BOV Amateur League I MD26 Review: Attard crowned champions, Victoria Hotspurs edge Qormi for promotion

Photos by Malta FA

BOV AMATEUR LEAGUE I 2025/26
MATCHDAY 26

Zejtun Corinthians 2-4 Attard
On Saturday at the Centenary Stadium, Attard celebrated the crowning of their championship in style after defeating relegated side Zejtun Corinthians 4-2 in the final match of the season. Daniel Agius’ men produced an entertaining performance, inspired by the strong backing of their supporters who packed the stands to witness the title celebrations.

With 2-1 down, BOV Amateur League I Top Scorer Precious Nwankwo scored a late hat-trick, with his campaign tally ending on an impressive 32 goals in 26 games. Zejtun, already preparing for life in the fourth-tier next season, managed to create several dangerous moments and showed determination throughout the encounter. However, as has often been the case this season, they failed to make the most of their opportunities in front of goal.

Attard took the lead after just nine minutes when Nicholas Schembri capitalised on a defensive mistake by Jamie Mifsud before calmly placing the ball past Andy Catania-Gilson. Zejtun’s first attempt on target arrived after 20 minutes through Adrian Carabott, whose header was comfortably gathered by Zach Valletta. 10 minutes before the interval, Schembri threatened once more with a first-time effort that was well saved by Catania-Gilson. In stoppage time, Nwankwo wasted a glorious opportunity to double the lead when, left unmarked inside the area, he fired over the bar following good work by Schembri.

The Corinthians emerged stronger after the break and drew level through Matthew Farrugia, who produced a superb strike from outside the area that gave Valletta no chance. The turnaround was completed shortly afterwards when Stefi Cale converted from the penalty spot after being brought down inside the box. Attard reacted positively and restored parity on 70 minutes. Nwankwo confidently converted a penalty after being fouled inside the area himself, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The Nigerian forward then proved decisive in the closing stages, putting Attard back in front on 79 minutes with a composed finish into the right corner before completing his hat-trick three minutes from time in fine fashion. After a determined solo run, he rounded the goalkeeper and calmly slotted the ball into the empty net to seal victory and spark celebrations among the newly crowned champions.

The trophy was presented to the team by Malta FA Vice President Adrian Casha and BOV CSR Manager Stefan Abela.

BOV Amateur League I 2025/26 Champions Attard FC - Photo by Malta FA

Mqabba 1-2 Victoria Hotspurs
At last, after missing several opportunities to seal promotion the past weeks, Victoria Hotspurs made the runners-up spot in this division their own and are joining Attard into the BOV Challenge League. The Gozitans needed to defeat Mqabba at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Sunday and managed to do so with an odd goal in three victory in a crucial and delicate encounter. The Hotspurs entered the match on the back of two consecutive defeats, allowing both Mqabba and Qormi, who played their game against Mellieha at the same time, back in contention for promotion.

Victoria started strongly and nearly took the lead as early as the second minute when Christian Saint Ebisindor struck the post with a header. The Gozitans continued to press, hitting the woodwork again in the 21st minute when Christian Mercieca connected with a cross from Saint Ebisindor Saint but saw his effort come off the crossbar. Their persistence paid off however six minutes before the end of the half when captain Ferdinando Apap saw his initial shot hit the post before calmly converting the rebound to give Victoria a deserved 1-0 lead at half-time.

In the opening period of the second half, Victoria remained in charge and doubled their advantage close to the hour when Mercieca finished clinically after being set up by Saint Ebisindor. Mqabba struggled to create chances but pulled one back in the 77th minute through Luka Mijic from a penalty, giving after a hands-ball incident inside the area. Shortly before that, Mqabba had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Christian Degabriele for a second yellow card in the 70th minute.

Despite late pressure, including a one-on-one save by goalkeeper Mario Bartolo to deny another goal by Saint Ebisindor on 88 minutes, Victoria held on to secure the win. At the final whistle, celebrations began among players, officials, and supporters, culminating in the presentation of a commemorative memento by Malta FA Vice President Adrian Casha to captain Ferdinando Apap.

Victoria Hotspurs FC - Promoted to BOV Challenge League - Photo by Malta FA

Mellieha 0-5 Qormi
At the Centenary Stadium on Sunday, 10-men Qormi had no problems setting aside the Blues of Mellieha with an emphatic 5-0 score, with three of the Qormi goals arriving late in the match. Qormi needed a win, hoping Victoria Hotspurs would lose points to set-up a Decider or even gaining direct promotion should the Gozitans lose their game against Mqabba, a match of upmost importance therefore for the Canaries. Emmanuel Garba scored a rare poker for Qormi, as the Nigerian was in one of his unstoppable moods.

On the side of Mellieha, it was the last match of 35-year-old David Azzopardi, who has decided to call it quits after 18 senior years and 358 official appearances in the Malta FA competitions. The match of the former Rabat Ajax left wing back was cut short however, due to what looked to be a shoulder injury and lasted just 33 minutes.

Garba came close with a curling attempt that sailed inches wide of the post on six minutes while on 16 minutes, the unmarked Emerson Vella should have knocked the ball in from a corner-action, with Mellieha goalkeeper Slaven Micallef beaten. On 22 minutes, Qormi took the lead with Garba anticipating on a defensive error in the Blues’ defence, with the Nigerian capitalising the gift by the Blues.

Mellieha reacted strongly however, and on 27 minutes, Qormi custodian Deisler Vella did well to turn a free-kick by Leon Borg into a corner. On 42 minutes, Vella came far out of his goal to deny Leon Borg, which was interpreted by the referee as an obvious goalscoring opportunity, with Vella being shown the red card. Minors goalkeeper Shason Borg, aged 17, was brought on by coach Clive Mizzi instead of outfield player Dale Mifsud.

Both sides had a good chance at the start of the second period with Kieran Fenech forcing substitute goalkeeper Mark Cutajar into a great block from a free-kick action, while some time after, Leon Theuma provided Anis Louati with a chance to equalise, but the Mellieha substitute shot straight at Borg. Qormi doubled their lead on 57 minutes thanks to a wonderful individual move by Garba, beating Micallef in the built-up, skipping past another Blues defender before shooting home low into the net.

With the news of Victoria Hotspurs’ second goal coming in, the match lost much of its intensity, with Qormi quite comfortably defending the two-goal advantage, while Mellieha failed to trouble the Qormi defence despite their numerical advantage. The match was most definitely over on 74 minutes when Garba completed his hat-trick thanks to an excellent shot from just outside the area and, five minutes later, substitute Liam MacKay added the fourth Qormi goal from similar distance. Garba even scored a fourth goal on 86 minutes after being sent in the clear, beating Cutajar with a low attempt, in what was 18th goal of the season.

Kirkop United 0-2 Xghajra Tornados
In this knife edge relegation clash at the Sirens Stadium on Saturday, both teams needed to win to confirm their Amateur League status hoping that Pembroke would not beat Senglea and force a decider. Eventually it was Xghajra Tornados who prevailed, sending Kirkop United into the Amateur League II next season. Man of the match was Xghajra winger Shaban Chikh Ali, who scored two first half goals for the team of coach Keith Darmanin.

Kirkop started strongly and in the opening minutes began creating pressure, but the Xghajra rearguard held firm. Xghajra had a good chance to take the lead when a header by Richmond Hanson from a corner was somehow cleared off the line by the Kirkop defence.

It was the Tornados who took the lead on 21 minutes when a pass found Chikh Ali, who made no mistake with a low shot that flew past Miguel Falzon. Kirkop had their first chance to equalise on 37 minutes when a shot by Dale Tabone was blocked by the Xghajra defence. But Xghajra doubled the score a minute into first half stoppage time when a free-kick by Redheil Stivala found Chikh Ali who made no mistake from close range. 

After the change of ends, matters turned worse for Kirkop as, on the hour, substitute Miguel Zammit was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. The match was rather quiet after that episode with Kirkop being unable to force out any danger in the Xghajra box, who controlled the match with ease. On 83 minutes, Larson Mallia could have made it 3-0 but shot well over the bar from a good position.

With Pembroke beating Senglea, Xghajra now need to play a Decider this Saturday versus Pembroke, with the winner remaining another year in the Amateur League I and the loser dropping into the fourth tier of the Maltese football pyramid.

Pembroke Athleta 2-0 Senglea Athletic
In the second Saturday afternoon kick-off at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, Pembroke Athleta recorded a 2-0 victory over Senglea Athletic, the win they needed to force out a relegation Decider with Xghajra Tornados. Opponents Senglea, safe and sound after their 3-1 victory over Victoria Hotspurs, fielded a depleted side with attacking duo Johan Castano and James Oghenekewaro starting on the bench, the latter only making a brief appearance late in the game. The Cottonera side gave Pembroke a good match however, with plenty of ball possession but clearly lacked punch up front, with only a very few on-target attempts throughout the 90 minutes.

As expected, Pembroke started on the offensive, chasing an early opener which arrived in the 10th minute when Weverton converted a penalty, given for a hands-ball incident in the Senglea box. On 24 minutes, Pembroke were close to a second goal with Justin Tonna blocking a close-range Lucas Gomes attempt, with Weverton kicking the rebound incredibly wide. Senglea did threaten on a few occasions with perhaps Jack Zammit’s header on 40 minutes as best opportunity in an otherwise drab first half.

Five minutes after the change of ends, a Kyle Sciberras-Balbi 25-metre scorcher was fisted away by Tonna. This was during a period that Pembroke were pushing for a second goal, and the team of Jeffrey Mifsud were rewarded on 68 minutes when Malcolm Vella-Vidal volleyed home a beauty after receiving from Sciberras-Balbi. This second goal was the killer-blow for Senglea’s ambitions, who did try to get back into the match but the Pembroke rear-guard were controlling well until the very end.

Pembroke will be therefore involved in a Relegation Decider with Xghajra, like two years ago when they beat St George’s after penalties, taking the outcome of their campaign until the very end.

Qrendi 0-5 Lija Athletic
One of the two matches last weekend without any significant meaning was the clash on Saturday at the Victor Tedesco Stadium between Qrendi and Lija Athletic. The 5-0 scoreline was justified with Lija dominating the fixture from start to finish, against a Qrendi team who had several regulars missing, mainly due to injuries. Before the game, a memento was handed over to Lija centre-back Clayton Giordimaina, aged 38, who was playing his last official game in Malta FA football.

It was 1-0 in favour of Lija after just four minutes through Gareth Joyce, one of the club’s upcoming youngsters, who hit home from close-range after a neat attack on the right wing. Qrendi left the initiative to Lija, who doubled on 18 minutes when Eduardo Wagner finished off some good work by Amir Amhamed on the left flank. Lija could have extended their lead further through Lyvann Obissa on 25 minutes, who nearly finished off a Lee Ciantar cross, and an Erjon Beu freekick on 34 minutes, both well paraded by stand-in goalkeeper Krassimir Zammit. Towards the end of the half, Qrendi threatened a few times but it was Beu who scored the third for Lija with an intelligent left footed grounder that found the net via the post.

Six minutes after the interval, Obissa should have added Lija’s fourth when Zammit unnecessarily left his box in an attempt to clear but the French striker saw his attempt go wide. On 55 minutes, Zammit tipped Beu’s rising shot over the bar, but just after the hour it was Juan Alejandro Ruiz who fully capitalised on a Qrendi defensive error, scoring Lija’s fourth. Barely a minute later, Beu scored goal number five with a shot that was deflected by a Qrendi defender, sealing Lija’s largest victory of the 25/26 campaign.

San Gwann 6-2 Luqa St Andrew’s
Also on Saturday, the other match just for the record between San Gwann and relegated side Luqa St Andrew’s was target for San Gwann, who beat Luqa with an emphatic 6-2 score. Argentinian striker Nahuel Velasquez, now fully recovered from an injury that kept him side-lined for most of the season, scored an impressive poker with fellow Argentinian playmaker Gonzalo Virano scoring the other two. It was refreshing to see that both sides fielded several youngsters from their own youth nursery, both in the starting line-up or as second half substitutes.

San Gwann wasted no time in taking the lead when Velasquez connected off a cross from the right, four minutes into the match. Luqa were unlucky not to equalise almost immediately when a strong shot by Owden Vella cannoned against the post on eight minutes. However, Luqa managed to equalise on 21 minutes when a fine cross found Idriss Fuseini, who headed home with aplomb. Another chance went begging for San Gwann with a superb shot by Virano that slammed against the crossbar. On 34 minutes, Luqa even took a cheeky lead with a well taken strike by Jake Frendo. 

It was a different story all-together in the second half as San Gwann were back on level terms on 53 minutes when a cross by debutant Benjamin Borg Cardona found Velasquez who was presented with a simple tap in. Four minutes later it was 3-2 for San Gwann when another superb cross by Borg Cardona found Velasquez who headed home for his hat trick. San Gwann made certain of the result on 76 minutes when a fine free-kick by Virano caught substitute goalkeeper Andre Fenech by surprise. And it was 5-2 on 80 minutes with Velasquez notching his poker with another excellent finish. The sixth goal for San Gwann arrived a minute from time through a penalty converted by Virano.