Dingli Swallows 1
Okonkwo 12 pen.
Tarxien Rainbows 4
Dos Santos 14; Ribeiro 56, 59; Shead 88
Two quick-fire goals from new signing Anderson Mendes Ribeiro early in the second half paved the way for Tarxien Rainbows to register a comfortable win over newcomers Dingli Swallows at the National Stadium.
The Brazilian forward, signed by the Rainbows to replace the prolific Daniel Mariano Bueno who sought pastures new this summer, gave a good indication that he is up to the job with two exquisite finishes that swayed the balance in his team's favour.
It was a pity, however, that his performance was marred by a red card he incurred following a second booking after lifting his shirt to celebrate Shead's goals late on.
However, Tarxien's star man yesterday was Ribeiro's compatriot and team-mate Denni Rocha Dos Santos. He was a constant threat to the Swallows defence, scoring one and setting up two others.
For the Swallows it was a disappointing debut in the Premier League as after holding their own in the opening stages of the match, they collapsed after the interval. Surely, they need to show more stamina and pace to keep their status intact at the end of the season.
The match was off to a flier as after only 11 minutes Dingli's Etienne Farrugia was brought down in the box by Tarxien keeper Anthony Curmi. Referee Marco Borg immediately pointed to the spot and Joseph Okonkwo sent the Tarxien keeper the wrong way to put the Swallows ahead.
However, Dingli's joy was shortlived as barely two minutes later the Rainbows drew level.
Warren Chircop charged forward on the left before sending a teasing ball that found the alert Dos Santos who tapped home past Jeffrey Farrugia, the Dingli keeper.
The match, played in blistering heat, failed to maintain those high levels with the players inevitably struggling to maintain the momentum. The referee wisely halted play for a couple of minutes at one stage for the players to refresh themselves.
The next scoring opportunity arrived six minutes from the break when Dos Santos's piledriver came off the upright with Farrugia beaten.
The Rainbows stepped up a gear after the break and on 56 minutes they took the lead. They won a free-kick on the left wing and David Camilleri's inswinger was met by Ribeiro whose dipping header flew into the net.
The Rainbows were not finished yet and three minutes later Ribeiro struck again.
In a quick break, the Tarxien forward, released by the industrious Dos Santos, left fly an unstoppable drive that gave Farrugia no chance.
Those two quick goals took the steam out of the Dingli players who struggled to regain composure and two minutes from time it was Tarxien who sealed the issue when substitute James Shead ran to Dos Santos's throughball and hit home with a cool finish.
As the Rainbows players were cheering Shead for his goal, Ribeiro was spotted lifting his shirt by the referee who booked the Brazilian for a second time. Tarxien were left to play with ten men but there was no time left for Dingli to react.
Playing today: 5 p.m. Floriana vs Qormi; 7 p.m. Hibs vs Marsaxlokk.
Dingli Swallows
J. Farrugia-4, R. Conceicao-5, S. Tellus-5, R. Spiteri-5, C. Muscat-5 ('78 C. Azzopardi), J. Agius-6.5 ('70 D. Zarb), D. Cachia-5.5, E. Farrugia-5.5 ('59 K. Formosa-5), K. Borg-5, M. Borg-5.5, J. Okonkwo-6.
Tarxien Rainbows
A. Curmi-6, S. Sadowski-6, M. Caruana-6.5, D. Camilleri-6.5 ('83 J. Shead), G. Calabretta-6 ('60 L. Vella Critien-5), E. Pereira-6, A. Ribeiro, W. Chircop-6.5 ('68 K. Magro-5), D. Dos Santos-7.5, R. Mintoff-6, L. Galea-6.
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow cards: Curmi, Spiteri, Galea, Ribeiro, Shead.
Red card: Ribeiro (T) 89.
BoV Player of the match: Denni Rocha Dos Santos (Tarxien).