Melita win top of the table clash against Attard

There were some exciting games again last weekend in the BOV Amateur League. In Group A, Mġarr remain leaders thanks to a hard earned win over Zurrieq, while Rabat Ajax were kept on a goalless draw in Group B. Melita and Attard clashed in Group C which developed into a classic match with seven goals. GROUP ATa’ Xbiex 2 Għaxaq 1Renal Bugeja’s Ta Xbiex opened their account in the Amateur League by beating Ghaxaq by the odd goal in three. Jurgen Sciriha put Ta’ Xbiex 1-0 up on eleven minutes. Ta’ Xbiex were clearly the better side but Ian Calleja equalised for Għaxaq close to the half hour mark after a fast counter-attack. Seven minutes before half-time, an Andrew Xuereb free-kick hit the crossbar for Ta Xbiex. Għaxaq were close to find the net on the 55 min but Calleja's shot was well saved by Ta’ Xbiex custodian Matthew Schembri. The winning goal came from a penalty with Xuereb converting on 74 minutes. Mellieħa 2 Għargħur 0Mellieħa added a valuable three points against Gharghur. In the 19th minute, the Blues broke the deadlock. From a perfect cross by Justin Zammit, Wayne Chetcuti put his team 1-0 up. Mellieħa doubled the score on 27 minutes thanks to Brazilian forward Cleiton, who he dribbled past the Għargħur defence and leaving Għargħur goalkeeper Michael Cluett hapless. In the second half Mellieħa continued to control the match as Għargħur were unable to create any dangerous scoring opportunities. Żurrieq 0 Mġarr United 1Match played under difficult circumstances due to torrential rains. On 25 minutes, Mġarr scored the decisive goal thanks to a wonderful 20-meters distance free-kick by Aaron Sammut. On 34 minutes, Jamie Lee Micallef could have doubled the score for Mġarr but Żurrieq goalkeeper Carmelo Caruana blocked his attempt from close range. On the stroke of half-time, Erik Pietribiasi’s header from a corner action hit the crossbar for Żurrieq. Caruana was called into action again on 65 minutes, making a brilliant save of a Zack Camilleri attempt. However, Caruana was sent-off with three minutes regular time left on the clock after making a foul outside his box. As all five substitutions had been used already, substitute Gianpiero Tozzolino defended the Żurrieq goal for the remaining minutes. A hard-earned win for Mġarr, who therefore still head the table in this group. GROUP BMtarfa 1 Luqa St Andrew’s 1Stalemate in a well contested match. After a series of attempts in the opening period, the original St Andrew’s opened the score in the 12th minute, due to an unfortunate own goal from Karl Conti after the Mtarfa defence failed to clear a cross from Luqa dangerman Alan Abdel Rahman. Eight minutes later, Mtarfa were awarded a penalty due to a handsball incident in the Luqa box. However, Jurgen Gerada's spot kick was saved by Luqa goalkeeper Leighton Mifsud. But Mtarfa did equalise not much after in the 33rd minute thanks to veteran Daniel Cremona. Luqa saw more of the ball in the second half but their attempts to score the winner proved to be unsuccessful.  Mdina Knights 0 Żabbar St Patrick 2St Patrick are finding their feet slowly. Against Mdina, they were in control of the match from the start, holding most of the possession and having the better attempts at goal. Initially, the Knights managed to keep their more quoted opponents at bay but in the 70th minute, Mdina conceded a goal from a penalty. The lanky Jean Claud Cesare was fouled in the box and took the spot kick himself, sending Albert Galea the wrong way. Mdina tried to stage rally but with three minutes left to play, Isaac Abela scored a second for Żabbar to secure their win and another valuable three points.  Siġġiewi 0 Rabat Ajax 0The Magpies lost another two points in their bid for promotion in a tight match with Siġġiewi. Rabat had an edge over Siġġiewi, especially in the first half, creating the better chances, however, finding Siġġiewi goalkeeper Ryan Micallef in fine shape. The story of the match changed with an incident close to the hour, when Rabat playmaker Nestor Canas and Siġġiewi official Josef Borg clashed near the Siġġiewi bench and were both sent-off. With this numerical advantage, play became rather balanced with either side failing to brake the deadlock.  GROUP CSanta Venera Lightnings 0 Xgħajra Tornados 2Xgħajra registered their first win this season, despite playing with ten for over 50 minutes. On 32 minutes, the Tornados were awarded a penalty when debutant Owen Anyaso was brought down in the box by Clint John Sciberras. Reuter Degiorgio converted from the spot. Four minutes after Degiorgio’s opener, Xgħajra were reduced to ten men when defender Clint Barbara was cautioned for a second time. Santa Venera started well after the break and an Edward Falzon’s scorcher from the edge of the box hit the woodwork. On 55 minutes, Xgħajra’s Glenn Brincat headed on the post. Degiorgio scored a second on 75 minutes, beating the offsite trap and goalkeeper Claude Carbonaro. On the stroke of full-time, Falzon was sent-off with a straight red card.  Dingli Swallows 1 Kalkara United 3Kalkara won another valuable three points against a luckless Dingli side, who deserved better but had to settle for another defeat. Kalkara took the lead three minutes before the tea break with a Jean-Claude Borg goal. Dario Borg equalised on 65 minutes for Dingli, who started pushing for the winner. Five minutes before full-time, a Dingli goal was ruled out for offside and in the attack that followed on the other side, Anthony Ewurum put Kalkara 2-1 up. Tempers flared with Dingli’s Dale Valletta shown a straight red card in the 89th minute and deep into added time, substitute Aidan Gilford-Agius sealed the issue in favour of Kalkara with their third goal of the evening.  Attard 3 Melita 4The match of the weekend was undoubtedly the encounter between Attard and Melita, two teams who won all their league matches so far. The two teams played full on the attack which resulted in a seven-goal thriller. Nicholas Schembri put Attard 1-0 up in the 11th minute and Melita equalised thanks to a brilliant free-kick by young Matthew Debttista on 34 minutes. Striker Noel Omondi put Melita 1-2 up on 65 minutes but three minutes later, Schembri equalised for Attard. With fifteen minutes to go, Attard went ahead for a second time thanks to Kevin Camilleri. However, Melita turned the match around with two late goals by Karl Mohnani (82nd) and an opportunistic strike by Omondi deep into injury time. A fantastic match and great advert for the MFA Amateur League.