Valletta seal Championship and are back in the Premier League

BOV NATIONAL CHALLENGE LEAGUE
MD 18 REVIEW

TOP 8
Valletta 3-0 Tarxien Rainbows
By recording their eighth consecutive league victory, and with four matches left to play, leaders Valletta sealed their promotion back into the Premier League as Champions of the 2024/25 National Challenge League.

Opponents Tarxien Rainbows, promotion challengers themselves, were beaten soundly 3-0 and proved to be no match for the Citizens, who displayed their dominance throughout the 90 minutes in convincing manner. In fact, the team of coach Thane Micallef bumped into their only defeat this season against the same Rainbows outfit back in October last year (0-1), but were superior in all departments last Saturday afternoon at the Centenary Stadium.

Within a minute, Valletta goalkeeper Timmy Aquilina was called into action, turning a top corner attempt of Zachary Brincat spectacularly into a corner. It proved to be the only decent Rainbows opportunity of the encounter however as from then on it was all Valletta. On 13 minutes, it was Andreas Vella’s turn to bring the house down with a splendid save on a close-range Jefferson Carioca attempt at the second post.

But on 16 minutes, Valletta scored the opener with a beauty from Andrei Ciolacu, who curled a Brandon Paiber corner-kick behind Vella to give his side the advantage. Six minutes later, the Lilywhites doubled from another neat attack, this time on the right flank, with Jefferson initially doing all the hard work before Jake Azzopardi found Enoch Mushagalusa who kicked home from the edge of the box.

Close to the half hour mark, Mushagalusa came inches close to tap into an empty net from Ciolacu’s diagonal cross with Vella clearly beaten. On 42 minutes, Valletta created another opportunity but James Scicluna found Vella on his way who turned his attempt into a corner.

Five minutes after the break, Jake Azzopardi released a powerful grounder from just inside the box which found it’s way through a forest of legs, surprising Vella to add Valletta’s third. In the 56^th minute, Mushagalusa passed inch perfectly towards Scicluna who was in the clear but the on-storming Vella did well to block his first-timer. 

With the victory in the bag and the Rainbows were playing second fiddle, the match lost much of its interest in the last thirty minutes, allowing the Valletta faithful to get in the mood for the carnival (and promotion) festivities as there was, as usual, plenty of support from the stands. With matches remaining against Mgarr, Pieta’, Santa Lucia and Marsa, the Citizens will still play a vital role in the outcome of the second promotion slot.


Swieqi United 3-1 Zurrieq
In the early Saturday afternoon kick-off at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, Swieqi bagged a priceless three points in the hunt for the second promotion spot, beating Zurrieq 3-1 and thus  taking distance of Tarxien as the team of Pablo Doffo are now three points ahead of the Rainbows in the ranking. On Saturday afternoon, Swieqi play Tarxien and could take another giant step into the Premier League if they manage to beat the Rainbows.

Zurrieq on the other hand, following their heavy defeat last week against Valletta, succumbed to their second loss in a row and with nine points behind Swieqi in the standings, have thrown the towel.

The opening 15 minutes were outstanding with Zurrieq the stronger of the two sides and after just nine minutes, Challenge league top scorer Mamadu Bah scored from close range after Darren Borg slammed his effort against the crossbar from a fine individual move.

It was the wake-up call Swieqi needed as they reacted fiercely and immediately equalised with Aleksandar Katanic rounding off with a central shot which had the better of Zurrieq goalie Jurgen Borg. The Serbian tapped home the second Swieqi goal from another neat Orange attack, giving his side the lead after an eventful opening 13 minutes.

The teams settled down nicely and reached the end of the half without creating many clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

On 55 minutes, Swieqi playmaker Alan Schembri-Wismayer came close with an excellent header, turned into a corner by Borg. Swieqi kept on dominating in search of a third goal and in fact sealed the outcome of the match on 81 minutes thanks to a splendid Blessing Brafo grounder.

With the Tarxien encounter coming up this Saturday, and games against Zurrieq, Marsa and Mgarr respectively after the international break, the Swieqi clan realise very well that this might be their season.


Pieta’ Hotspurs 5-2 Marsa
The season of Marsa took another bad turn on Saturday afternoon at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, as Pieta’ returned to winning ways following last week's setback against Mgarr (2-3), beating a depleted Marsa side with an astonishing 5-2 win. An unexpected large defeat for Marsa however, who lost, once more, valuable points in their quest for promotion, failing to record a single victory in their last four outings. Pieta’ fully deserved their win, as the Blues played and organised game, capitalising their goal scoring opportunities and with 30 points, have surpassed the same Marsa by one point on rank four.

It was Marsa who drew first blood after just a few seconds from the start when Sean Cipriott from powerful shot from outside the area was well saved Reeves Cini. But it was Pieta who opened the score a few minutes later minutes when Thomas Melillo fired home from the edge of the area. The Hotspurs doubled their lead in the 21^st minute thanks to a superb finish by Malta U21 international Kian Leonardi. 

Although missing four regulars and coach Saviour Debono-Grech through suspension, Marsa started on the offensive mode right after the change of ends and created a couple of on-target opportunities by Jake Engerer and Sean Cipriott.

But on 63 minutes, Pieta’ increased their margin to three with Daneel Abela rounding off another fine Pieta’ move. It was the killer blow for Marsa as barely a minute later, Japanese striker Hidesato Ueda added the fourth goal for the Hotspurs.

Engerer pulled one back for Marsa on 67 minutes but five minutes later, Ueda beat Marsa goalkeeper Ryan Caruana for the fifth time, finishing off a great move by Emmanuel Bio.

With five minutes regular time remaining, Engerer scored his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot to end the nightmare for Marsa, who are still not out of the running for the runners-up spot but need to re-group, starting with a victory against Zurrieq next Sunday. Pieta’ remain outsiders for promotion and may hope for a Tarxien victory over Swieqi, which will increase their chances for a possible promotion back into the Premier League.


Santa Lucia 1-1 Mgarr United
In the lower part of the Top Six competition, both Mgarr United and Santa Lucia were with an outside chance to challenge for the second promotion spot, although this seems like a tall order as the sides played out a one-all draw last Sunday at the Centenary Stadium, a final result which favoured neither side.

In the opening half hour, defences stood out with both sides evenly balanced. The first real chance arrived on 34 minutes with an excellent curling shot by Salam Mawuena that was acrobatically saved by Jonathan Debono. Four minutes later, Mawuena was unlucky with his superb long range effort that slammed against the post as the Saints threatened.

Mgarr came close to break the deadlock at the start of the second half when a mis timed Santa Lucia back header almost ended up in the net. But from the resulting corner, the Greens took the lead when Joseph Paul Zammit managed to connect into the net, a ball which was touched last by Saints striker Emmanuel Asante and was therefore given as an own goal.

The Greens came incredibly close to doubling their lead when Luka Mijic had a superb header that was quite amazingly saved by Christopher Farrugia. Christian Saint Ebisindor had another good chance on 58 minutes but Farrugia saved again.

Santa Lucia equalised on 68 minutes when, after a period of pressure, a shot by Mawuena cannonned off the post with Azriel Borg alert at shooting home in the rebound. With now seven points behind Swieqi however, promotion looks far away for both sides.


PLAY OUT
Fgura United 5-1 Zebbug Rangers
The first team who prolonged their second tier stay last weekend was Fgura United, who knew before-hand that a win would be enough to seal their fate. The team of coach Kevin Vella passed the exam in style, recording an emphatic 5-1 victory over Zebbug, who were looking for some precious points themselves on Sunday afternoon at the Centenary Stadium, but were beaten soundly. Remarkably, all six goals were scored after the change of ends.

The victory was deserved but initially did not come easy. Fgura started strongly but the Rangers created a fine chance after 17 minutes when a cross by Camilo Diaz traversed the front of the goal with no one able to connect. Fgura came close for the first time on 23 minutes when Dylan Caruana had a shot that ended up just wide. Fgura threatened once more just before half time but the effort of the lively Timmy Akande was blocked by the onrushing Jake Scicluna.

The Reds finally took the lead at the start of the second half courtesy of a brilliant free kick by Donys Quintero,  whose effort from outside the box gave Scicluna no chance.

It was 2-0 on 55 minutes when Alan Abdel Rahman sprang the offside trap, cooly rounded Scicluna and deposited into an empty net. Zebbug could have got one back on 62 minutes but James Vella fluffed his effort in front of goal.

Fgura scored a third goal on 74 minutes when substitute Isaiah Micallef made no mistake from a fast counter-attack. The Rangers pulled one back on 83 minutes when Duvan Mosquera kicked home a fine assist by Owen Sciberras.

At the very end of the game, with Zebbug attacking desperately, Fgura scored two goals in quick succession on 87 minutes through Abdel Rahman with another scorcher and an effort by Micallef on 88 minutes, who notched up his brace to round off a comprehensive victory.

Sirens 1-1 Mtarfa
The must win for Mtarfa in the late Victor Tedesco Stadium kick-off on Sunday, turned ultimately into earning a point for the team of Rodney Bugeja as they were held in a 1-1 draw with Sirens.

On the other hand, after doing the usual maths, the point meant that the team of Steve D'Amato secured their Challenge League status for next season, on itself a fine achievement knowing the team from St Paul’s Bay were in for a tough campaign following last season’s relegation out of the Premier League.

Bugeja’s men played satisfying football throughout the match creating a few good goalscoring opportunities and probably deserved more than a point, meaning they clearly lost two points in their battle to escape relegation.

Mtarfa escaped after 20 minutes when a powerful shot from outside the box by Jean Borg was well saved by veteran goalkeeper Frederick Tabone. On the half hour mark, Sirens striker Hafiz Akadom was fouled inside the area which resulted into a penalty, with Brazilian centre back Carlos Chaba opening the scoring by converting the spot kick. Minutes later, Sirens were unlucky not to increase the margin when a shot from outside the box by Akadom hit the crossbar and went wide. 

After the break, Mtarfa staged a reaction and were rewarded with the equaliser in the 69th minute thanks to a wonderful header by Joseph Agbakwuru after an inch perfect Eric Mensah cross. Mtarfa did all they could to get the winning goal but Sirens rear guard dealt with the pressure thus earning the precious point they needed.


Senglea Athletic 1-1 Gudja United
Like Sirens, also Gudja United will be a second-tier club next season after the one-all draw with strugglers Senglea Athletic on Sunday night at the Centenary Stadium. Knowing their campaign limitations, the survival of Gudja can be considered close to a miracle, as coach Orosco Anonam had to do it with an extreme small squad of players, but the experienced coach, once more, lived up to expectation.

For Senglea however, the grapes are sour as, not for the first time this season, they played the better football but ended up leaving the field of play with just a point.

Although Senglea did the early running, with an on-target attempt of Rudy Cassar-Jeffries which forced Glenn Zammit into a routine save, it was Gudja who broke the deadlock on 28 minutes when Veljko Tasic blasted in the roof of the net from close-range. Towards the end of the half, Senglea created an opportunity through George Tetteh-Attram which Zammit blocked and in the attack that followed on the other side, Dale Mifsud blasted wide from an ideal angle.

Seven minutes after the restart, Senglea deservedly equalised through Tetteh-Attram, who headed past Zammit from close-range after some good work on the right side by veteran Peter-Paul Sammut. Benjamin Tweneboa, who came on as a half-time substitute, released an excellent strike on 61 minutes which blasted against the crossbar with Zammit beaten.

In the final half hour, the Cottonera side were really pushing for a winner, totally dominating the fixture, with their best opportunity arriving on 69 minutes when Zammit did well to parade a shot by Senglea substitute Andrej Nakov. Senglea now play Fgura, Zebbug, Lija and Sirens in their respective final four games and, with just one point above the red zone, in all probability need a result in all four fixtures to safeguard their status.


Lija Athletic 0-2 St Andrews
The 75^th Anniversary of Lija Athletic Football Club could end into heart-break next month as Joseph Galea’s side keep on struggling, recording their fifth consecutive defeat in this crucial stage of the campaign against St Andrews on Sunday night at the Victor Tedesco Stadium.

A huge win for the St Andrews however, as things look much better for the Saints as this was their third consecutive victory, the second one under new coach Mauro Delceppo. The victory over Lija was a deserved one, as the Viola created the better opportunities on the night.

Lija midfielder Mead Mifsud played his 300^th second-tier game and is, after Kenneth Abela, only the second player in history of Maltese football to play this many games at this level.

St Andrews started aggressively, venturing forward from the very beginning and took the lead on the ninth minute, when a Ricardo Correa missile from well outside the box found the net with Luke Bonnici beaten. Luxol kept pushing for a second and came close to score another goal five minutes before halftime with a shot by Mattia Galliano but his effort was fingertipped into a corner by Bonnici. 

At the start of the second half, Lija staged a reaction and came close to equalise with a close-range attempt by Alessio Azzopardi, who saw his effort being neutralised by custodian Jake Pisani. But instead of getting back into the match, St Andrews doubled their lead through Mattia Galliano on 54 minutes, who blasted an angled against the net.

Lija desperately tried to get back into the match but bumped into the experienced St Andrews rear-guard, who managed to hold back most of the Lija attacks. With now seven points above the relegation zone, St Andrews technically need two more victories from the remaining four games to prolong their stay in the Challenge League for another season.

TOP SCORERS
16 - Mamadu Bah (Zurrieq)
15 - Duvan Mosquera (Zebbug Rangers) & Andrei Ciolacu (Valletta)

Images copyright Joe Borg