Superior Melita settle issue in first half
A superior Melita side easily disposed of bottom of the table side Gharghur to move to a heathy mid-table position, pushing Gharghur into deeper trouble with six matches to go, they are really in a desperate position.
Gharghur improved considerably after the break, but failed to score a goal that would have opened up the game again.
Melita took some time to settle down, even though from the start they showed the better options; however it was Gharghur who ventured forward first and this came in the 16th minute when a Gordon Saliba effort from an acute angle was saved by Grima.
Melita forged ahead in the 18th minute when Luke Micallef receieved a long ball from the right and as he saw Valletta coming out of position stroke a good grounder to score.
In the 26th minute it was Gordon Saliba who again had his effort saved by Grima but Melita managed to score a second on 33 minutes, thanks to a magnificent direct free-kick taken by Nicholas Bradshaw which left Valletta helpless.
Three minutes later it was Muda Fagbeja who ran from the right flank with his effort well saved by Grima.
A minute into the second half, Gharghur could have reduced the arrears but Fagbeja, who managed to beat the offside trap, shot straight at Grima from close range. The same player had a free-kick just wide on 50 minutes.
On 58 minutes, Eduardo Da Lima came close when after a good pass by Busuttil from inside the area saw his effort saved by Grima. Five minutes later, Joshua Azzopardi had an effort from the edge of the area saved by Grima.
Melita could have scored a third on 74 minutes but Alan Borg Olivier drove the ball wide with the goalkeeper beaten after a magnificent Singleton cross.
Gharghur: Z. Valletta, L. Galea, K. Fedele, D. Camilleri, S. Mino, I. Chircop (J. Azzopardi), M. Fagbeja, E. Da Lima Nicolau, G. Saliba, L. Busuttil, L. Vella
Melita: N. Grima, M. Cachia, A. Mizzi, R. Parrado, K. Pace, N. Bradshaw (A. Sant), E. Cornago, J. P. Attard, A. Borg Olivier (D. Farrugia), T. Singleton, L. Micallef (A. Xuereb)
Referee: Matthew Degabriele