QORMI-2, SLIEMA WANDERERS-1
Qormi recorded their second win of the season after coming from a goal down to beat Sliema Wanderers 2-1 in today's first game at the Hibs Stadium.
Victory lifted Qormi on the six-point mark while Sliema remain on four points after back-to-back defeats.
It was Sliema who opened the scoring after six minutes. Profiting from a penalty-box melee, Miguel Ciantar had time to pick his spot before curling his shot past the diving Matthew Farrugia and into the far corner of the net.
Sliema's opener was followed by a period of scrappy football with the result that scoring chances were few and far between.
Qormi managed to equalise on 28 minutes. Henry Bonello, the Sliema goalkeeper, parried away a strong shot by Abubakar Bello-Osagie and Gaetan Spiteri's follow-on effort was deflected away for a corner.
From the resultasnty corner, debutant Edison Zarate's cross was not cleared by Sliema as the ball dipped towards the far post and Vincenzo Pisani swivelled before hitting an overhead flick that soared into the far corner of the net.
Sliema threatened to regain the lead six minutes but Farrugia, the Qormi goalkeeper, first came out to dispossess Ciantar inside the box before pushing away Matias Muchardi's follow-on effort.
Farrugia saved Qormi when palming away Alex Muscat's close-range header from Paltemio Barbetti's corner.
After an uneventful start to the second half, Qormi forged ahead on 64 minutes thanks to a defensive blunder by Sliema. A misunderstanding between defender Josef Mifsud and goalkeeper Bonello let Bello-Osagie through and the Nigerian deposited the ball into an empty net.
Sliema struggled to regain their composure thereafter. They nearly fell 3-1 behind when, with 15 minutes left, Bello-Osagie supplied an excellent through-pass to Pisani who swept past John Mintoff but his grounder came off the foot of the post with Bonello beaten.
The Sliema goalkeeper then denied Pisani after the Qormi forward had moverdf past Mifsud and Bianciardi.
Two minutes from the end, Ciantar headed Muscat's cross over the bar.
In stoppage time, Sliema missed a glorious chance to equalise. Bonello went up after Sliema were awarded a free-kick on the left. Barbetti's cross was fisted away by Farrugia but the b all fell to substitute Omar El Ghaouti whose first-time drive looked to have been deflected on to a post.
The ball dropped kindly to the unmarked Bonello but the Sliema goalkeeper incredibly hit wide with the goal at his mercy.
Qormi's Bello-Osagie was voted BOV player of the match.