Late win for Hibernians as Valletta beat Sirens

Sliema, Birkirkara and Naxxar, Marsaxlokk share spoils while Mosta win.

SIRENS 0-3 VALLETTA
Diego Cardoso 26, 57; Shaun Dimech 84.

Valletta secured their second win on the trot after beating Sirens in Sunday’s early kick-off.

Diego Cardoso scored twice, one goal in each half, to put Valletta in the driving seat before Shaun Dimech wrapped up the three-goal victory.

This victory lifts Vincenzo Potenza’s side to 17 points after 14 league outings.

While returning goalkeeper Alessandro Guarnone was on the bench, Serbian wingback Milan Jezdimirovic was handed his first start after joining Valletta during this transfer window.

Portuguese defensive midfielder Goncalo Vieira also made his Valletta debut.

Sirens, on their part, remain anchored at the bottom with six points after falling to their third straight loss.

St Kitts and Nevis international Harry Panayiotou made his debut for Steve D’Amato’s side.

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HIBERNIANS 3-2 GŻIRA UNITED
Bjorn Kristensen 30, Jurgen Degabriele 39, Lucas Caruana 90 (H); Thiago Espindola 27, Brooklyn Borg 37 (G).

A last-gasp winner scored by Lucas Caruana kept Hibernians close to the European places at the Tony Bezzina Stadium.

Gżira United, now under the guidance of coach Andrew Cohen, gave the Paolites a run for their money with Thiago Espindola putting the Maroons ahead.

Hibernians replied through Bjorn Kristensen but Brooklyn Borg had restored Gżira’s lead on the 37th minute.

Moments later, Jurgen Degabriele levelled terms for Hibernians before young player Caruana scored a late winner to the delight of the Paolites camp.

Branko Nisevic’s Hibs are now fifth on 21 points while Gżira are 10th on 14 points.

For this game, coach Nisevic handed a debut to Ukrainian winter signing Artem Radchenko who joined Hibernians in recent days.

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NAXXAR LIONS 0-0 MARSAXLOKK

Naxxar Lions and Marsaxlokk cancelled each other out as the two surprise packages of the season crossed swords at the National Stadium.

A point that might satisfy the Lions slightly more than Winston Muscat’s team as Marsaxlokk remain six points distant from third-place Sliema Wanderers as they vie for a European spot.

On the other hand, Naxxar move to 21 points as the newly-promoted side continue their impressive season in this Premier League’s campaign.

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SLIEMA WANDERERS 0-0 BIRKIRKARA

Sliema Wanderers and Birkirkara fired blanks on Sunday, with the Blues keeping an important six-point lead in third place as they battle for a spot in next season’s UEFA competitions.

In addition, they remain eight points clear from Birkirkara as the Stripes are sixth on 21 points.

Sliema coach Paul Zammit deployed Ukrainian player Daniil Kondrakov in the second half, making his debut after being unveiled as a new Blues player earlier this week.

On the other hand, Birkirkara had fullback Edward Sarpong making his first club appearance while Andrea Zammit was playing his second straight match from the start for Brian Chetcuti’s side.

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GUDJA UNITED 0-1 MOSTA
Armen Hovhannisyan 10.

A first-half goal by January signing Armen Hovhannisyan helped Mosta edge past Gudja United to lift themselves out of the relegation red zone.

The Blues, under the guidance of coach Joseph Grech, are now 10th on 15 points after securing just their third win of the season.

For Gudja, their fourth straight defeat leaves them second bottom on six points as they remain the only team without having scored a single victory in this campaign.