on 72 minutes when substitute Mead Mifsud was floored in the area by Roderick Briffa and Pereira made no mistake from the spot to complete his hat-trick.
Ħamrun's Brazilian forward was not finished yet as 12 minutes from time, Obifuele powered his way into the box with the ball dropping to Pereira who beat Farrugia with a rising shot.
The rout was completed seven minutes from the end when Camoin's free-kick flew towards Mifsud who headed past Farrugia.
Ħamrun Spartans: I. Casha-6, M.A. Bonnici-6 ('39 A. Attard-6.5), R. Mangion-7, R. Fenech-7 ('72 J. Holland), L.J. Agius-7, M. Pereira-9, G. Spiteri-6.5, M. Hrubsa-6.5, O. Obifuele-6.5, C. Camoin-6.5, I. Zammit-6.5 ('66 M. Mifsud-6.5).
Dingli Swallows: J. Farrugia-4, R. Briffa-4, C. Sammut-5 ('85 D. Camilleri), R. Conceicao-5, S. Tellus-4.5, R. Spiteri-5.5, D. Cachia ('14 V. Fiteni-5 ('77 K. Borg), K. Formosa-5.5, M. Borg-5, J. Okonkwo-5, C. Azzopardi-5.
Referee: Esther Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Borg; Azzopardi.
BoV player of the match: Marcelo Pereira (Ħamrun).