Attard celebrate in style, Xghajra miss out on Play-Offs

GROUP A


Attard sealed their memorable season on Sunday afternoon against Ta’ Xbiex, beating the seasiders 2-0 at the Centenary Stadium. The team therefore won their 16th match of the season, from 18, drew the other two, remaining unbeaten throughout the campaign. Attard ended with a 10 points advantage on Group A runners-up Gharghur, despite starting the season with a nine points deduction, a remarkable feat not before done in Maltese football. Ta’ Xbiex gave Attard however a good run for their money as their defence did initially not bulge, with the two goals being scored in the final part of the game. Daniel Agius’ side threatened for the first time on seven minutes when Ta’ Xbiex goalkeeper Deacon Grech blocked Bledi Alla’s attempt from a Nicholas Schembri through ball. After a Jurgen Ebejer free-kick was blocked by the Attard wall on the other side, Adrian Sammut scored on 16 minutes with a header from a Lydon Cuschieri corner but the referee annulled the goal due to an infringement in the box of Ta’ Xbiex. On 24 minutes, a lob by Ryan Caruana was turned into a corner with difficulty by Grech. Seven minutes after the break, Shamison Farrugia’s run split the Attard rear-guard open but his shot missed target. Attard missed another two chances to score on 57 and 64 minutes but at the moment the leaders started to get frustrated not finding the net, Schembri opened the score on 69 minutes with a wonderful diagonal shot which had the better of Grech, his 21st league goal of the season. Two minutes later, Alla doubled with a powerful shot which meant the downfall for Ta’ Xbiex. The party could begin for all followers of Attard Football Club, who will play at the second tier of the Maltese football pyramid for the very first time in their nearly 50 years of existence.

On Saturday night, runners-Up Gharghur continued to struggle with a 3-0 defeat against Kalkara United, who needed a win to secure a spot in the Promotion Play-Offs. It is true that coach Kevin Borg-Degiorgio, with an eye on their Promotion Play-Off against Marsaskala, fielded a depleted team, but the truth is that Gharghur only managed to win two matches in the whole 2nd round, from a possible nine. Kalkara made sure of the win with three early goals, all scored within the first half hour. The Greens made a rampant start as the first two goals were scored in the first seven minutes of the match. Centre-back Cedric Zahra headed the ball behind young Egyptian debutant goalkeeper Ahmed Moustafa from a corner on two minutes and five minutes later, Michael Theuma doubled the score with a tap in after a wonderful assist by Mohamed Ayoub. Ayoub added the third on 22 minutes, being all alone in front of goal, finishing the attack off with a great top corner shot. The match was played with the remaining time being an uninteresting affair, with Kalkara not capable to add more goals despite their dominance. Kalkara now play Mdina Knights in the 1st round of the Promotion Play-Offs.

Also on Saturday night, an own goal paved the way for a Birzebbuga St. Peter’s victory over Xghajra Tornados, a win which secured a third spot in Group A, guaranteeing the Seasouthsiders a place in the 2nd round of the Promotion Play-Offs. Xghajra needed a win to keep their hopes alive for a Play-Off berth, but not for the first time this season, the sturdy Birzebbuga defence stood-out. The match was characterized by adverse weather conditions that made things difficult to the players. The winner for the Blues arrived 15 minutes from the end of regular time, as after a quick counterattack, Xghajra defender Deemer Cutajar put the ball in his own net. The Greens tried hard to get back into the game but it was too late in the day. Moreover, they had two players sent off on injury time as Gaynor Damato and Aaron Hili were both shown a second yellow card.

With the results of their near competitors known, the match of Msida against Siggiewi was of less importance, with Msida being secured a Play-Off place before kick off on Sunday morning. The match ended in a two all draw, which secured a fifth place in this group for Msida. On 16 minutes, Msida were awarded a penalty after a foul from Simon Agius on Edward Bugeja in the box. Siggiewi goalkeeper Ryan Micallef blocked Danny Claridge’s spotkick but the English striker hammered home in the rebound. On 42 minutes, Mark Camilleri’s header from an Isaac Chircop corner kick sailed inches over the crossbar. One minute before half-time, Siggiewi equalised when Jean Leite Lopes took full advantage from a Msida hesitation to clear the ball in the box, beating Justin Tonna with a low shot from close-range. Immediately on the resumption, Claridge missed a sitter with only Micallef to beat after being sent through by Gianluca Tanti. On the hour, Micallef did well to save an angled Warren Zerafa scorcher. But one minute later, Msida regained the lead when Claridge was on hand to drill the ball home from close-range after the Siggiewi rear-guard failed to clear the ball. Six minutes later however, Msida captain Agatino Sicali did not deal well with a long range Siggiewi free-kick and headed past Tonna. On 71 minutes, Micallef made another great save on a Zerafa attempt from close-range and three minutes later, Claridge should have done better after being served by Zerafa. Deep into stoppage time, substitute Jason Camilleri could have given Msida the full three points but his attempt just missed target. A win for Msida would have set up a Decider with Kalkara for the 4th place in this Group, now the Reds face Mtarfa in the Promotion Play-Offs.

After Ta’ Xbiex' defeat on Sunday afternoon, Dingli missed the chance to lift themselves up from bottom place in this Group, being soundly beaten by a determined Ghaxaq side with the score of 5-1. As the scoreline clearly indicates, Ghaxaq deserved their win, catching the Dingli defence on the wrong foot several times during the game. After just four minutes, the Greens opened the scoring with a shot from inside the box by Lian Sciberras. Ghaxaq continued to control the game and went further ahead thanks to Ismael Cachia from a rebound after a corner taken by Phiram Sakchai on 18 minutes. At the end of the first half, experienced defender Clive Fenech scored a wonderful goal from well outside the box to make the score 3-0. Six minutes after the break, Lian Sciberras scored his second goal of the game after a good combination with Ian Calleja. Dario Borg pulled one back for the Swallows on 67 minutes while Sakchai increased the lead further for Ghaxaq with a low shot into the bottom corner. Dingli now need to re-apply for a place in the MFA Amateur League season 2022/23.

GROUP B

Group B winners Zurrieq ended their regular league commitments already last week, which means we can concentrate on Marsaskala, who needed just a point against Mdina Knights to seal the runners-up spot in this section. The 2-0 final score was a just result of a tight match, with the second goal only arriving towards the end of the game. With this victory, Marsaskala will now face Gharghur in the Promotion Play-Off for one place in the Challenge League next season. The Orange immediately showed their intentions from the start and went all out attacking to score early in the game. After just 12 minutes, dangerman Nicky Zammit was close to score with an angled shot from a shot outside the box. A few minutes later, a Josuel Spiteri attempt just wide from a well-timed pass by Fabrizio Zammit. Marsaskala finally broke the deadlock ten minutes from the break from an own goal by Leon Zammit after a Spiteri corner. Just after halftime, Spiteri could have established a two-goal cushion but his shot hit the crossbar. Brian Vella’s side continued to create chances and four minutes from time, substitute Matthew Pulis scored the decisive goal from a rebound after a cross shot from Spiteri, who played a great match. Mdina were already secured of the Play-Offs with a final fifth spot in the ranking of this group.

Zabbar St Patrick gained a 4-0 win in the final game of the season against Mellieha, finishing 4th in the standings. A disappointing result for St Patrick, who were the team to beat this season, but lost too many points in the 1st round and now get a second chance in the Promotion deciders. They also play in the Amateur Cup Final next month, against neighbours Marsaskala, to try and finish the season with some silverware. Group B Top Scorer Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza’s left footed shot from outside the box early in the match was blocked by James Magro and the woodwork. During the ten minutes that followed, Magro made a succession of excellent saves to keep the game goalless. In the 36th minute however, Zabbar broke the deadlock after a good move when Mifsud Triganza gave a through ball to Kenneth Aquilina who finished off from close range. Two minutes later, Zabbar’s Mark Anthony Borg’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by a Mellieha defender. In the 41st minute Zabbar hit the woodwork two times in the same action from Isaac Abela and Aquilina respectively. But a minute from half-time, Borg doubled for Zabbar with a tap-in from a Mifsud Triganza cross. After Abela missed a sitter on 70 minutes, Gianluca Zammit put the outcome of the match beyond doubt with a third goal, followed by a fourth goal deep into stoppage time by Terence Agius. This was the last match for coach Brian Bartolo after four consecutive seasons with Mellieha, who will continue to share his expertise as the Technical Director of the Mellieha SC Football School.

Manuel Caruana’s Mtarfa made no mistake against Kirkop United on Sunday afternoon, scoring all their three goals in the first five minutes of the match. The Yellow/Blues opened well and found the net after just 57 seconds when Ryan Sciberras had the better of Kirkop goalkeeper Matthew Xerxen after a perfect cross of captain Alejandro Brincat. Mtarfa doubled in their second attack of the afternoon, courtesy of Brincat who beat the Kirkop custodian for a second time. One minute later it was 3-0 thanks to a close-range header by Sciberras. Mtarfa could have added a few more during the first 45 minutes with an Andy Gili header on 24 minutes and a great save by Xerxen three minutes later on a Brincat attempt. Just after half an hour play, Kirkop had their first goalscoring opportunity through an individual attempt by captain Ayrton Buhagiar, who hit the site-netting. Kirkop pulled one back on 64 minutes when substitute Jake Buhagiar scored from close-range. This was just after Xerxen was replaced on the hour, playing his last match in Maltese football after an impressive career with mostly Gudja United in the lower divisions. While Kirkop leave the season empty handed, Mtarfa finished fourth in this Group and set up a meeting with Msida St Joseph in the 1st round of the Promotion Play-Offs, their best ever finish in the short 15-year history of the club.

In the bottom part of the standing, Santa Venera and Qormi ended their commitments with a goalless draw. With this draw, the Lightnings remained the bottom side and need to re-apply for the place in the NAL next season. The game was conditioned with strong winds and both teams struggled to keep possession of the ball. Before the break, Qormi were slightly more adventurous than Santa Venera and were close to opening the score on two occasions with attempts by Leon Theuma and Shazen Magri. Santa Venera had a couple of chances to open the scoring in the second half but shots from Zack Camilleri and Yuya Emura were neutralised in style by young Qormi custodian Yan Galea. However, the draw was a fair result for both. The match was the last one for Santa Venera duo Ryan Bezzina and Yau-Mun Law, who made a surprise stoppage time entry after a long layoff.

TOP SCORERS
Group A – Nicholas Schembri (Attard) 21 goals
Group B – Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza (Zabar St Patrick) 11 goals

THE PROMOTION PLAY-OFFS
Runners-Up Promotion Play-Off: Gharghur vs Marsaskala
Round 1: Kalkara United vs Mdina Knights (Match 1) & Mtarfa vs Msida St Joseph (Match 2)
Round 2: Zabbar St Patrick vs winner of Match 1, Birzebbuga St Peter’s vs winner of Match 2
Round 3: Winners of the Round 2 matches
Final: Winner of Round 3 vs the loser of the Runners-Up Promotion Play-Off
(exact fixtures in April are still to be announced)

Images copyright by Stephen Gatt