Ħamrun Spartans fail to breach resilient Gżira United

Ħamrun Spartans failed to breach a resolute Gżira United side as the Malta champions were forced to settle for a goalless draw at the Tedesco Stadium.

The result enabled Gżira United to go one point clear at the top of the standings on 10 points, while the Spartans remained third on eight points.

The Spartans will rue the number of opportunities created, particularly in the first hour of the match, but in reality, Gżira deserved to take home a point for a resilient performance that underlined that they will be hard to beat in the Closing Round.

Gżira were off to a strong start, and they should have taken the lead after two minutes of play.

The Maroons launched a swift raid, which saw Chrisonic Sa race clear and tee up the unmarked Maxuell Maia. The Brazilian chipped the ball over the onrushing Henry Bonello, but Emerson Marcelina was on hand to clear off the line.

After surviving that scare, the Spartans tried to fight back, and on nine minutes, Damir Ceter flicked the ball towards Joseph Mbong but was blocked by the onrushing Colombo. The ball fell to Danilo Bulevardi, who saw his shot saved by the Gżira goalkeeper.

Bulevardi threatened again on 25 minutes, but his overhead kick flashed just wide.

Gżira finally threatened eight minutes later, but N’Sa’s shot drifted wide.

Mbong missed a huge chance on 36 minutes when he failed to make contact with the ball from a few metres out after a Guillaumier pass.

After the break, Ħamrun roped in Jonny for Shaisen Attard and the Brazilian forward was put clear but was denied by the onrushing Bonello.

On 64 minutes, Compri’s delivery found Vincenzo Polito in space but his header was saved by Colombo.

For the rest of the match, the Spartans tried to continue to push forward, but they lacked any kind of punch as Gżira managed to preserve the cleansheet and gain a significant point.