City narrow gap at the top as Balzan held by Lions

VALLETTA 1MOSTA      0 Denni Rocha dos Santos’s deflected effort was enough for Valletta to return to winning form as they edged out Mosta 1-0 at the Hibernians Stadium on Saturday.  With this win, Valletta narrowed the gap on leaders Balzan to just one point after the latter were held to a goalless draw by Naxxar Lions. Valletta scored what proved to be the winner after just four minutes. Matteo Piciollo surged into the box before serving Denni whose low drive appeared to take a deflection as it rolled past goalkeeper Andreas Vella. Mosta had a few chances to equalise midway into the first half but David Ifeanyi Nworah’s long-distance effort hit the crossbar. A few minutes later, Godwin Blessing Henshaw’s effort was pawed away in style by Nicky Vella, the Valletta goalkeeper who was deputising for Henry Bonello. BOV player of the match: Matteo Piciollo (Valletta). BALZAN              0NAXXAR LIONS  0BOV Premier League leaders Balzan failed to extend their winning run to seven matches after being held to a goalless draw by Naxxar Lions in a match that produced several scoring chances. It was Balzan who made the better start, missing an inviting chance when Bojan Kaljevic slipped a pass into the path of Alfred Effiong who sprinted into the box but his grounder grazed the foot of the post. Naxxar endured a difficult start with coach Oliver Spiteri, who was facing his former club, forced to make two substitutions. Daren Falzon came on for Ryan Grech, who looked to have picked up an injury, and Joel Ellul replaced Yuri Messias who suffered a back injury after landing awkwardly. Christoph Nicht, the Lions goalkeeper, twice denied Kaljevic late in the first half while Naxxar’s Falzon headed over the on-rushing Sean Mintoff but his effort was high. BOV player of the match: Milos Lepovic (Balzan). SENGLEA ATHLETIC 3SLIEMA WANDERERS 0 Terence Vella capped a man-of-the-match performance with two goals as Senglea Athletic pulled off a surprise after beating Sliema Wanderers 3-0 at the Hibernians Stadium. It was the second consecutive win for Senglea following their 2-1 victory over Naxxar Lions while Sliema missed the chance to keep the pace with the front-runners. Senglea went ahead after eight minutes when captain Vella’s curled cross-shot sailed past a host of players and goalkeeper Glenn Zammit as it sailed into the far corner. Four minutes into the second half, Senglea increased their lead. Peter Paul Sammut nudged the ball off Sliema’s John Mintoff and exchanged passes with Nicola Palmieri before rifling past Zammit. In the closing stages, Senglea sealed their win when skipper Vella converted a penalty after by Sammut was floored by Sliema defender Stefano Bianciardi. BOV player of the match: Terence Vella (Senglea Athletic).ĦAMRUN SPARTANS 2TARXIEN RAINBOWS 1 Ħamrun Spartans overcame Tarxien Rainbows 2-1 to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Birkirkara and move just one point behind Sliema Wanderers in the standings. The Spartans broke the deadlock on 21 minutes when Thiago Espindola De Paula free-kick’s was met by Tiago Souza da Silveira who headed past Tarxien goalkeeper Antonio Chetcuti. Marco Criaco doubled the Spartans’ lead 11 minutes into the second half, hitting a low shot after a good move involving Dale Camilleri and Davide Succi. With 11 minutes left, Tarxien reduced the deficit. Ricardo Silva Faria converted a penalty after Ebiabowei Baker was brought down inside the area. BOV player of the match: Dale Camilleri (Ħamrun Spartans).More photos from Senglea-Sliema match on http://www.takeaseat.org.mt/news/news-articles/2017/5a3631afce834e0688089581