Vinicius’s late strike hands Żabbar St Patrick crucial win in relegation battle

MELITA                                0

ŻABBAR ST PATRICK   1

Vinicius 89

MELITA
A. Lubik; A. Pena, K. Mohnani, A. Da Costa. M. Debattista (67 J. Attard), A. Borg Olivier, M. Bovenkamp, D. Xuereb, J. Moriets, K. Bondin (46 N. Cutajar), H. Motta.

ŻABBAR ST. PATRICK
M. Grech; J. Micallef, Wallace (69 Vinicius), B. Gambarte, S. Ilic (64 M. Ferreira), Z. Grech, D. Tavares (85 S. Gatt), S. Jovancic, K. Keqi (64 D. Oliveira), J. Mendonca (85 L. Agius), D. Jovicic.

Referee: Ishmael Barbara.

Yellow cards: Pena, Motta, Gatt, Jovicic.

Red card: Pena (M) 90.

A late goal from Vinicius earned Żabbar St Patrick a vital 1-0 victory over Melita in the Bottom 6, marking their fourth win of the season and their third consecutive triumph.

The result lifts Żabbar to 13 points, moving them out of the bottom two places.

For Melita, this defeat was their eighth of the campaign and keeps them still in the battle to avoid the bottom two places, adding to their struggles in the relegation fight.

Żabbar began brightly, with Kristian Keqi testing Melita goalkeeper Aleksander Lubik after just eight minutes, though the effort was comfortably saved.

Lubik was called into action again shortly after, denying a low drive from Brian Gambarte. Żabbar continued to press, with Keqi heading wide from a corner.

Melita’s response came through Aldair Pena, whose speculative long-range effort was easily gathered by Żabbar goalkeeper Matthew Grech.

At halftime, Melita coach Clive Mizzi made a tactical change, introducing Nick Cutajar for Kurt Bondin.

Żabbar goalkeeper Grech produced a stunning save to deny Melita captain Motta.

But gradually, Żabbar maintained their offensive intent, with Gambarte forcing another save from Lubik.

Here, Mizzi decided to withdraw attacking midfielder Matthew Debattista and roped in

Jean Attard as he switched to a more defensive five-man defence.

Keqi missed a golden chance to break the deadlock as his lob narrowly missed the target.

Substitute David Oliveira also came close, his header from close range sailing inches wide.

The breakthrough finally arrived when Vinicius pounced inside the small area to slot past Lubik, giving Żabbar a deserved lead late in the game.

Melita’s woes deepened in the dying minutes as Aldair Pena received a second yellow card, leaving his side a man down and unable to mount a late comeback.

This hard-fought win strengthens Żabbar’s position in the Bottom 6 and keeps their momentum alive as they continue their climb in the table.