Mosta overcame a good comeback by Naxxar Lions to register a 4-2 win in the derby. A win which puts the Blues temporarily in second place on level points with Valletta.
After going two goals down, two quick goals early in the second half enabled Naxxar to equalise but Mosta hit twice once again to take home the three points. For the Lions, this was the third defeat in six matches but they still maintain a mid-table position.
Naxxar coach Winston Muscat could not count on Angus Buhagiar, Terence Scerri and Andre Rocha da Silva while Diego Pereira and Giancarlo Sammut were missing for Mosta..
Naxxar had the first attempt at goal with a cross shot by Gilmar da Silva Ribeiro from the left blocked by Omar Borg on the 13th. A minute later, a Pablo Doffo freekick ended just past the upright. Mosta replied with a good pass by Bojan Kaljevic for Cristian Martins Fernandes inside the penalty area on the 23rd but the latter’s attempt ended in Julian Azzopardi’s safe hands. Four minutes later, a direct freekick by Cristian Martins Fernandes was deflected into another corner by the Naxxar goalkeeper.
Mosta managed to take the lead on the 28th when off a corner from the left by Ricardinho, Lukas Duriska’s attempt was partially blocked by Julian Azzopardi and off the rebound Manolito Micallef’s powerful shot from close range ended at the back of the net.
A minute later, the Blues doubled the score when Bojan Kaljevic advanced upfield and his powerful rising shot from outside the penalty area gave goalkeeper Julian Azzopardi no chance.
Mosta maintained the pressure, going close with a direct freekick by Cristian Martins Fernandes which was parried by Azzopardi. On the other side of the pitch, a Marlon Briffa attempt from outside the penalty box ended a little bit high over the bar and just before half-time, Yuri de Jesus Messias failed to connect off a cross shot by Kaljevic.
Five minutes in the second half, Naxxar pulled one back when off a Pablo Doffo freekick, Thiago Lopez de Souza’s perfect header beat Omar Borg,
Five minutes later, Naxxar equalised when Ousseni Zongo sent Daren Falzon through and the latter’s attempt from the right hit the upright before ending at the back of the net.
Mosta however regained the lead on 68 minutes when off a throw-in, Ryan Grech’s powerful first time effort from the 30 metres left Julian Azzopardi astounded.
Naxxar replied with a Pablo Doffo freekick from which Zongo headed the ball into the direction of Thiago Lopes De Souza whose final header was neutralised by Omar Borg. On the 86th, a Pablo Doffo freekick was cleared by the Mosta defence and Marlon Briffa’s effort off the rebound ended just over the bar.
Mosta sealed the issue on the 90th as they increased the lead when a Bojan Kaljevic cross was met by a Ricardo Faria Silva low shot which ended into the net.
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NAXXAR L. Julian Azzopardi, Marlon Briffa, Louis John Cutajar, Gilmar Da Silva Ribeiro, Andrew Decesare (46’ Victor Bellia), Mattia Del Negro (82’ Duane Bonnici), Pablo Doffo, Daren Falzon, Thiago Lopes De Souza, Evaldo Silva Dos Santos, Ousseni Zongo.
Subs not used: Luke Pecorella, Ryan Gilmour Cassar, John Debono, Kurt Drago, Yori Martines De Oliveira.
Coach: Winston MuscatMOSTA Omar Borg, Tyrone Farrugia, Kane Farrugia, Ishmael Grech, Manolito Micallef (87’ Alex Cini), Ryan Grech, Lukas Duriska, Ricardo Faria Silva, Yuri De Jesus Messias (71’ Mark Brincat), Christian Martins Fernandes (56’ Rodriguez Ekani Jonas), Bojan Kaljevic.
Subs not used: Kurt Rizzo, Bryan Agius, Kurt Zammit, Kyle Frendo.
Coach: Danilo DoncicReferee: Marco Borg
Assistant Referees: Edward Spiteri, Sammy Attard
Fourth Official: Alan Mario Sant
Yellow Cards: Y. Messias, Kaljevic, Thiago Lopes, R. Grech, M. Briffa
Scorers: 28’ Manolito Micallef (M), 29’ Bojan Kaljevic (M) , 50’ Thiago Lopez De Souza (N) 55’ Daren Falzon (N) 68’ Ryan Grech (M), 90’ Ricardo Faria Silva (M)
BOV Player of the Match: Bojan Kaljevic (Mosta)
After defeating Qormi in their last outing, Vittoriosa Stars claimed another three points in a 1-0 win over Rabat Ajax at the Victor Tedesco Stadium.
The Stars move sixth on level points with Naxxar Lions, leaving Rabat anchored at the bottom of the table without any points.
The Magpies lacked Joseph Caruana and Malcolm Licari while Luke Vella Critien, Sheldon Grech and Roberto Brincat were missing for Vittoriosa.
Vittoriosa went close to taking the lead on the 4th minute when Marcelo Pereira took advantange of an erratic clearance by Shaun Gauci but the Brazilian striker’s conclusion was cleared off the goal line by the same Rabat defender.
Five minutes later, they managed to take the lead when off a good run by Marcelo Pereira on the right flank, he served the unmarked Oscar Guerrero who hit the ball home from close range.
On the 26th, Velimirovic performed a fine save into a corner on an overhead kick by Gilbert Martin. Two minutes later, Marcelo Pereira concluded a good move with a shot from the edge of the area ending just wide. Another Pereira effort was blocked into a corner by Velimirovic on the 34th.
Fourteen minutes in the second half, Diego Carrillo had a shot from the right which just missed the target. On the other side of the pitch, a Marcelo Pereira effort was deflected into a corner.
On the 77th, a header by Patrick Borg was cleared off the goal line into a corner. From the resulting corner, a Ryan Micallef header was saved by Jean Matthias Vella. A minute later, Adam Smeir’s effort was deflected into a corner.
The Magpies were then unlucky to hit the upright with substitute Ryan Micallef on 84 minutes. Deep into stoppage time, a great shot by Adam Smeir was tipped into a corner by the Vitoriosa goalkeeper and off the resulting corner, Moises Avila Perez headed the ball wide.
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VITTORIOSA Jean Matthias Vella, Malcolm Buttigieg (77′ Clive Brincat), Gilbert Martin (63′ Mark Barbara), Oscar Dario Guerrero Alvarado, Clive Spiteri, Michael Camilleri, Marcio Teruel, Ramon dos Santos, Marcelo Pereira, Jose Filipe Aguiar (56′ Adam Spiteri), Samir Arab.
Subs not used: Matthew Camilleri, Justin Camilleri, Ryan Mifsud, Siraj Arab Eddin.
Coach: Oliver SpiteriRABAT Pavle Velimirovic, Dylan Falzon, Shaun Gauci, Josef Tonna (46′ Moises Avila Perez), Ivan Carapic, Patrick Borg, Diego Carrillo Pendas, Daniel Pelaez Bellido, Jonathan Bajada (59′ Ryan Micallef), Adam Smeir, David Azzopardi.
Subs not used: Jonathan Azzopardi, Clifford Gauci, Aidan Azzopardi, Etienne Scicluna, Zachary Tanti.
Coach: Steve D’AmatoReferee: Kevin Azzopardi
Assistant Referees: Duncan Sultana, Roberto Vella
Fourth Official: Paul Caruana
Yellow Cards: O. Guerrero, D. Carrillo, M. Teruel, C. Spiteri, R. Micallef, P. Borg
Scorers: 9′ Oscar Guerrero
BOV Player of the Match: Marcelo Pereira