Mġarr United close in on top-four placing after Valletta win.
LIJA ATHLETIC 2-7 HIBERNIANS
Leanne Micallef 35, 71 (L); Alexis Espitia 6; Sarah Urpani 31, 42; Sarah Caruana og. 40; Nicole Sciberras 42; Leah Ayres 52; Nyorah Celeste 60.
Hibernians scored an impressive win over Lija Athletic to remain in charge of the Assikura Women’s League standings.
The Paolites continue to lead Swieqi United by two points as they now move to 25 after 10 matches.
Alexis Espitia scored an early goal before Sarah Urpani doubled the lead.
Leanne Micallef pulled one back for Lija Athletic after converting from the penalty spot but a flurry of quick goals saw Hibernians open a four-goal lead before half-time.
A Sarah Caruana own goal, another Urpani effort and a Nicole Sciberras’ long-range strike propelled Hibs to a 5-1 lead at half-time.
After the break, Leah Ayres and Nyorah Celeste scored a goal each before Micallef found Lija’s second with a direct free-kick.
LIJA ATHLETIC
C. Pisani; S. Caruana, S. Bugeja, V. Carneiro, E. Marmara, S. Buttigieg, M. Schembri, R. Mifsud, L. Micallef, K. Grech, E. Xuereb.
Substitutes used: R. Zahra 65, S. Bouzid 82.
HIBERNIANS
Z. Jivraj; N. Geren, C. Ellul, A. Busuttil, K. Chetcuti, S. Urpani, M. Borg, Y. Attard, L. Ayres, N. Sciberras, A. Espitia.
Substitutes used: N. Celeste 46, F. Zahra 65, M. Cortis 65, E. Muscat 80, S. Farrugia 80.
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SWIEQI UNITED 7-0 SAN ĠWANN
Karima Abdulai 2, 42, 58; Salamatu Abdulai 48; Mariah Sciberras 60; Dorianne Theuma 64; Michaela Cachia 70.
Salamatu Abdulai remains the league’s top scorer with 14 goals after scoring one of Swieqi’s goals against San Ġwann.
Yet, Swieqi’s hero was fellow Ghanian forward Karima Abdulai, who scored a hat-trick to propel the Owls to another victory.
Mariah Sciberras, Dorianne Theuma and Michaela Cachia grabbed the other goals for Saviour Darmanin’s side.
SWIEQI UNITED
P. Araujo; T. Scicluna, J. Dimech, D. Theuma, M. Sciberras, S. Abdulai, K. Abdulai, S. Zammit, J. Schembri, T. Falzon, M. Cachia.
Substitutes used: K. Metzger 46, K. Fava 71, K. Micallef 71, L. Frendo 84, M. Vella 84.
SAN ĠWANN
J. Caruana; A. Rapa, N. Camenzuli, M. Schembri, S. Cioffi, T. Chaimaa, S. Gheiti, O. Mhalli, F. Al Girbi, F. Zarb, K. Vella.
Substitutes used: M. Formosa 11, C. Grixti 63, N. Saliba 80, T. Axiak 80.
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MTARFA 0-10 BIRKIRKARA
Alishia Sultana 2, 33; Marta Grosso 4; Stephania Farrugia 8; Arianna Del Moral 19; Angele Fenech og. 28; Ileana Farrugia 56; Francesca Chircop 76, 86; Stella Francalanza 84.
Champions Birkirkara found little difficulty to beat Mtarfa as they hit them for 10.
Alishia Sultana and Francesca Chircop were the authors of a brace each.
Marta Grosso, Stephania Farrugia, Arianna Del Moral, Ileana Farrugia and Stella Francalanza scored the other goals while Mtarfa’s Angele Fenech had an own goal in the equation as well.
Jose Borg’s side are third on 22 points but with a game in hand which they will recuperate when they reface Mtarfa on December 19.
MTARFA
D. Grech; E. Azzopardi, A. Fenech, E. Borg, K. Ciappara, C. Deguara, O. Jelili, S. Spiteri, P. Ciappara, R. Zammit, E. Csik,
Substitutes used: M. Abdilla 55.
BIRKIRKARA
E. Muscat; A. Said, S. Farrugia, E. Garcia, A. Sultana, V. Mifsud, M. Grosso, A. Del Moral, M. Cardona, C. Rogers, V. Rapa.
Substitutes used: F. Chircop 46, I. Camilleri 46, S. Francalanza 46, A. Vassallo 46, I. Farrugia 46.
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MĠARR UNITED 4-1 VALLETTA
Fernanda Peinado 17; Luana Cabral 20; Joelma 35; Rodiana Borg 45 (M); Suzanne Farrugia Sacco 9 (V).
Mġarr United dashed any scares of slipping out of the top four after coming from behind to defeat Valletta in the late kick-off over the weekend.
The Greens have now opened an eight-point lead above Valletta as they close in on securing a top-four finish, albeit their objectives are far more than just playing Section A football.
Valletta forged ahead through Suzanne Farrugia Sacco inside the opening nine minutes.
However, club’s top scorer Fernanda Peinado levelled terms before fellow Brazilians Luana Cabral and Joelma scored a goal each.
Rodiana Borg wrapped up the win with Mġarr’s fourth goal before the break.
This game saw the return of Mġarr defender Leanne Cefai who was recently sidelined with a long-term injury.
MĠARR UNITED
P. Ebejer; L. Cabral, A. Camilleri, M. Debono, F. Peinado, Joelma, R. Borg, K. Vella, A. Sivolobova, C. Grech, B. Borg.
Substitutes used: D. Ebejer 65, M. Aquilina 80, L. Cefai 80, M. Mizzi 85, A. Schembri 85.
VALLETTA
Andressa; A. Aloisio, M. Bonello Ghio, E. Souza, L. Muscat, M. Conti, Y. Grech, S. Blihi, Marcelle, S. Farrugia Sacco, F. Bartolo.
Substitutes used: M. La Rosa 46, M. Sultana 46, L. Vella 63, K. Muscat 75.
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STANDINGS
Hibernians 25; Swieqi United 23; Birkirkara 22; Mġarr United 20; Valletta 12; San Ġwann 7; Lija Athletic 4; Mtarfa 0.
Photo: Michael Azzopardi Photography.
