SENGLEA ATHLETIC 2

Garzia 3; Paz 82

ST ANDREWS 1

Farrugia 76

A late goal from Ivan Paz earned Senglea Athletic a 2-1 win over his former employers St Andrews, in Saturday's first encounter at the Hibs Stadium.

In a pulsating first-half, Senglea Athletic took the reins of the game from the early stages after drawing first blood inside the first three minutes.

The Cottonera clan earned a free-kick through Augusto Caseres who pounced on a poor ball from the Saints’ backline. From the resultant set-piece, Matias Garzia emerged from the blindside to head the ball home.

On the 76th minute, St Andrews managed to level terms through their enterprising midfielder Joseph Farrugia, who let fly a sublime first-timer from after Tano Azian dropped the ball onto his feet, with Matthew Farrugia having no chance to parry. 

Yet, there was still time for another plot twist when on minute 86, Ivan Paz took charge from a free-kick from three quarters of the field and profited from Matthew Calleja Cremona’s suspicious position as he lobbed the ball over the Malta U-21 goalkeeper, amid the celebrations of the Senglea crowd. 

BOV Player of the match Ivan Paz (Senglea Athletic).