Late comeback keeps Qormi firmly on top
Sirens Qormi 1 2
Qormi turned defeat into victory in the dying moments and scored two late goals to beat a spirited Sirens side and mainatin the leadership in the First Division. Sirens proved to be a hard nut to crack and a draw would have been a fairer result.
The first half was a very balanced affair with few scoring opportunities. Qormi fielded new signing from Rabat Chris Vella who had a couple of attempts at goal.
Sirens were well organised at the back with Giovanni Galea and Daniel Agius keeping the Qormi defence under pressure. Qormi made the first attempt on 14 minutes with Chris Vella testing Marmara with a central drive.
Two minutes later on the other end a Christian Caruana shot on the turn went inches wide. On 20 minutes Giovanni Galea nodded down towards Daniel Agius whose effort was well saved by Azzopardi.
On 26 minutes a Chris Vella scorcher from the edge of the area was saved by Marmara and six minutes from the break a Ryan Previ shot missed the base of the upright by a whisker.
A minute into the second half Sirens took the lead when Luke Galea was somewhat lucky when the Qormi goalkeeper’s clearance hit Galea before finishing at the back of the net. Qormi were unlucky two minutes later when a Matombo shot smashed against the crossbar.
On 55 minutes Giovanni Galea’s fierce drive was blocked by Azzopardi. Qormi continued to attack but Sirens were always dangerous in their breaks.
But onn 77 minutes Qormi drew level when defender Bojan Kremenovic’s headed deflection completely deceived Marmara for an unlucky own goal.
Three minutes from time Qormi took the lead when Lubos Adamec pushed the ball over the goal line from a corner action with the ball cleared off the goal line by a defender, but the ball had crossed the goal line.
R. Marmara, D. Sant, R. Previ, B. Kremenovic, I. Chircop, I. Curmi, J.N. Azzopardi, L. Galea, C. Caruana (E. Goodman 85 min), D. Agius, G. Galea (M. Micallef 82 min).
J. Azzopardi, J. Caetano Da Silva, L. Busuttil (I. Zammit 74 min), C. Matombo (J. Salaroli 74 min), M. Camilleri (T. Gusman 63 min), L. Adamaec, A. Abela, A. Cassar, D. Vukovic, C. Vella, B. Grech.
Mario Apap
San Gwann back on winning track San Gwann 3 Qrendi 2
San Gwann returned to winning ways beating Qrendi by the odd goal in five in a highly entertaining match that could have gone either way.
Qrendi were the better side in the opening stages as they made several attacks on the San Gwann rearguard which was kept under constant pressure.
Qrendi’s lead on seven minutes was no surprise and was scored by Sousa Da Mrtins who was left in a regular position by San Gwann’s central defender, and the new signing made no mistake with a fierce drive.
But Qrendi’s joy was shortlived as San Gwann drew level on 13 minutes when Kyle Gatt made way on the left flank and crossed towards Arieta Suarez who drove home with a low drive. The game was now more balanced with both teams displaying some good attacking football.
Qrendi still had the upper hand for long stretches with both sides however creating several scoring opportunities and just before the break San Gwann took the lead when Sergio Hili scored a beauty with a low drive from the end of the area.
On the resumption Qrendi went all out in search of the equaliser going near with shots from Agius, Nakamura and Sousa da Martins.
Qrendi continued to attack but San Gwann were always menacing in their breaks and put their mingds at rest on 77 minutes when Thiago Lopes De Sousa scored with a glorious header.
Five minutes from time San Gwann’s susbtitute Abouhaisa was sent off for a second booking after a late tackle.
Two minutes later Qrendi scored again when Petar Mrvic pounced on a defensive blunder, dribbled past the goalkeeper before putting at the back of the net.
In the remaining minutes Qrendi stormed forward failed to snatch an equaliser.
A. Camilleri, S. Hili (G. Pace 89 min), M. Arieta Suarez (S. Ogundre 71 min), T. Lopes De Sousa, J. Azzopardi, A. Borg, R. Zammit, A. Cachia (N. Abouhaisa 81 min), G. Henshaw, K. Gatt, C. Gauci.
J. Azzopardi, M. Farrugia, P. Mrvic, Z. Bowman, D. Sammut, E. Amaira, D. Zarb, T. D’Amato, S. Nakamura, J.C. Sousa da Martins (D. Martini 65 min), A. Agius (K. Abela 62 min).
Darko Stankovic Qormi Pieta H Mqabba Żebbuġ R Vittoriosa S Sirens Żejtun C Qrendi San Ġwann Pembroke Melita Żabbar SP Marsa Rabat A but P W D L F A Pts 15 11 2 2 34 17 35 14 10 0 4 34 16 30 14 9 1 4 30 15 28 14 6 6 2 23 14 24 14 7 3 4 26 19 24 15 6 2 7 28 28 20 14 5 5 4 22 21 20 15 4 7 4 19 22 19 15 4 6 5 23 26 18 14 6 5 3 25 14 13 14 3 2 9 13 28 11 14 2 4 8 14 29 10 14 2 4 8 14 29 10 14 1 1 12 13 40 4
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