Lija Athletic managed to chalk up their first point of the season after holding Naxxar Lions in a dull encounter which sparked to life with two great goals.

Adrian Cascaval and Arnaud Mendy were handed a debut for the Lions, who played the latter part of the match with 10 men after Ndoye was given the marching orders.

The first half was a quiet affair as chances were rare, with the game being played at a slow tempo. Lija were operating on the flanks with Aboubakar Bello-Osagie on the right and Erjon Beu on the left and in fact, they were the main threat for Lija.

Joseph Galea’s side took the lead on 34 minutes when Bello-Osagie fed Lee Joe Schembri who rushed towards goal and nailed a spectacular goal from an acute angle.

After the change of ends, Naxxar started to push men forward with Daniel Bustos being the main threat.

The goal was a matter of time, as on 61 minutes Bustos hit a screamer from 30 metres which simply rattled the net and levelled terms for the Lions.

The latter were unlucky not to forge ahead on 77 minutes when Fenwick’s drive beat Lija’s goalie but somehow Predrag Babic cleared the ball off the line.

Three minutes from time, Darren Falzon flighted a ball into the box but from close-range, Fenwick’s header finished over the crossbar.

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