Birkirkara 1 Mqabba 0

Mqabba were taught a harsh lesson when they were made to pay the penalty as Terence Vella's 42nd-minute spotkick helped Birkirkara return to winning ways after three games.

It was not a lesson in football at the Victor Tedesco Stadium but it was a masterclass in how to grind out results in difficult moments. The Stripes dominated possession, looked solid at the back and always seemed to have an extra gear going forward.

Birkirkara took the field knowing that they were the only team that had not scored in their last three matches.

Zammit's men had been limited to Paul Fenech's rising shot after 18 minutes but with Trevor Cilia sitting on the bench, there was little speed or invention to their attack.

And they were almost made to pay just after the half hour when Thiago Mazzitelli missed a sitter in front of goal after clever link up play with Azzopardi.

But Mqabba's defensive solidity came to an end with Kris Calleja's disastrous intervention as half-time neared.

Birkirkara ended in the ascendancy when fastening onto a teasing ball from Fenech, Vella veered to his right to evade the onrushing Calleja, only to be brought down by the goalkeeper in the box. The striker made no mistake from the spot.

That settled the few Birkirkara supporters in the stands, who had been growing increasingly frustrated. Fenech and Vella provided on the flanks as the Stripes looked to make their presence felt after the break and they should have double their lead after 51 minutes but they were swiftly stopped in their tracks by Mauro Bonnici who dispossessed Shodija with a wonderfully-timed tackle.

Still, Mqabba threatened on the break and Marko Potezica burst forward down the right, played a one-two with Mazzitelli but he casually dinked into Canovic after 71 minutes.

Shodiya, who pulled the strings for Birkirkara alongside Grech and Cilia in a redesign 4-3-3 module in the second half, might have sealed victory in two occasions when first he dragged his effort agonisingly wide on 81 minutes and then his rising effort just missed the target with four minutes remaining.

But Birkirkara closed out the match without any further alarms.