Gzira United returned to winning ways as they defeated Sliema Wanderers 3-1 at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday.
A win which puts the Maroons in joint-fourth place along with Valletta and Birkirkara but the Stripes have two games in hand. Sliema, on the other hand, remain anchored at the bottom of the table with four points, seven behind the three teams lying second from bottom.
Making their debut for Gzira were Croatian duo Marko Cosic and Antonio Pavic. The Wanderers had Raffaele Schiavi, Matteo Piccolo and Martin Davis making their first appearance along with substitute Amadou Pape Samb.
Gzira took the lead on the 12th minute thanks to a great freekick by Steve Pisani which ended in the top left corner.
Six minutes later, an erratic clearance by goalkeeper Timothy Aquilina allowed Maxuell Maia da Silva to double the score with a cute lob from outside the area.
Jefferson de Assis made it 3-0 on the 70th when he pounced on a long-distance through pass and rounded a defender before slotting the ball past Aquilina
Three minutes from time, the Wanderers scored a consolation goal thanks to Jean Paul Farrugia who headed the ball home from close range.