Swieqi women cut gap to five points as Birkirkara are held by Mġarr United

Owls beat Hibernians as Paolites slip to second straight loss.

TOP FOUR RESULTS

MĠARR UNITED 1-1 BIRKIRKARA
Fernanda Peinado 42 (M); Valentina Rapa 71 (B).

Birkirkara saw their seven-point lead cut to five after being held by Mġarr United in Friday’s kick-off at the Victor Tedesco Stadium.

The Stripes now face second-place Swieqi United in the upcoming Matchday in a clash that can blow the title race wide open once again.

For this game, Birkirkara started without coach Jose Borg who was serving his duties as the men’s team coach during the highly-anticipated clash against Valletta which started 90 minutes prior to women’s team game before making his way to the Victor Tedesco Stadium.

Mġarr, led by coach Ryan Vella, were at the back of an upset win over Swieqi as they are looking to finish their Top Four commitments in the best possible way.

They translated their positive form in this game as well when Brazilian forward Fernanda Peinado opened the score just before half-time.

Birkirkara levelled terms through young defender Valentina Rapa, her second of the season.

MĠARR UNITED
P. Ebejer; L. Cabral, M. Debono, F. Peinado, Joelma, Y. Carella, K. Sciberras (63 C. Grech), L. Cefai, A. Sivolobova, R. Bajada, B. Borg.

BIRKIRKARA
J. Xuereb; G. Zahra (55 M. Grosso), A. Said, S. Farrugia, F. Chircop (61 S. Saliba), A. Sultana, V. Mifsud (61 E. Garcia), C. Zammit, A. Del Moral, C. Rogers, V. Rapa.

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HIBERNIANS 1-3 SWIEQI UNITED
Martina Borg 90 (H); Shona Zammit 29, Salamatu Abdulai 48, Karima Abdulai 90 (S).

Swieqi United produced the perfect reaction to Birkirkara’s draw as they hit three past Hibernians and move five points behind the Stripes before this Thursday’s direct clash.

The Owls, led by captain Dorianne Theuma from the touchline for the second game in a row, opened the score through Shona Zammit.

Ghana player Salamatu Abdulai doubled the lead before fellow Ghana colleague Karima Abdulai extended Swieqi’s lead to three goals.

Martina Borg, captain of Hibernians, pulled one back for the Paolites deep in stoppage time.

HIBERNIANS
S. Costantino; N. Geren, C. Ellul (71 A. Galea), A. Busuttil, K. Chetcuti, S. Urpani (71 N. Celeste), M. Borg, Y. Attard, K. Norkus, L. Ayres, A. Espitia.

SWIEQI UNITED
P. Araujo; J. Dimech, J. Flask, S. Abdulai, K. Abdulai, S. Zammit, Rafanny, J. Schembri (88 E. Micallef), T. Falzon, M. Cachia (66 D. Theuma), K. Micallef (46 M. Sciberras).

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BOTTOM FOUR RESULTS

LIJA ATHLETIC 1-5 VALLETTA
Vanessa Carneiro (L); Anna Aloisio 8, 45; Sarah Vella Barberi 35, Ylenia Grech 43, Megan La Rosa 88.

SAN ĠWANN 1-0 MTARFA
Shania Gheiti 76

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STANDINGS

TOP FOUR: Birkirkara 45; Swieqi United 40; Hibernians 35; Mġarr United 30.

BOTTOM FOUR: Valletta 30; San Ġwann 16; Lija Athletic 13, Mtarfa 0.