Sliema crowned Champions, Zejtun in Premier Play-Off

BOV CHALLENGE LEAGUE MATCH DAY 28 REVIEW
TOP SIX
Sliema Wanderers 0-0 Tarxien Rainbows
Last Saturday afternoon at the Centenary Stadium, Sliema Wanderers were crowned 2022/23 BOV National Challenge League champions after a goalless draw with Tarxien Rainbows. Sliema already sealed their return to Premier Division football some months ago, as they dominated the league this season. Therefore, the Wanderers return to top flight football after just one season. The atmosphere was electrifying with both sides bringing numerous supporters.
The match itself had more meaning for Tarxien, who needed to upset Sliema with a victory to safeguard their third spot, which would have meant a Promotion Decider with Santa Lucia. With Zejtun beating Zurrieq in a match played at the same time at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, the Corinthians overtook Tarxien in the standings, with Zejtun playing the Promotion Play-Off. Perhaps the only satisfying outcome for the Rainbows was that they managed to halt Sliema’s run of 15 consecutive wins.
The Rainbows started strong but the Blues soon took over the initiative. Tarxien goalkeeper Jurgen Borg was called into action for the first time on 16 minutes, turning a close-range attempt of Lydon Micallef into a corner. Borg did again well ten minutes later, tipping a tricky Jake Engerer cross-shot over the crossbar. On 42 minutes, Mohamed Awad’s acrobatic attempt from a precise Jean Carlos cross sailed inches over the crossbar.
Six minutes after the re-start, Engerer’s attempt hit the side-netting. On 56 minutes, Tarxien coach Jacques Scerri brought on Daneel Abela, some more attacking power, as the Rainbows had not been creating any danger in the Sliema box apart from the first five minutes of the match. This did not have the desired affect however, as the Rainbows forwards were kept at bay by the Wanderers rear-guard. The best chances were for Sliema, with on 84 minutes, Borg making a great save on a Murilo Freire header and four minutes later, substitute Omar Elouni rounded the goalkeeper but somehow failed to find the net.
The final whistle was most welcomed by the Wanderers clan, with MFA Vice-President Matthew Paris handing over the Trophy to Sliema captain Mark Scerri.

Zejtun Corinthians 2-1 Zurrieq
Quite incredibly, Zejtun Corinthians will play Santa Lucia in the Premier/1^st Division Promotion/Relegation Play-Off as they defeated Zurrieq by the odd goal in three at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Saturday afternoon. A remarkable feat, knowing that last January, the Corinthians had to let go of more than ten influential players in their squad after the departure of President Joe Gauci, which meant they could not guarantee any wages anymore towards their players. Coach Orosco Anonam decided to stay and showed what a great coach he is by eventually safeguarding their third spot with a completely new team and, on paper, less quality players. However, these players rose to the occasion week by week and, despite being beaten 4-0 by Tarxien two weeks ago, kept the same Rainbows at bay in the final standings.  
 The Corinthians immediately took the rhythm of the match and after just six minutes Russell Fenech, one of Zejtun’s outstanding players in the last three months, broke the deadlock with a low shot from inside the box. Ten minutes later, James Brincat was unlucky not to double the advantage as his shot from the edge of the area sailed just over the crossbar. On the half hour mark, Dasser Sammut equalized for Zurrieq by converting a penalty, given after Shawn Darmanin was fouled inside the box. Anonam’s men regained the lead just a few minutes later when, in an attempt to clear, a free kick from Fenech was headed erroneously against his own net by Adrian Caruana.
The second half remained very balanced with Zejtun keeping composure, neutralising all possible danger by Zurrieq. At the final whistle, both teams were happy as Zurrieq rounded up a season in when they already safeguarded their Challenge League status after the 1^st round of matches, while Zejtun could even seal promotion back into the Premier Division in a match played this Friday at 19h at the Centenary Stadium against Santa Lucia.

Naxxar Lions 0-5 Melita
Despite being beaten heavily by Melita, Naxxar were in celebratory mood for their last match of the season, having secured promotion with their side packed full of supporters at the Luxol Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Lions are back into the Premier Division after an absence of five seasons, however, their first half against Melita was the worst once played this season, with Naxxar at least restoring the balance after the break. Japanese striker Hiroya Konno scored three goals for Melita, his fourth hat-trick this season.
The Amateurs took an early lead through Konno after just five minutes with the nippy Japanese forward stabbing the ball into the net after being sent through. On 16 minutes it was 2-0 with Konno once again profiting from space in the Naxxar defence to slot past Yenz Cini. Matthew Portelli scored Melita’s third on 24 minutes and Konno completed his hattrick already on the half hour with another opportunistic goal. Three minutes later, Melita scored their fifth through Karl Mohnani as they continued striking up the goals with relative ease.
The dressing room speech by coach George Vella must have been impressive as Naxxar started the second half more adventurously in the hope of making the result more respectable, creating a flurry of changes. However, Melita kept on insisting, missing a golden chance to add another on 57 minutes when Mohnani won a penalty, but his effort was well saved by substitute keeper Andre’ Fenech. On 79 minutes, Matthew Debattista could have made it six, but his effort hit the post with Fenech beaten.

PLAY OUT
Swieqi United 2-0 San Gwann
The final verdict and the sixth team to be relegated to Amateur League football next season are San Gwann, as they lost their final match against Play-Out group winners Swieqi United. It was an interesting battle on Sunday afternoon with four matches being played simultaneously with, at half-time, it initially looked like Marsa would go down, trailing Qrendi by two goals. However, Marsa recovered after the break while San Gwann failed to score and eventually had to swallow the bitter pill of relegation with two late second half goals by Swieqi. Although the team of interim coach Xavier Saliba created several goal scoring opportunities after the break, Steve Damato's side deserved the victory as they were in control and simply more effective up front.
The first half was very balanced and although Swieqi were in attacking mode, San Gwann defended well with, remarkably, neither side having any shots on target.
The first real goal scoring opportunity of the match arrived just before the hour mark when Rean Saito hit the post for San Gwann. The same player was again unlucky a few minutes later when his shot from close range was superbly saved by goalkeeper Jean-Claude Debattista, who played his 100^th game for Swieqi. Although San Gwann were piling up the pressure on the Swieqi rear-guard, it was Swieqi who scored ten minutes before the end of regular time when substitute Johan Castano converted from the penalty spot after the referee awarded a penalty for a foul committed in the box. San Gwann gave it one last shot but deep into stoppage time on the other side, substitute Roderick Taliana sealed the victory for Swieqi, beating the offside trap and netting with a well-placed shot. There was heartbreak for the yellow clan after the final whistle when the results came in from elsewhere, with San Gwann returning to 3^rd tier football for the first time since their promotion in 2020.

Lija Athletic 4-2 Fgura United
From all four relegation contenders, Lija had the best cards before kick-off of this match as they were two points ahead of the other three. They eventually obtained the vital three points they wanted against Fgura to save their status in the Challenge League. The team of coach Joseph Galea won 4-2 in a highly entertaining and rather ill-tempered match, with the referee distributing seven yellow cards and another one to a Lija official. Fgura surprised their opponents on 19 minutes when Valentim Wellington beat the Lija defence to shoot low into the net from an acute angle. Lija initially failed to settle down but then they turned the tide in their favour with two quick goals. On 33 minutes, the returning Erjon Beu scored a beauty with a shot on the turn and three minutes later, from a Beu cross from the left, Kotaro Kishi headed home.
Nine minutes into the second half Lija put their minds at rest when Camilo Diaz, one their best performers this season, shot home after a good run. Ten minutes later, the Colombian powered his way inside the area to drill the ball home for Lija’s fourth goal. In stoppage time Jurgen Debono pulled one back for Fgura direct from a freekick.

Attard 5-2 Mtarfa
The fairy-tale season of Daniel Agius’ Attard has a happy ending as the team managed to keep their status, against expectation before the start of the season but surely deserved as the whole team rose to the occasion on several occasions throughout the campaign. With a steady rear-guard led by outstanding goalkeeper Zach Valletta and various players rising towards unexpected levels, Attard can make themselves up for another season Challenge League.
Nicholas Schembri could have put Attard one nil up already after two minutes but the striker blasted high from an ideal position. Six minutes later, Mtarfa had a similar chance from a corner action but Mattia Zarb’s attempt at the second post sailed high. However, on 14 minutes, Schembri headed home the opener for Attard, much to the delight of the Attard supporters who turned up in large numbers. However, two minutes before the break, Mtarfa equalised thanks to Brandon Micallef, who tapped home from close-range, unmarked at the second post.
Right after the re-start, Schembri hit the side-netting from another neat Attard attack. On 51 minutes however, Bledi Alla scored Attard’s second and in the attack that followed after the kick-off, Alla made it 3-1 in a similar attack. On 67 minutes, Schembri sent Nigel Spiteri through, who finished off with a beautiful lob over the on storming Jean Matthias Vella. On 76 minutes, Mtarfa captain Gabriel Mannino reduced the deficit with an accurate shot from the edge of the box. On 80 minutes, Attard were awarded a penalty after a handball incident in the Mtarfa box. Schembri did not fail to seal the match in favour of Attard. With the news coming in from the Marsa and San Gwann matches, the party started for the Attard clan.

Qrendi 2-2 Marsa
Also Marsa escaped relegation, thanks to a hard-earned two all draw with the already doomed Qrendi. Initially, their chances were minimal at the Luxol Stadium, as Marsa were two nil down at half-time. Brazilian substitute Cristian Henrique however scored two priceless goals to keep his side in the Challenge League. The match marked the very last game of ex-Malta international Ryan Fenech, who was Marsa’s player-coach during the second half of their troubled season.
Qrendi surprised Marsa with two goals in the first half to further complicate the Red and Blues chances of survival. Towering Brazilian centre-back Pedro Gusso opened the scoring for Qrendi after 10 minutes whilst Cadu doubled for Qrendi on 23 minutes.
Marsa started the second half strongly and had a fine shot by Gianluca Bugeja that was well saved for a corner by Qrendi goalkeeper Ryan Vella. On 58 minutes, Marsa were desperately unlucky not to reduce the deficit when Valdo saw his header smash against the post. Finally, on 66 minutes, Marsa scored when Cristian Henrique smashed home from close range. The decisive goal was scored six minutes before the end of regular time with the Brazilian heading past Vella, a goal which sent San Gwann into the Amateur League.

St Andrews 2-2 Marsaskala
In the second match at the Victor Tedesco stadium on Saturday, St Andrews and Marsaskala shared the points in an entertaining 2-2 draw. Both teams knew their fate already before the start of the match, creating an open contest as both set of players tried hard to collect the three points. Marsaskala opened the scoring on 16 minutes thanks to a great shot from outside the box by Rundell Winchester.
The Trinidad & Tobago international player was unlucky not tlo double at the beginning of the second half as his shot from close range hit the crossbar. Substitute Andres Viveros made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later with a well-timed shot into the right corner. However, St Andrews refused to throw the towel with 18-year-old striker William England coming from the bench to score a brace on 66 and 72 minutes.

Vittoriosa Stars 0-0 Mqabba
This was a typical end of season match between two teams who surely wished that this season will finish as soon as possible. Both had a dismal season and both after so many years in this category, will have to play Amateur football next season.
No goals were scored even though both teams had several scoring opportunities, but the ball just could not get in. The draw can be considered a fair one even though Mqabba had a slight edge over their opponents. Vittoriosa captain Clive Spiteri finished the season with a red card some minutes from time.

Images copyright by Walter Sargent