Lija no match for superior Mosta

Football - BOV Premier League

kept the Athletic in their own half creating good opportunities and richly deserving their lead.

Lija were too defensiveminded and never appeared in condition to trouble the Mosta defence. When they suffered the second goal just before the interval, the match seemed to be already over.

In the second half, the match had little or no story as Mosta continued to dominate, especially after scoring a third goal early.

For Lija, this was a second consecutive heavy defeat and, even if it is still early in the season, it is obvious they will have to show a lot of improvement if they are to avoid relegation trouble in future.

The match had a very slow start but on the 17th minute a good shot by Thomas Veronese was turned to corner in style by Lija goalkeeper Luke Bonnici.

Two minutes later, Mosta went very close to open the scoring. Martins Fernandes crossed low for Ferreira to see his effort being cleared from over the line by Lija’s Antoine Borg.

Goalie Bonnici was again a protagonist in the 29th minute when he dived full length to turn to corner a good effort from Zac Brincat.

Mosta were rewarded for their efforts in the 32nd minute when they took the lead. From a Veronese cross, goalie Bonnici punched the ball right into the path of Dexter Xuereb who made no mistake with a first timer, the ball going into the net off the upright.

Lija reacted and five minutes later, Djamel Leeflang tried his luck with a low shot from the edge of the area, but the ball went wide.

At the other end, Martins Fernandes twice had good efforts going just over the bar for Mosta.

The Blues added a second goal on the 45th minute – a fine shot by Zac Brincat which beat goalie Bonnici all ends up.

Mosta remained the better team at the start of the second half and it was no surprise that they added a third goal in the 53rd minute through Leonardo Henrique Ferreira who netted after a personal action.

Lija had a rare chance on 67 minutes. From a Cassar cross, goalie Andreas Vella punched the ball out, but Bello Osagie headed wide with an open goal.

Lija finally scored a consolation goal through Djamel Leeflang in the 90th minute. He deviated into the net a Ousmane Sidibe shot.

Mosta registered their first win of the season yesterday as they easily overcame a poor Lija side who succumbed to a second defeat from two matches. D. Xuereb and Z. Brincat scored in the first half while Leonardo Henrique Ferreira added the third in...