Gzira United came from behind to beat ten-man Senglea Athletic 3-1 at the Centenary Stadium on Monday.
The Maroons, therefore, returned to winning ways after losing narrowly to Sirens in their last outing. This win enables them to move into second place, one point ahead of Valletta and Sirens and three behind leaders Floriana. Senglea, on the other hand, are now tenth, one point ahead of Sliema and Gudja and two ahead of Santa Lucia.
Senglea took the lead on the 5th minute when they were awarded a penalty after Justin Haber floored Taisei Marukawa inside the area and from the penalty spot, Gonzalo Nicolas Virano converted.
However, on the 26th minute, Senglea were reduced to ten men as Elvis Sakyi was sent off for a reckless tackle on Martin Davis.
Rodolfo Soares levelled matters for the Maroons on the 35th as he managed to place the ball at the back of the net following a corner which created havoc inside the area.
Six minutes in the second half, referee Stefan Pace interrupted the game due to the heavy rainfall but it resumed two minutes later.
On the 64th, Jefferson de Assis put the Maroons ahead with a great rising shot from the edge of the area which gave goalkeeper Anthony Curmi no chance.
Gzira increased the lead on the 84th minute when off an assist by Jefferson from the left, Gianmarco Conti hit the ball in the bottom right corner behind Curmi.
SENGLEA Anthony Curmi, Sigitas Olberkis, Dejan Debono (74’ Jan Tanti), Elvis Sakyi, Manolito Micallef, Gonzalo Nicolas Virano (90′ Justin Micallef), Taisei Marukawa, Jose Wilkson Teixeira, Seam Cipriott, Wilfried Zamble, Anderson Carneiro do Nascimento (82′ Leighton Grech).
Subs not used: Matthew Farrugia. Connor Zammit, Andrei Spiteri, Karl Pulo.
Coach: Steven Vella
Goalkeepers’ Coach: Mario Muscat
GZIRA Justin Haber, Fernando Barbosa, Gianmarco Conti, Nikolai Muscat (90+1′ Romario Camilleri), Zachary Scerri, Rodolfo Soares, Andrew Cohen, Amadou Samb, Arthur Henrique Oyama, Martin Davis (87′ Christian Sammut), Jefferson de Assis.
Subs not used: Brandon Debono, Luca Brincat, Jamie Camilleri, Alexander Scicluna, Sam Zammit Cutajar, Romario Camilleri.
Coach: Giovanni Tedesco
Referee: Stefan Pace
Assistant Referees: Edward Spiteri, Paul Apap
Fourth Official: Fyodor Zammit
Yellow Cards: Haber, Soares, Teixeira, Cipriott
Red Cards: 26’ Elvis Sakyi
BOV Player of the Match: Jefferson de Assis
Attendance: 352