Marsa St. Michael move to one point from leaders Valletta St. Pauls
Marsa St Michael are only a point behind league leaders Valletta St Pauls after winning a direct clash against Żurrieq Sunrise. The team led by Francois Spiteri have also a game in hand and if they managed to win the next encounter against Versity AFC they will bounce at the top of the table.
On the other hand last year’s champions Versity AFC continued with their good form of late after routing Qormi Hotspurs 6-0.
In the MAFA Second Division, Valletta Stars and San Ġiljan Saints won two delicate matches against Balluta Barracudas and Naxxar Victorians respectively to maintain their joint leadership together.
Finally Mosta Vikings got their first point of the season after firing blanks against Tarxien AFC.
As said Marsa St Michael registered their fifth win of the season after a hard fought 2-1 win over Żurrieq Sunrise.
The match had an electrifying start as we witnessed two goals in the first ten minutes.
Nikolay Filipov put Marsa ahead but Żurrieq Sunrise soon replied through Marco Saraceno.
In the second half, Marsa St Michael scored their winning goal courtesy of Deyan Madhzarov who beat Żurrieq keeper Ivan Valentin.
Referee: Patrick Falzon. Versity AFC registered their second win of the season in style as they hammered Qormi Hotspurs 6-0.
It was a match dominated from the Tal-Qroqq side from start to finish with Moroccan strikers Mehdi Boulahia hitting the target three times.
On the other hand, Ubadike Ifeanyichukwu scored a brace while Yakubu Bilali added another one for the winning team.
Referee: Aleksandar Dovnonicic
The MAFA Second Division is proving to be a very interesting one with San Ġiljan Saints and Valletta Stars that are expected to battle the championship till the very end. They are also favourites to gain promotion to the top tier of this association.
San Ġiljan Saints edged Naxxar Victorians 1-0 in an evenly-contested match. The Victorians gave their all against their most quoted opponents and were unlucky in some occasions.
On the other hand, the Saints were the most convincing side and managed to find the winning goal thanks to Mamadou Jawo who netted from close range. For the Gambian striker, this was his fourth goal of the campaign.
Referee: Lorry Sammut. Valletta Stars quickly replied and they won a direct encounter against Balluta Barracudas 2-1. The latter were a determined lot throughout all the match although the Citizens proved to be more clinical and scored in the crucial period of the match.
A few minutes before the interval, Valletta Stars drew first blood thanks to a penalty scored by Nunzio di Mauro who was playing his last match with his team.
Valletta Stars started brightly the second half and doubled the score by Hamza Camara.
Balluta Barracudas refused to throw in the towel and reduced the score through a penalty scored by Angelo Migliore. Referee: Reno Galea
Finally Mosta Vikings and Tarxien AFC finished their match in a 0-0 stalemate. For Etienne Grech Sillato’s troops this was their first point of the season after six consecutive defeats.
Tarxien AFC failed to score for the second consecutive match as they had to content themselves with a point.
Referee: Georgi Bitri.
MAFA First Division Standings
Valletta St Pauls 17, Marsa St Michael 16, Żurrieq Sunrise 14, Qormi Hotspurs 9, Versity AFC 8, Senglea Gunners 6, Balzan Youths AFC 5,
MAFA Second Division Standings
San Ġiljan Saints, Valletta Stars 18, Balluta Barracudas 14, Tarxien AFC 11, Naxxar Victorians 9, Fgura Spartans 5, Mosta Vikings 1