History was made at the Gozo Stadium as Qala Saints lifted the GFA Division One championship trophy for the first time, sealing their triumph with a commanding 6-1 victory over Xaghra United in the final match of the campaign.
Despite having already secured the championship mathematically, Qala approached the game with determination and flair, giving their loyal fans a spectacular performance to celebrate.
The new Gozitan football champions had a fantastic start, opening the score in the third minute with a low shot from Christian Mercieca, and doubling their lead four minutes later with a close-range finish by Igor Nedeljkovic.
Xagħra pulled one back on 23 minutes with a goal by Daniel Sowatey.ż
However, a minute later, Qala restored their two-goal lead with a curling shot from Dias De Almeida.
Qala continued to dominate and added two more goals before half-time through Christian Mercieca (29) and Gabriel Cardona (45).
Their sixth goal came in the 58th minute, a tap-in by substitute Sintayehu Curmi.
This title crowns years of consistent progress for the club.
Under the leadership of president Noel Mizzi and head coach Shaun Bajada, Qala have risen from promotion to become contenders for the main honours.
The Maroons ended the campaign with 15 wins from 18 matches, boasting the league’s strongest attack with 54 goals scored and just 13 conceded.
Following the final whistle, Qala players were presented with medals and the championship trophy by Charmaine Borg, Regional Manager for Gozo at Bank of Valletta, and Samuel Azzopardi, president of the Gozo FA.
Nadur Youngsters ended their campaign with a 4-0 win over already-relegated Oratory Youths.
Nadur bounced back from a disappointing run of results to end the league on a strong note.ż
The Youngsters dominated the match and scored two goals in each half, with with two goals each from Diego Pires Dall’Oca (14, 35) and Rafael Conrado Prudente (71, 73).
In the most contested clash of the final day, Xewkija Tigers and SK Victoria Wanderers played out an exciting 2-2 draw, allowing Xewkija to retain third place, ahead of Victoria.
The match also decided the league’s top scorer accolade, with Brian Parada scoring a brace to finish on 19 goals, tied with Igor Da Silva Costa of Victoria, who was denied scoring opportunities by an outstanding performance from the Xewkija goalkeeper.
Victoria opened the scoring through David Garba (5) but on 20 minutes Xewkija had the chance to equalise, but Parada’s penalty was saved by Victoria’s goalkeeper.
The Wanderers doubled their lead in added time before the break with a goal by Sam Harland, who intercepted a poor back pass from the defence.
In the second half, Xewkija came out more aggressive and equalised through two goals by Parada (53, 81).
Both teams continued to attack until the end, but the score remained unchanged.
GFA Division Two
The Second Division Knock-Out Final also took place last weekend.
Kerċem Ajax defeated Sannat Lions 3-1, thus completing a clean sweep of honours in the Second Division, having won all matches in the category.
Sannat surprised their opponents on 18 minutes taking the lead with a goal from Aud-Gustine James Obaje.
Kerċem quickly responded and took control of the game.
After equalising through Cesar Velz Da Silva on 35 minutes, they turned the game around in the second half with goals by substitute Lorenzo Atzori (53) and Andrew Mizzi (69) to secure the win.
After the match, Kerċem Ajax players, staff, and officials were presented with medals and the Knock-Out trophy by Gozo FA president Azzopardi, together with other association officials.
NEXT FIXTURES
Saturday – Gozo Stadium
GFA Play Off/Out
Għajnsielem vs Sannat Lions 13.00
GFA Division One final
SK Victoria Wanderers vs Xagħra United 15.00
