Melita managed to beat Fgura United by three goals to two in a fine necounter that saw the Amateurs now take sole leadership of the BOV Challenge League with four wins out of four.

In this top of the table clash, Fgura United and Melita crossed swords in what was expected to be an interesting encounter. The first quarter of the match was a rather staid affair although Melita seemed to be more enterprising. The first chance came on 22 minutes when a lob by Kurt Bondin caught Yenz Cini out of position but the ball was cleared off the line by Andrew Xuereb.

However, Melita missed an absolute sitter on 25 minutes when Olanshile Allionida managed to round Cini but inexplicably he shot well over the bar with a gaping goal in front of him. Fgura responded with a header by Haytham Abdelghani a minute later that went just over the bar.

Another chance came Fgura’s way on the half hour mark but Caleb Akhande could only blast over from an excellent position. But it was Melita who went ahead on 40 minutes when a fine through pass by Alan Borg Olivier found Allionida who made no mistake with a strong low shot.

It was 2-0 just a couple of minutes later when Karl Mohanni picked up a ball on the edge of the box and managed to steer a finely angled effort that beat Cini.

Melita continued where they left off at the start of the second half with another opportunity for Allionida that ended up just wide. From the resulting corner, Cini fumbled Mohnani’s kick with the ball ending up in the net.

The Amateurs continued piling up pressure and had another chance when Mohnani sprang the offside trap but his cross shot went across the face of the goal on 55 minutes. On 63 minutes Fgura pulled one back through Akande who was becoming a thorn in Melita’s side.

Six minutes later Fgura pulled another one back when they won a penalty which was cooly converted by Samuel Buhagiar. A comeback was definitely on the cards with 20 minutes to go. On 73 minutes Andrew Xuereb saw his free kick sail just over Gosef Mizzi’s bar.

Although there were chances at both ends, Melita eked out an important win which saw them retain the top position of the BOV Challenge League with 4 wins out of 4 games.

Fgura United 2 Melita 3 (HT 0-2)