Sirens 2
Gudja United 1
Sirens coach Vince Carbonaro heaped praise on his players who he said had followed his tactical plan to perfection as they battled past closest rivals Gudja United to close in on the Division One championship crown.
Playing in front of a sizeable crowd, the St Paul’s Bay side took the lead in the first half through a Ratko Mandic header. Gudja fought back strongly and they drew level 11 minutes from time through Raphael Kooh Sohna.
Gudja pressed on for the winner but it was Sirens who struck again three minutes from time when Russell Fenech sped through to fire home the all important goal which earned his team all spoils.
“It was a deserved victory for us,” Carbonaro said.
“The players adapted well to our tactical plan. We put on an extra midfielder and pressed them high up the pitch and that cause them a lot of trouble.
“Gudja took too much time to react and that helped us to go into the break a goal ahead. Things changed after the interval as Gudja stepped up the pressure and we found life difficult.
“But my players remained calm and we also made some minor tactical changes that helped us to win the match.
“Now, the title is firmly in our hands. With two games left, it’s in our reach for sure. We only need a point to end a memorable season by earning promotion as champions.”
On his part, Josef Mansueto admitted that Gudja paid the price for lapses in concentration in defence.
“We saw more of the ball in the first 45 minutes, but whenever Sirens held possession they practically always came close in the final third,” the Gudja coach lamented.
“We found it difficult to create goalscoring opportunities and to make things worse Sirens managed to score just before the break. We should have been more careful not to concede,” Mansueto added.
“We were better in the second half and although we were more aggressive, it still took us a while to make it 1-1. Later on we could have also taken the lead but failed despite pushing more men forward.
“Sirens punished us again in another swift break and I can only but praise our opponents who showed great tactical play to win the match.”
“Now with two games to go our goal is to win both matches and end the season in the best possible way.”
Sirens: M. Montfort, K. Farrugia, R. Mandic, R. Grech, M. Del Negro (90 R. Previ), M. Morgon Filho (83 L. Mijic), A.M. Bustos, A. Curmi (73 R. Fenech), C. Gauci, I. Adeshina, G. Gesualdi.
Gudja: J. Debono, J. Bondin, M. Attard, F. Aboulezz (62 A. Mizzi), L.J. Schembri (76 S. Diacono), J. Lima Siqueira, J. Farrugia, L. Cremona, E. Vella, D. Santos Da Hora (73 A. Marshall), R. Kooh Sohna.
Referee: Darryl Agius.
Best Player: Ratko Mandic (Sirens).
Qrendi 3
Lija Athletic 2
Qrendi: J. Farrugia, D. Micallef, M. Farrugia, B. Bondin, L. Brincat, D. Sammut (44 C. Caruana), Z. Bowman (71 M. Barbara), J. Da Silva Vargas, C. Quaranta, K. Abela, J. Silveira Da Silva (69 D. Martini).
Lija: L. Bonnici, J. Cassar, D. Scerri, E. Beu, A. Azzopardi (62 D. Mintoff), A. Bello Osagie, M. Clinch, I. Borg, G. Borg (54 A. Galea), C. Gauci, O. Sidibe.
Referee: Andrea Sciriha.
Scorers: Quaranta (Q) 53 pen, Brincat (Q) 58; Beu (L) 59, 61; Bondin (Q) 65;
Best Player: Erjon Beu (Lija).
Mqabba 0
Żebbuġ Rangers 1
Mqabba: F. Tabone, R. Da Silva Gomes, D. Micallef, J.C. Martins, G. Micallef (75 C. Cutajar), A. Ferreira, B. Grech, W. Borg, D. Azzopardi, F. Gusman, N. Micallef.
Żebbuġ: J. Borg, D. Fava, R. Vella, S. Buhagiar, S. Darmanin, M. Camilleri (72 K. Tanti), B. Muscat, C. Brincat, J. Caetano Da Silva, J. Farrugia, G. De Sousa Braga.
Referee: Shaun Calleja.
Scorer: Caetano Da Silva 86pen.
Best Player: Jose Lucas Caetano Da Silva (Żebbuġ).
Sta Luċija 3
Swieqi United 1
Sta Luċija: R. Caruana, J. Magri Overand, K. Camilleri, K. Ante Rosero (68 J.P. Teixeira Maia), L. Galea, K. Pulo (61 D. Vukovic), K. Vella, J. Mendoza, J. Suda, N. Borg (76 J. Busuttil), L. Mosquera.
Swieqi: J.C. Debattista, J. Cassar, K. Muscat, I. Margarit, S. Bugeja, K. Olowoyo (54 E. Tejumola), S. Ibrahim, M. Farrugia, L. Scicluna (73 K. Ekezie), S. Grech, D. Borg.
Referee: Malcolm Spiteri.
Scorers: Suda (SL) 19; Ibrahim (S) 33; Vella (SL) 53; Mosquera Segura (SL) 90.
Missed penalty: Borg (SL) 16.
Best Player: Mosquera Segura (Sta Luċija).
San Ġwann 1
Pembroke Athleta 2
San Ġwann: C. Formosa, J. Azzopardi, A. Cachia, A. Borg (72 L. Mallia), N. Abouhaisa (52 R. De Oliveira), P. Kanzurov, C. Gauci, J.P. Attard, K. Gatt, S. Hili (72 C. Stewart), N. Melo Ferreira.
Pembroke: P. Schranz, K. Sciberras Balbi, J.P. Mifsud Triganza (77 K. Borg), D. Camilleri, Z. Grech, T. Fenech, M. Da Rosa Wilmsen (67 E. Vallecillo), D. Cachia (87 A. Hili), M.A. Borg, I. Misan, J.P. Oliveira Santos (66 E. Vallecillo).
Referee: Aleksander Jovanovic.
Scorers: Mifsud Triganza (P) 54; Renan (SĠ) 80; Hili (P) 87.
Best Player: J.P. Oliveira Santos (Pembroke).
Naxxar Lions 5
Vittoriosa Stars 1
Naxxar: O. Borg, R. Mercieca, M. Fenech, E. Farias Cerqueira, J. Debono, A. Azzopardi, J. Ellul, A. Buhagiar, S. Nanapere, B. Essel, S. Meilak.
Vittoriosa: C. Cassar, C. Spiteri, I. Abela, P. Papadakis, K. Degirorgio, P.M. Barkley, A. Galea, N. Ojuola, J.C. Galea, D. Tabone, L. Casha.
Referee: Fyodor Zammit.
Scorers: Farias (N) 12, 22; Debono (N) 33; Tabone (V) 60; Borg (N) 76 pen; Nanapere (N) 90.
Red cards: Abela (V) 76; Galea (V) 80.
Best Player: Nanapere (Naxxar).
Żejtun Corinthians 3
Marsa 1
Żejtun: D. Zarb, C. Giordemaina, J. Mandjeck, A. Carabott (79 A. Smeir), G. Sultana (63 R. Spiteri), J. Castano, J. De Fex Rafael, B. Farrugia, N. Tabone (25 I. Azzopardi), A. Farrugia, G. Azzopardi.
Marsa: L. Seisun, S. Zampa, L. Camilleri (84 R. Gatt De Raffaele), J. Bonello (89 B. Cassar) , J. Lovegrove, J. Theuma, L. Ciantar, O. Cristiani, H. Kawamura, A. Watanabe (84 M. Marra), R. Gafa.
Referee: Daniel Portelli.
Scorers: Kawamura (M) 9; Mandjeck (Ż) 51; Castano (Ż) 65, 76.
Best Player: Johan Castano (Żejtun).