Zejtun, Naxxar close in on Sliema

BOV CHALLENGE LEAGUE MATCH DAY 11 REVIEW

Tarxien Rainbows 1-1 Sliema Wanderers
League leaders Sliema Wanderers lost another two points as they were held to a one all draw against Tarxien Rainbows. As pre-match expectations rightly indicated, an in-form Rainbows side gave the Blues more than a match, scoring a late equaliser after substitute Lydon Micallef kicked Sliema in front half-way in the second period. In the third minute, Terrence Groothusen came close to score an early goal but his grounder from the edge of the box hit the post. Ten minutes later on the other side, Emmanuel Mbong did not take advantage of a Sliema defensive error, with Rashed Al-Tumi blocking his attempt. Groothusen had another shot blocked on 39 minutes by Jurgen Borg, saving Mohamed Awad’s rebound as well.
On 61 minutes, just two minutes after coming on as a substitute, Lydon Micallef headed Sliema ahead from a perfect Awad cross from the right flank. Tarxien staged a late rally to save a point and on 80 minutes, they had a goal disallowed for an off-side infringement. But on the stroke of full-time they scored a deserved equaliser thanks to captain Matthew Tabone, who headed home from a corner-action.

Lija Athletic 2-4 Zejtun Corinthians
Zejtun came back twice from behind to record their fifth consecutive win of the season, a real six goal thriller with a battling Lija side. The Corinthians therefore consolidate second spot in the ranking with now only two points behind the Wanderers. Lija proved to be a hard nut to crack but had to continue with ten players half-way the second half which proved to be their downfall.
Lija took the lead on 19 minutes thanks to a wonderful direct free-kick by Erjon Beu, who gave Zejtun goalkeeper Sean Mintoff no chance to save. Four minutes after Lija’s opener, Zejtun equalised when Lija custodian Luke Bonnici misjudged a long cross into the box, with James Brincat being in the right place to place the ball into an empty net. It did however not take long before Lija regained the lead when on 27 minutes, Russell Fenech sent Duvan Mosquera through, who beat Mintoff with an accurate grounder. Despite Joe Galea’s intelligent defensive plan, Lija looked vulnerable in the back and conceded immediately in the next Zejtun attack, with Alan Abela being on the right place to drill home from close-range after the Lija rear-guard failed to clear the danger.
After the break, just before the hour, Zejtun were awarded a penalty when Mead Mifsud displayed his goalkeeping skills, handling the ball on the goalline from a Brincat attempt. Andre Carlos made no mistake from the spot to put his team 3-2 up, his ninth goal of the season. Barely a minute later, Brincat blasted high from an ideal position an on 63 minutes, Zejtun’s Jairinho, the best player on the pitch yesterday night, hit the woodwork from the edge of the box. But with six minutes left on the clock, Zejtun substitute Kurt Borg scored the 4-2, which finally broke Lija’s resistance.

Naxxar Lions 1-0 San Gwann
George Vella’s Naxxar Lions beat San Gwann, continuing their promotion hunt with a minimal 1-0 victory on Sunday. With Sliema losing points, Naxxar are now just three points behind the Wanderers in the standings. It took Naxxar ten minutes to open the scoring thanks to a shot from well outside the box by Neil Pace Cocks, which eventually proved to be the winner of the match. However, as the second half went underway, San Gwann were well organised tactically and had a couple of chances to grab at least a point from this encounter, but the Naxxar defence, outstanding this season, cleared every dangerous attack. Although still early days, the battle for the Championship seems to be evolving into a three-horse battle between Sliema, Zejtun and Naxxar, but with the top six qualifying for the Championship Pool, still anything can happen.

Fgura United 0-0 Attard
This was a drab encounter with Attard the happier team, although they were facing a Fgura side who were reduced to ten eight minutes from full-time.
The first half was a balanced affair with Attard creating the better chances. On twenty minutes, a Jurgen Gauci header from a corner sailed inches over the crossbar while in the 35th minute, Nicholas Schembri failed to find the net from an ideal position. Fgura clearly found trouble to find their feet before the break, but started the second half promising. On 56 minutes Fgura created their best chance when Dylan Caruana nearly rounded off a cross by Aroldinho, but his header sailed over the crossbar. The same Aroldinho missed a sitter on 73 minutes with only Zach Valletta to beat but the Attard custodian saved with his feet to deny the Brazilian Challenge League Top Scorer. Valletta showed class in saving a Matthew Brincat free-kick in style three minutes later. In attempt to clear the danger just outside his box on 82 minutes, Fgura goalkeeper was sent off with a straight red card after a foul on Kebba Suso. However, Attard could not force a late rally but left the field of play happier then Fgura, who remain in the running for a Top Six spot.

Zurrieq 3-1 Marsa
With Fgura losing points, George Magri’s Zurrieq knock on the door of a possible Championship Pool birth after beating Marsa on Saturday afternoon, coming back from a goal down.
Marsa got off to a flying start after just four minutes when they took the lead through the nimble Teppei Lida who was on hand to slot the ball in from a corner. Zurrieq had to wait until the half hour mark for their first real chance when fresh Malta U21 international Xylon Portelli received a pass inside the box but his effort went just wide of Nicky Vella’s post. Six minutes later Zurrieq equalized with a picture goal from Andrea Azzopardi who lashed a shot from well outside the box that surprised Vella. Marsa missed an incredible chance to retake the lead when Lucas Ribeiro saw two efforts thwarted by a brilliant Dunstan Zarb.
Zurrieq went ahead on 48 minutes in a heavy downpour as Robinho slotted home with a deflection on the way. Marsa could have got back on level terms when they were awarded a penalty on 55 minutes but Lucas Ribeiro saw his shot saved by Zarb. Three minutes later Zurrieq sealed their win with a brilliant conclusion by the bulky Melvin Akingboye who powered his shot home, giving Zurrieq another massive three points.

Swieqi United 1-1 Qrendi
Despite dominating large parts of this match, Swieqi lost another two points in their quest for salvation, this time against a plucky Qrendi side, who were happier side with the point. Steve D’Amato’s side clearly misses the killer punch up front, with too many chances being wasted.
Swieqi could have opened after only four minutes play but Emmanuel Garba’s shot went inches wide after being sent through by Gilberto Carrara. Six minutes later on the other side, Ryan Cutajar nearly punished a Swieqi error in defence but Jean-Claude Debattista saved. The Swieqi shotstopper was called back into action on 26 minutes when an Aiden Galea free-kick took a slight deflection of the wall but Debattista turned his attempt into a corner. But there is nothing he could do when a minute later, Cadu volleyed Qrendi in front from the edge of the box, his 205th goal in Maltese football. On 33 minutes, Gilberto Carrara’s thunderbolt hit the crossbar via Winiston Tom’s fingertips.
After the break, Swieqi took total control of the match. However, besides some neat built-up play, the forwards were careless in their finishing. On 77 minutes however, Jamie Magri Overend headed Swieqi next to Qrendi from a corner action, a deserved equaliser and his first ever goal in senior football.

Mtarfa 0-4 St Andrews
Brian Said’s St Andrews boys returned to winning ways with an emphatic 4-0 win over Mtarfa, their sixth consecutive defeat. The ‘Luxol’ immediately showed their intentions and pressed Mtarfa's players into their own half. Two goals in quick succession put St Andrews ahead, the first one thanks to a header from veteran defender Ian Azzopardi from a well-timed pass by Santiago Martinez. Barely a minute after, Alan Borg Oliver rounder off a wonderful orchestrated collective counterattack, leaving Mtarfa a mountain to climb after just ten minutes.
Just after the break Luka Mijic made it 3-0 from a flying header after a great cross by Martinez, who created all sorts of trouble for the Mtarfa rear-guard on the day. Borg Olivier beat the offside trap on 55 minutes and increased St Andrews’ advantage to four with a low shot beating Mtarfa goalkeeper Slaven Micallef and collecting his personal brace. A good win for St Andrews, who also keep on hoping to qualify for the Championship Pool with just two points behind Melita and Zurrieq, who share the number six spot.

Marsaskala 2-1 Vittoriosa Stars
The Match Day started on Friday night with Marsaskala collecting their third win of the season, beating strugglers Vittoriosa Stars by the odd goal in three.
Marsaskala had a good chance on ten minutes when a freekick taken by Miguel Ciantar just outside the box sailed just over. But the newly promoted side took the lead on 23 minutes when Adrian Carabott smashed home from close range after a corner. But Vittoriosa equalized practically from kick off with Mauricio Britto Rodrigues concluding after a fine probing run. Seven minutes later Marsaskala regained the lead when a fine cross reached Rundell Winchester who headed home from a few paces.
After the break, Marsaskala had the chance to go further ahead with a number of chances which went begging. On 83 minutes, Winchester went on a run but saw his shot well saved by Christian Cassar. Vittoriosa tried to garner an equalizer but the Marsaskala defence was not really threatened and the Southseasiders held on to collect a valuable three points in their bid for salvation.

The postponed match last Saturday at the VTS because of a waterlogged pitch between Melita and Mqabba will now be played on Sunday 27 November.

Image copyright Timmy Cutugno / Swieqi United FC Media