Mġarr United stayed unbeaten despite dropping their first points in a goalless draw with Hibernians, as Swieqi United closed the gap at the top with a big win.
Mġarr United dropped their first points of the season but extended their unbeaten run after being held to a goalless draw by title contenders Hibernians.
The encounter came just days after the Greens lifted the Malta FA Jubilee Cup at the expense of the Paolites at the National Stadium, with both sides cancelling each other out in a closely fought contest.
Despite the stalemate, Ryan Vella’s side remain top of the standings on 28 points, although their advantage was reduced to six following Swieqi United’s comprehensive win over Valletta. Swieqi now sit second on 22 points, while Hibernians drop to third on 20, eight points adrift of the leaders.
MĠARR UNITED 0-0 HIBERNIANS
Mġarr: G. D’Antuono; L. Cefai, M. Debono, Y. Mendez, A. Camilleri, B. Borg, A. Grech, Y. Carella, J. N’Guessan, A. Villegas, V. Villegas. Coach: Ryan Vella
Hibernians: M. Cachia; N. Geren, A. Galea, G. Mifsud, C. Schechinger, N. Sciberras, F. Bartolo (70 C. Zulu), K. Chetcuti, L. Ayres, S. Vella Barberi (70 A. Ghio), S. Kabene. Coach: Martina Borg
Referee: Igor Kankaras
Swieqi United enjoyed a comfortable outing against Valletta, with Serbian midfielder Andela Kricak netting four goals inside the opening 35 minutes to effectively settle the match early on. The Owls added two more after the break to complete the rout. Valletta remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just one point.
VALLETTA 0-6 SWIEQI UNITED
Kricak 5’ 8’ 14’ 35’, Micallef 41’, Saliba 63’ pen.
Valletta: D. Grech; A. Carbonaro (46 S. Fenech), S. Caruana, E. Marmara, E. Csik, L. Zolorsano, Joelma, M. Belkis (46 K. Zammit), H. Fenech (46 I. Mohamed), I. Sultana (46 P. Camilleri), S. Bugeja. Coach: Anthony Cremona
Swieqi: P. Araujo; V. Rapa, E. Micallef (46 T. Falzon), S. Urpani, J. Flask (63 T. Scicluna), S. Abdulai, E. Koneva (46 M. Vella), A. Kricak, M. Cachia, M. Conti, S. Saliba. Coach: Dorianne Theuma
Referee: Luca Grech
Elsewhere, fourth-placed Birkirkara created some breathing space over San Ġwann thanks to a strong late surge. Patricia Lamanna opened the scoring 20 minutes from time before Japanese midfielder Momo Ueda struck twice — including a goal deep into stoppage time — to seal the victory.
San Ġwann remain fifth with four points.
BIRKIRKARA 3-0 SAN ĠWANN
Lamanna 70’, Ueda 75’ 90’.
Birkirkara: J. Zarb; G. Zahra, L. Azzopardi, S. Farrugia, P. Lamanna, M. Gauci (46 I. Stringer), Y. Grech (63 I. Camilleri), K. Axiak (46 K. Sacco), H. Sekura, M. Ueda, E. Micallef. Coach: William Mock
San Ġwann: J. Caruana (71 R. Magro), A. Rapa, M. Kasim (46 F. Al Girbi), L. Vella, H. Russell, R. Borg, M. Fanega, K. Vella, K. Paris (53 T. Muscat), N. Addo, R. Zerafa. Coach:Julian Camilleri
Referee: Xhyra Rapjan