The YoHealth Malta Premier League continued with two MatchDay programmes in a short span of days, during which Hibernians took the top spot in the standings, just one point ahead of Floriana.
Champions Ħamrun Spartans and newly-promoted Valletta are sharing third spot while Gżira United and Żabbar St Patrick are still in search of their first win of the season.
Hibernians are leading the way on 14 points after successive victories against Naxxar Lions and neighbouring rivals Tarxien Rainbows.
Here is a roundup of all the action from Matchday 5 & 6 by SportsDesk.
Hibernians FC (2 – 0) Naxxar Lions FC
Tarxien Rainbows FC (1 – 3) Hibernians FC
On Saturday, Branko Nisevic’s troops scored a goal in each half to see off Naxxar Lions 2-0.
Brazilian forward Cleiton scored in the opening minute of the match but then had to wait until the 73rd minute to seal the points through Lucas Villela.
Next up were Tarxien Rainbows and here again Hibs made a fast start with Cleiton firing them ahead after 17 minutes before Villela seemed to have closed the match with a second goal on the stroke of half-time.
But Tarxien refused to throw in the towel and Kwasi Donsu pulled a goal back on the restart and had opportunities to level matters.
But in the end it was Villela who settled the match with a third goal in stoppage time.
Marsaxlokk FC (1 – 1) Floriana FC
Floriana FC (3 – 1) Żabbar St. Patrick FC
Floriana recorded back-to-back wins over Marsaxlokk (2-1) and Żabbar St. Patrick (3-1) to move up to second place.
Against the Southerners, Floriana scored a goal in each half through Mustapha Jah and Jake Grech to race 2-0 up with Marsaxlokk pulling a goal back in stoppage time through an own goal by Owen Spiteri.
On Wednesday, Floriana maintained their rich vein of form when they disposed of Żabbar SP.
Jah was again the protagonist with a well-taken brace before setting up Jake Grech for the team’s second goal.
Żabbar had temporarily equalised through the excellent Vinicius Pavia.
Ħamrun Spartans FC (0 – 0) Gżira United FC
Marsaxlokk FC (0 – 0) Ħamrun Spartans FC
Valletta FC (4 – 1) Mosta FC
Ħamrun Spartans remained unbeaten in the league when, on Saturday, they could only manage a goalless draw against Gżira United.
But they more than made up for that small slip-up when they needed late goals from Mouad El Fasni and and controversial N’Dri Koffi penalty conversion to see off Marsaxlokk.
The Spartans are sharing third spot with Valletta, who, after netting a dramatic late equaliser against Sliema Wanderers to gain a point following a 1-1 draw, again showed their resilience with a come-from-behind win over Mosta.
The Blues had taken the lead through Prince, but after the break, the Citizens were firing on all cylinders as goals from Yuri Messiah, Sava Radic, Andrea Zammit, and Thaylor Aldama secured an impressive 4-1 win.
Sliema Wanderera FC (2 – 0) Gżira United FC
Sliema Wanderers were back to winning ways after successive draws against Birkirkara and Valletta when they overcame Gżira United 2-0.
The Blues grabbed the points through goals from Roko Prsa and Fernandinho.
Mosta FC (0 – 2) Birkirkara FC
Birkirkara FC (1 – 0) Naxxar Lions FC
Birkirkara are looking up and running under new coach Gianluca Festa after recording back-to-back wins over Mosta (2-0) and Naxxar Lions (1-0).
Franklin Sasere was the team’s chief goalscorer as last weekend he grabbed a brace inb the 2-0 win over Mosta, while on Wednesday the Nigerian forward grabbed the winner against Naxxar Lions.
This roundup was brought to you in association with
