LIJA: 1; ĦAMRUN SPARTANS: 5

Ħamrun Spartans found no difficulty in beating bottom-placed Lija Athletic 5-1 to keep the pace with the leading pack.

For Lija, this was the ninth defeat this season, leaving them anchored at the bottom of the table.

The Spartans forged ahead on the 7th minute when off cross from the right, Marco Criaco tapped the ball home from close range following a cross by Arthur Faria Machado.

Eight minutes later, Hamrun doubled the score when Luke Sciberras received a cross from the left and slammed the ball home past the Lija custodian.

Lija pulled one back on the 32nd minute when Raphael Kooh Sohna entered the penalty area from the right and served Erjon Beu who placed the ball in the bottom right corner.

The Spartans regained a two-goal lead on the 37th minute after they were awarded a penalty when Predrag Babic handled the ball inside the area following a shot by Davide Succi and from the penalty spot, the former Palermo and Cesena striker made no mistake.

Ħamrun increased the lead on the 70th minute thanks to Marco Criaco whose conclusion from the left beat the Lija goalkeeper.

Eight minutes later, Cristian Zaccardo made it 5-1 when he converted another penalty following another handling of the ball by a Lija defender.