Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/773562
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2017 49 Sport FOOTBALL Pembroke Athleta hold neighbours St Andrews to an entertaining draw Tarxien too strong for Mosta Pembroke A. ................ 2 St. Andrews ................. 2 WARREN ZAMMIT PEMBROKE Athleta and St An- drews share the spoils in a 2-2 draw St Andrews created the first chance of the match after three minutes. Ivan Paz took control of possession and fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area that forced a good save from Matthew Calleja Cremona. Pembroke responded on the 10th minute. New signing Pana- giotis Giannopoulos hit a shot from distance that was neutral- ised by Jake Galea. On the 24th minute, St An- drews managed to go ahead. Da- nilo Doncic's side won a free kick down the right f lank after Andre- as Scozzese brought down Kyrian Nwoko. From the set piece, Ivan Paz hit a strong shot that gave Calleja Cremona no chance. A minute later, Dale Camilleri of St Andrews sent another shot on target which Calleja Cremona managed to save. Pembroke nearly equalised on the 28th minute. Following a cor- ner, St Andrews failed to clear their lines and possession fell for Stevan Racic who fired high from close range. Three minutes later, Pembroke did equalise. Arber Dhrami hit a shot from distance that took a def lection off a St Andrews de- fender before ending up inside the net. St Andrews hit back on the 38th minute. Paz sent a cross inside the penalty area towards Mi- chael Johnson whose header went slightly wide. One minute prior to half time, Camilleri had another great op- portunity for St Andrews when he received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and fired a shot that went slightly over. Pembroke went ahead for the first time in the match four minutes into the second half. Shola Haruna Sodija sent Racic through on the left f lank and the latter hit a low shot past Jake Galea to score on his debut. Artim Shakjiri 's side were close again on the 52nd minute. Darren Falzon sent a shot from distance that went slightly wide of the post. Two minutes later, St Andrews nearly equalised. From a free kick, Paz fired a shot that went slightly over. On the 61st minute, Enmy Pe- na Beltre of St Andrews received the ball on the edge of the pen- alty area and attempted a shot that sailed high. Galea was on the alert to deny Pembroke on the 73rd minute. Giannopoulos went through on goal and hit a low shot that was well saved by the St Andrews goalkeeper. St Andrews equalised on the 78th minute. Pena Beltre was fouled inside the penalty area and Mario Apap pointed towards the spot. From the resulting spot kick, Paz saw his first shot being saved by Calleja Cremona. How- ever, from the rebound, the same player finished inside the net. Calleja Cremona denied St An- drews once more on the 82nd minute. Kyrian Nwoko went in- side the penalty area and hit a low shot that was saved by the Pem- broke goalkeeper. Pembroke had a good oppor- tunity on the 90th minute when Sodija went on a good run down the left f lank, but his shot was saved by Galea. Pembroke Athleta starting line- up: Matthew Calleja Cremona, Darren Falzon, Arber Dhrami, Zoran Levnaic, Owen Bugeja, Panagliotis Giannopoulos, Irak- lis Ropas, Shola Haruna Sodija, Andreas Scozzese, Stevan Racic, Adrian Borg. St Andrews starting line-up: Jake Galea, Enmy Pena Beltre, Ante Bakmaz, Dale Camilleri, Felix Udoh, Michael Johnson, Karlo Kesinovic, Ivan Paz, Joseph Far- rugia, Ziga Kastrevec, Kyrian Nwoko. Referee: Mario Apap Assistant referees: Mitchell Scer- ri, William Debattista Fourth Official: Malcolm Spiteri BOV player of the match: Ivan Paz (St Andrews) Tarxien R. .................... 2 Mosta ......................... 0 WARREN ZAMMIT TARXIEN'S impressive run un- der Jesmond Zerafa continues with a 2-0 win The Rainbows went ahead af- ter six minutes. Daniel Ponce De Leon sent a through ball towards Alex Nilsson and the latter fin- ished past Yenz Cini. Tarxien doubled the score on the 24th minute. From a corner, Ponce delivered the ball inside the penalty area towards Daniel Zerafa who headed home. Mosta replied on the half hour mark. From a corner, Pedro Dos Santos Calcado sent a dangerous cross inside the penalty area, but no one managed to make contact with the ball. However, Tarxien kept on put- ting pressure on Mosta and had another chance on the 32nd min- ute. Ponce De Leon fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area which was parried by Yenz Cini. From the rebound, Kurt Ma- gro cleared the ball before Alex Paixao Alves. The Rainbows had another golden opportunity on the 62nd minute. Triston Caruana's effort was cleared off the line by Cedric Hengbart. Mosta's best chance came on 74th minute. Magro fired a shot from distance that sailed inches wide of the post. In the remaining minutes, Tarxien controlled their op- ponents to take home the three points. Tarxien Rainbows starting line- up: Philip Schranz, Ebiabowei Baker, Emerson Marcelina, Tris- ton Caruana , Daniel Ponce de Leon, Alex Nilsson, Sergio Fer- nandez Prendes, Daniel Zerafa, Alex da Paixao Alves, Matthew Tabone, Kurt Zammit. Mosta starting line-up: Yenz Ci- ni, Chinatu Francis Onwudinjo, Dany Djoufack, David Fenech, Gabriel Bezak , Pedro dos San- tos Calcado, Kurt Magro, Cedric Hengbart, Eric Mikes, Lucky Vic- tor Oseghale, Neil Frendo. Referee: Glenn Tonna Assistant Referees: Edward Spi- teri, Peter Abela Fourth Official: Philip Farrugia BOV Player of the Match: Daniel Ponce de Leon (Tarxien Rainbows) PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOMINIC BORG Karlo Kesinovic (St. Andrews) and Stevan Racic (Pembroke) in action during the BOV Premier League match between St. Andrews and Pembroke Athleta PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE BORG Lucky Oseghale of Mosta in action during their match against Tarxien Rainbows