HAM

With the League title well and truly decided attention has now shifted to the battle for second place. In the direct clash between the two contenders for the spot, Young Stars got the better of The George Pub and thus overtook them in the standings. In the second game of the day Pasta Poiatti Qormi ended their League commitments by holding newly crowned Champions to a scoreless draw.


Standings:

P W D L F A PTS
Punch & Judy Rabat 11 8 2 1 20 6 26
Young Stars 11 6 1 4 14 11 19
The George Pub 11 6 0 5 9 13 18
The Athlete’s Foot 11 4 1 6 13 17 13
Pasta Poiatti 12 1 2 9 9 18 5


Due to the forced absence of Reno Cremona and David Aguis, The George Pub were forced to reshuffle their formation, with Radojevic having to fall back into a defensive position. This weakened The George Pub midfield and Young Stars soon took the upper hand. Despite this they created few chances and those they did they fumbled. They did however score the all-important goal in the final minutes with Andrew Camilleri getting on the end of a cross. To make matters worse for The George Pub they also lost their top scorer Busutill Leaver to injury.

The George Pub pushed Radojevic into midfield in the second half and it was he who had a good chance to equalize but shot wide after a well-taken short corner. Young Stars remained stronger in midfield but filed miserably when they came close to their opponents dee although Aguis Darmanin did cause a few anxious moments for Pembroke. The George Pub tried to up the tempo of their game but they had to made key players missing and it was their goalkeeper Galea who was forced into a good save off a Chris Bugeja humdinger.

Pasta Poiatti ended their League commitments with a honorable draw against newly crowned Champions Punch & Judy. With the League title in the bag, Punch & Judy were able to play a relaxed game, creating numerous chances that their forwards, Seychell and Vella failed to convert. Pasta Poiatti’s goalkeeper, Chircop was on top of his game and distinguished himself with a couple of good saves. Defender Meli was on hand to stop a shot on the line.

Pasta Poiatti played their usual tenacious game with the main danger to their opponents coming from Magri who however was ably marshaled by the Punch & Judy defence. Punch & Judy, despite playing the last twenty minutes of the second half with ten men still maintained the upper hand but still failed to find the winning goal. Ironically after eight straight wins in the first two rounds, Rabat still haven’t won a game in this third and final round.

The National league comes to an end on Sunday with the final two matches both having an effect on the battle for second place. At 9.00am The George Pub take on Punch & Judy needing a victory to keep their chances of making the second spot intact. After this, at 11.00, Young Stars face The Athlete’s Foot knowing what result they have to play for.

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