BOV Division 1: Routine wins for Naxxar, Lija as Senglea beat Mqabba

Joint-leaders Naxxar Lions and Lija Athletic continued their run towards promotion to the Premier League as they both registered wins while Senglea Athletic defeated Mqabba in a clash between the two teams sharing third place in the BOV First Division on Saturday.

At the Victor Tedesco Stadium, Naxxar beat Fgura United 2-1 in a top-bottom clash. Yuri de Jesus Messias put Naxxar ahead on the 11th but Ebube Okpokwu levelled matters just before half-time. Ryan Grech notched the winner ten minutes from time. This defeat condemns Fgura United to playing in Division 2 next season.

Lija Athletic defeated Zebbug Rangers 3-1 at the Centenary Stadium. Erjon Beu put Lija ahead on the 20th and the Albanian striker converted a penalty just before half-time to double the score. Abubakar Bello-Osagie made it 3-0 on the 56th minute with Mauricio Rodrigues Britto scored a consolation goal ten minutes from time.

A penalty by Juninho Cabral on the 72nd minute gave Senglea Athletic a narrow win over Mqabba in another match at the Centenary Stadium.

In another match, Rabat Ajax and Gharghur shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw. A draw which keeps the Magpies six points ahead of Gharghur with two games to go for the end of the season. Aidan Azzopardi put Rabat ahead on the 14th minute and Muda Fagbeja equalised four minutes later.

Naxxar and Lija lead the way on 48 points, followed by Senglea on 47, Mqabba 44, Qormi 40, Vittoriosa 36, Pietà 32, Sirens and Melita 30, Zebbug 27, Marsa 25, Rabat 23, Gharghur 17 and Fgura 15.