Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1044434
28 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 OCTOBER 2018 Floriana succumb to Pietà Hotspurs at home Garba hat-trick sinks ten-men Balzan BOV PREMIER LEAGUE SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE BORG WARREN ZAMMIT FLORIANA'S disastrous campaign contin- ued yesterday as they were defeated 2-1 by Pietà Hotspurs The Greens scored the opening goal of the match after five minutes. Juninho Cabral was floored inside the penalty area by Christian Grech and the referee ordered a penalty. Cabral took charge of the spot kick and finished past Nicky Vella. Pietà equalised on the 54th minute through another penalty. Mohammed Saleh fouled Paul Chimezie inside the area and the referee whis- tled for another penalty. From the eleven me- tres mark, Chimezie made no mistake. The Hotspurs scored the winning goal on the 85th minute. Shunsuke Nakamura received the ball from Neil Pace Cocks before hitting an an- gled shot that went inside the net. Floriana starting line-up: Ini Etim Akpan, Mohammed Saleh, Enzo Ruiz, Steve Pisani, Maurizio Vella, Juninho Cabral, Clayton Failla, Jurgen Pisani, Alex Cini, Arthur Henrique Oy- ama, Emerson Marcelina Pietà Hotspurs starting line-up: Nicky Vel- la, Ose Takaki, Travis Bartolo, Neil Pace Cocks, Dylan Agius, Paul Chimezie, Jan Busuttil, Ga- briel Mensah, Christian Grech, Ishaya Irimiya Jalo, Antonio Orlando Macedo Neto Referee: Etienne Mangion Assistant Referees: Alan Camilleri, Chris Francalanza Fourth Official: Mario Apap BOV Player of the Match: Paul Chimezie (Pieta`) WARREN ZAMMIT HARUNA Garba scored a hat-trick as dominant Gżira secured a 3-0 win over ten-men Balzan. Gżira and Balzan faced off each other in the second match at the Centenary Sta- dium. This was a match which both sides were eager to win in order to remain in the run for honours. Gżira created the first chance of the match after two minutes. Amadou Samb ran inside the penalty area and hit a low shot from the left that was neutralised by Steve Sultana. Balzan hit back on the 7th minute. Alex Da Paixao Alves went round Justin Haber and attempted to place the ball inside the net. However, Roderick Briffa positioned himself in between and cleared the ball into safety. Sultana was on the alert to deny Gżira on the 12th minute. Haruna Garba received the ball from Samb and hit a close range shot that was blocked by Balzan's custo- dian. Gżira went close again one minute from half-time. Thomas Veronese's shot from a free-kick ended up over. The Maroons lost a golden opportunity in the additional time given by the referee prior to half-time. Nenad Sljivic grabbed Nikolai Muscat's shirt inside the penalty area and the referee signalled for a penalty. The Serbian player was also sent off as he was shown his second yellow card. How- ever, Samb's effort from the eleven metres mark was saved by Sultana. Gżira started the second half on the offensive and they forged ahead on the 56th minute. Edison Bilbao Zarate sent a through ball towards Garba and the latter drilled a low shot from inside the penalty area that took a deflection off a defender and ended up inside the net. Four minutes minutes later, Garba fired a powerful shot from outside the penalty area that sailed off target. Gżira kept on dominating and createned another opportunity on the 70th minute. Briffa's shot from the edge of the penalty area went high. Garba sealed Gżira's win on the 80th minute. The twenty-four year old forward received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and hit a stunning shot that gave Sul- tana no chance. The Nigerian completed his hat-trick on the 85th minute. Jorge Da Silva Pereira's pass went past Balzan's defenders and ended up in the path of Garba who slotted the ball home. Following this result, Gżira are six points ahead of Sliema. However, the latter have a game in hand. On the other hand, Balzan are now seven points behind the Maroons. Gżira United starting line-up: Justin Haber, Nikolai Muscat, Zachary Scerri, Rodolfo Soares, Juan Carlos Corbalan, Edison Bilbao Zarate, Roderick Briffa, Fernando Barbosa Pereira, Thomas Ve- ronese, Amadou Samb, Haruna Garba Balzan starting line-up: Steve Sultana, Justin Grioli, Dale Camilleri, Nenad Sljivic, Alex Da Paixao Alves, Alfred Effiong, Uros Ljubomirac, Ivan Bozovic, Elkin Orlando Serrano Valero, Ricardo Calixto Correa Duarte, Milos Lepovic Referee: Alan Mario Sant Assistant Referees: Edward Spiteri, Thomas Debono Fourth Official: Trustin Farrugia Cann BOV Player of the Match: Haruna Gar- ba (Gżira) Floriana Pietà Hotspurs 1 2 PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOMINIC BORG