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maltatoday SUNDAY 11 MARCH 2018 53 FOOTBALL Sports Kilan Ameli's goal sinks St Andrews St Andrews remain in the danger zone after suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat against Sliema Wanderers St Andrews ............ 0 Sliema Wanderers .. 1 WARREN ZAMMIT SLIEMA nearly forged ahead on the 18th minute. Edmond Agius served Matias Mucha- rdi and the latter sent a shot that took a def lection off Frank Temile before stamp- ing off the post. St Andrews replied on the 31st minute. Joseph Farrugia fired a shot from a free-kick that went over. Matthew Calleja Cremona was on the alert to deny Slie- ma on the 39th minute. From a free-kick, Ricardo Calixto Correa Duarte saw his shot be- ing saved by the Maltese goal- keeper. St Andrews were also denied by the post on the 42nd min- ute. Tano Azian fired a stun- ning shot that hit the wood- work. The Saints went close again on the 54th minute. Follow- ing a corner, Joseph Farrugia delivered a cross towards Jason Vandelannoite whose header was saved by Glenn Zammit. Five minutes later, Kemar Re- id sent a powerful drive from distance that forced another save from Zammit. St Andrews paid harshly for missing these opportunities as Sliema scored the winning goal on the 74th minute. Substitute Kilan Ameli hit a fine shot that went past Calleja Cremona. Following this result, St An- drews are currently twelfth in the table and thus their battle against relegation continues. Sliema Wanderers start- ing line-up: Glenn Zammit, Frank Temile, Edmond Agius, Michele Sansone, Nii Nortey Ashong, Stefano Bianciardi, Matias Muchardi, John Mint- off, Ricardo Calixto Correa Duarte, Kurt Shaw, Frenci Qeros St Andrews starting line-up: Matthew Calleja Cremona, Adrian Borg, Misael Miranda Gomez, Joseph Farrugia, Ja- son Vandelannoite, Matthew Gauci, Tano Azian, Kevaughn Atkinson, Marcus Grima, Ke- mar Reid, Travis Blagrove Referee: Etienne Mangion Assistant Referees: Alan Camilleri, Peter Abela Fourth Official: Clayton Pisani BOV Player of the Match: Ric- cardo Calixto Correa Duarte (Sliema Wanderers) Naxxar Lions .............. 1 Hamrun Spartans........ 4 WARREN ZAMMIT THE Spartans made an excel- lent start to the match as they went ahead after just two min- utes. From a free-kick, Thiago Espindola De Paula delivered the ball towards Daniel Zerafa whose header went past Cris- toph Nicht. Ħamrun doubled their advan- tage on the 8th minute. Ousse- nyou Elhadji Ndoye fouled Ly- don Micallef inside the penalty area and the referee ordered a penalty. Micallef took charge of spot kick and converted. Naxxar reduced the gap on the 11th minute. Following a free- kick, Ryan Grech headed the ball inside the net. Jacques Scerri 's side made sure of the three points on the 89th minute. Alex Nilsson received the ball from Arthur Faria Machedo and placed it inside the net. However, there was still time for Ħamrun to add another goal during the additional time. Cris- tian Zaccardo's first time effort gave Nicht no chance. Naxxar Lions starting line-up: Christoph Nicht, Rafael San- tos Henriques Caetano, Mail- son Souza Duarte Junior, Ryan Grech, Manolito Micallef, Du- ane Bonnici, Matheus Verissimo Casarotto, Mark Fenech, Ousse- nyou Elhadji Ndoye, Djilali Bel- hadj, Yuri De Jesus Messias Ħamrun Spartans starting line-up: Jake Galea, Marco Cri- aco, Thiago Espindola De Paula, Cristian Zaccardo, Daniel Zer- afa, Tiago Souza Da Silveira, Arthur Faria Machedo, Triston Caruana, Lydon Micallef, Dale Camilleri, Alex Nilsson Referee: Malcolm Spiteri Assistant Referees: Edward Spi- teri, Chris Francalanza Fourth Of ficial: Alan Mario Sant BOV Player of the Match: Ly- don Micallef (Ħamrun) Hamrun ease past Naxxar Lions Two early goals paved the way for Hamrun as they registered a 4-1 win over Naxxar Lions Manchester United sink Liverpool United manager Jose Mourinho with Marcus Rashford as he is substituted MARCUS Rashford scored twice as Manchester United beat their arch-rivals Liverpool 2-1 in a highly-charged derby on Satur- day to consolidate second place in the Premier League table. With runaway leaders Manches- ter City on course for a third Pre- mier League title, second place is the best the chasing pack can hope for and United moved five points ahead of Liverpool. United stifled Liverpool's ex- hilarating attack early on at Old Trafford and raced into a two-goal lead with 24 minutes on the clock after a double from Rashford. Eric Bailly's bizarre own goal gave Liverpool hope in the second half, but United held on for a first victory over their North West ri- vals since January, 2016. "Perfect result. I wouldn't go so far as saying it was a perfect per- formance. In the first half, the game gave us the opportunity to be direct, fast and score goals, more than we did. We were worth the win," United manager Jose Mourinho said. Fifth-placed Chelsea moved to within four points of Liverpool, two behind Tottenham Hotspur - who play Bournemouth on Sun- day - in fourth, after a nervy 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the late kickoff. A deflected strike from Willian and a Martin Kelly own goal put Chelsea in control at the break, but they took their foot off the gas in the second half. Patrick van Aanholt got his side back in the match in stoppage time, but it was too little too late for Palace as Chelsea held out for a first win in four in all competi- tions. It was an important afternoon at the bottom of the table too, with West Ham United slipping to a damaging 3-0 home defeat by Burnley to leave them three points above the relegation zone. There were unsavoury scenes at London Stadium where pitch in- vasions and mass protests in the stands forced owners David Sul- livan and David Gold to leave the director's box, with police brought in to restore order. "We want the supporters behind us, since I've been here they've been really good. But you can't cross the line and come on the pitch," West Ham manager David Moyes said. Matters on the pitch added to the vitriolic mood, with Ashley Barnes and a Chris Wood double steering Burnley to a sec- ond win in a week, closing the gap on sixth-placed Arsenal, who host Watford on Sunday, to two points. Much of the pre-match talk centred around how United were going to cope with Liverpool's in- form front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and the league's joint-top scorer Mohamed Salah. However, even without the in- jured Paul Pogba, it was United who started on the front foot, adopting a more direct style with Romelu Lukaku the target and the Belgium striker was influential in both Rashford goals. Rashford's double - on his first Premier League start since Box- ing Day - proved decisive, as Liv- erpool couldn't add to the Bailly own goal as they slipped to a first defeat in eight games in all com- petitions. "It didn't go our way because of the two goals we con- ceded," Liverpool manager Juer- gen Klopp said. "We have to defend these situa- tions better. You can always lose a header or tackle with (Romelu) Lukaku but you need to close the gap in behind." In the North East, Newcastle United secured a 3-0 victory over Southampton to move five points clear of the bottom three, piling the pressure on Saints boss Mau- ricio Pellegrino. Two goals from Kenedy, on loan from Chelsea, and a Matt Ritchie strike were enough for a second successive Premier League home win for Rafael Benitez's side. West Bromwich Albion's woes continued as they slipped to a 4-1 home defeat by Leicester City. Sa- lomon Rondon gave West Brom the lead at The Hawthorns, but four Leicester goals without reply ensured West Brom stayed bot- tom, eight points from safety. Swansea City, who had Jordan Ayew sent off in the 11th minute, held Huddersfield Town to a 0-0 draw at the John Smith's Stadium while Wayne Rooney's penalty miss mattered little as Everton beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at Goodison Park. Everton's Wayne Rooney misses from the penalty spot