BOV Premier League top scorer Bojan Kaljevic notched a hat-trick as Balzan registered a comfortable 4-0 win over bottom-placed Pembroke Athleta at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Sunday.
For Pembroke, this was the fifth defeat in six matches.
Pembroke had four changes from the team which lost to Floriana as Brandon Muscat, Sunday Eboh, Oleksandr Maksymov and new signing Ugochukwu Akuta replaced Borche Manevski, Jhonatan Bernardo Mariano and suspended duo Paltemio Barbetti and Zoran Levnaic. On the other hand, Elkin Serrano Valero replaced the suspended Bruno Giglio de Oliveira for Balzan.
Pembroke went close on the 3rd minute when off a cross by Asani Djeljilj from the left, Oleksandr Maksymov’s first time effort his the foot of the upright.
However Balzan managed to take the lead on the 13th minute thanks to Bojan Kaljevic whose angled low shot from the left beat goalkeeper Calleja Cremona.
Balzan doubled the score on the 33rd minute thanks to Samir Arab who concluded a fine solo effort with a rising shot from the right which gave the Pembroke goalkeeper no chance.
Bojan Kaljevic made it 3-0 one minute before the end of the first half with a diagonal shot from the left from underneath the goalkeeper.
Two minutes from time, Bojan Kaljevic crowned a fine performance with a hat-trick after converting a penalty after the same player was brought down inside the area by Matthew Calleja Cremona.
BALZAN Ivan Janjusevic, Clive Brincat, Samir Arab, Bojan Kaljevic, Elkin Serrano Valero, Steve Bezzina, Anderson Francisco de Barros, Abdelkarim Nafti, Matteo Piciollo (61′ Lydon Micallef), Dylan Grima (75′ Terence Agius), Alan da Silva Souza (61′ Alfred Effiong).
Subs not used: Justin Micallef, Gary Camilleri, Ryan Fenech, Sean Cipriott.
Coach: Oliver SpiteriPEMBROKE Matthew Calleja Cremona, Brandon Muscat, Sunday Eboh (76′ Filippo Andrea Scozzese), Asani Djeljilj, Owen Bugeja, Manolito Micallef, Ugochukwu Akuta, Siraj Eddin Arab (80′ Emmanuel Naatey), Haruna Shola Shodiya, Olkesandr Maksymov, Adrian Borg.
Subs not used: Craig Abdilla, Tyron Fenech, Miguel Attard, Neil Micallef, Matthew Pulis.
Coach: Artim ShaqiriReferee: Jason Barcelo (GIB)
Assistant Referee: Herbert Warwick, Juan Jose Villada (GIB)
Fourth Official: Yaroslaff Borg (GIB)
Yellow Cards: Djeljilj, Akuta, Micallef, Calleja Cremona
Scorers: 13′ Bojan Kaljevic, 33′ Samir Arab, 44′ Bojan Kaljevic, 88′ Bojan Kaljevic pen
BOV Player of the Match: Bojan Kaljevic