BNF U15 and U17 Leagues Review: Rabat and Qormi lift titles, Luqa and Mellieha settle for promotion

Photos by Timmy Cutugno - Malta FA

BNF U15 League A – Matchday 16 (cont.)

In the BNF U15 League A, there were two games over the weekend that had to be recuperated from previous matchdays.

At the Rabat Ajax Ground, Mosta FC secured a last-minute win over Birkirkara FC to keep their title hopes alive.

Enzo De Freitas Romao got the Blues off to a perfect start, scoring in the 29th minute as Mosta looked to secure another win in what has been an impressive campaign. Kiezen Vella was on hand to score for the Blues again, giving them a comfortable two-goal lead before the break. However, Birkirkara responded after half-time, with Noah Muscat getting a goal back just two minutes after the restart, before Danilo Galea got an equaliser for the Stripes in the 67th minute, with Birkirkara having all of the momentum. Mosta’s task got all the more difficult in the 82nd minute when captain Isaac Montebello was shown a straight red card, leaving them with a player down for the final few minutes. That did not keep them out though, as in the 90th minute, Logan Farrugia popped up with a goal to give them a dramatic 3-2 win and three more points, edging them closer to league leaders Valletta FC ahead of their showdown on Tuesday.

The other match in the division was that between Pietà Hotspurs FC and Gozo FC, with the Hotspurs securing a thrilling 6-2 win. Although Gozo remain bottom of the table with no points, they put up a good fight against a strong Hotspurs side.

Pietà, who are currently top of the Play-Out section, got off to a great start, with Neil Chircop bagging a 16-minute brace, putting them 2-0 up. Gozo settled down after that initial disappointment, and they started to get more on the ball. They managed to get a goal back in the 48th minute, giving them some momentum as they looked to snatch an unexpected point. However, Pietà regained their form and Troy Shams Ibrahim got their third, before Joe Caruana made it 4-1 in the 70th minute. The Gozitans got another goal to their name in the 73rd minute thanks to Lucas Curmi, but Pietà immediately responded through Ibrahim yet again. Liam Abela sealed the victory for good in the 80th minute, making it 6-2.

BNF U15 League C – Matchday 14

In the BNF U15 League C, Qormi FC were officially crowned champions after a 2-0 win over Mellieha SC, but the Yellows had already sealed the title a few matchdays ago.

Qormi would have wanted to finish their season on a high note, and they did just that. After a rather even first half, Qormi eventually got their goal right before the break, with captain Matthias Spiteri scoring to put them in front. After half-time, the match remained very even, but Thiago Mallia was on hand to give the Yellows a comfortable two-goal advantage in the 74th minute, sealing the victory once and for all. Mellieha put up a good fight against Qormi, and they will also be joining the champions in League B next season, having secured promotion to second place.

Qormi FC - BNF U15 League C champions 2025/26 - Trophy presented by Malta FA General Secretary Dr Maria Azzopardi - Photo by Timmy Cutugno - Malta FA

Elsewhere, Luqa St Andrew’s FC came from 2-1 down to beat Zurrieq FC 3-2 after a late turnaround. Zurrieq had gone in front thanks to Konner Spiteri Kingswell and Kayden Cesare in the first half, but the second half was a totally different story. After defending well for large portions of the game, the Zurrieq backline was undone by Jacob Cilia, who scored to get Luqa back in the game in the 75th minute. In the final minutes of the match, with it seemingly set to go in Zurrieq’s favour, Zvester Baldacchino popped up with an equaliser for Luqa in the first minute of stoppage time. That was not all though, as Samuel Azzopardi also got in on the goalscoring action in the 93rd minute, giving Luqa a dramatic win, and ensuring that they finished the campaign in fourth place, above Zurrieq.

The other match in the Top Six section was a rather drab 1-1 draw between Marsaxlokk FC and Swieqi United. There was not much action throughout the encounter, with both sides knowing that they could not be moved from their respective positions in the table. After a quiet first half, Swieqi then got in front in the 55th minute thanks to Oleg Dumskis. However, Marsaxlokk regrouped, and they got an equaliser in the 87th minute, with Clayvin Borg getting the all-important goal to make it 1-1 and earn his side a point on the final day.

BNF U17 League C – Matchday 14

In the BNF U17 League C, Rabat Ajax FC were named champions after securing a dramatic draw against second-placed Luqa St Andrew’s FC, who will also be going up a tier after being promoted.

Luqa came into the game knowing that they needed a win to push the league to a decider, with Rabat requiring just a point to be crowned champions. Luqa started the stronger of the two sides, and in the 20th minute, Zac Zammit got the Saints a goal to put them in front. Rabat tried to respond, but they were being met by a very stubborn Luqa backline. After periods of prolonged pressure from the Rabat frontline, Jan Fenech eventually found a way through Luqa’s defence, drifting wide before slotting the ball into the back of the net in the 94th minute, much to the jubilation of the Rabat faithful. Rabat saw out the result, with the captain’s goal being the decisive one, as they were named winners of the division.

Rabat Ajax FC - BNF U17 League C champions 2025/26 - Trophy presented by Malta FA Head of Development and Grassroots Manager Silvio Vella - Photo by Timmy Cutugno - Malta FA

Similar to the U15 section, there was also a draw in the U17 section between Marsaxlokk FC and Swieqi United. Swieqi went in front after 24 minutes through Luke Grech, but Marasxlokk replied in the second half, and they got an equaliser in the 53rd minute thanks to Gabriel St John. The Southsiders got another goal in the 69th minute through Kayden Spiteri, and they were set to finish the season with a win. However, Maximilian Kunath popped up with a dramatic equaliser for the Owls, scoring in the 97th minute to earn his team a point on the final day.

At the Dingli Ground, a Pembroke Athleta FC side that were relatively short in numbers managed to secure an impressive 3-0 win against Mgarr United to leapfrog their opponents in the table. After a pretty even start, Pembroke got the opening goal in the 36th minute through Timmy Sciberras. Mgarr improved and they started to mount some chances of their own, but the Pembroke backline stood strong. 20 minutes from full-time, Iyed Dhifi got Pembroke’s second goal of the game to practically seal the win, before Jamie Tanti got another goal to make it 3-0 in the 90th minute.

For the full results and table standings, check out the matchcentre here.