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Last Friday Naxxar Lions registered their 14th win of the season after beating 5th place Sirens. As expected, the Lions
dominated throughout the 90 minutes creating several goal scoring opportunities and closing all spaces for Sirens.
Naxxar Lions had their first shot after 13 minutes when Adrian Fenech shot over the cross bar. 5 minutes later, a cross
from the right by Mario Debono was met by a shot from Gilbert Camilleri who hit the upright before opening the score for
Naxxar Lions. Immediately after the restart, Victor Bellia dribbled past 2 Sirens players but his shot was saved by the
goalkeeper. In the 23rd minute, Sirens had their first opportunity when they missed from a direct free kick. In the 30th minute,
Sirens were awarded a penalty when their forward was fouled in the penalty area. From the spot, their forward did not miss to
level the score. Naxxar kept on pressing and in the 37th minute, Gilbert Camilleri had his shot saved by the Sirens guardian
while 2 minutes later the same player had his goal disallowed after the linesman signalled an offside. The last shot of the
first half was by Kevin Fenech who saw his shot saved.
In the second half, the Lions were more aggressive and after just 5 minutes Gilbert Camilleri had two shots at goal. In the
51st minute, Adrian Fenech had his powerful shot diverted to a corner after a fine save by the Sirens goalkeeper. Few minutes
later, Glen Magri had his shot saved and Justin Zammit was close with a header. In the 60th minute, Gilbert Camilleri had his
shot diverted to a corner and from the resulting corner, the same player hit the woodwork with a header. A minute later,
Gilbert Camilleri was fouled in the penalty area and from the resulting penalty he scored his second personal goal and his
11th of the season. With this goal Sirens were beaten and 3 minutes later, Glen Magri extended the lead after receiving a pass
from Victor Bellia. In the 72nd minute, Gilbert Camilleri had another shot saved by the goalkeeper after receiving a cross from
Andrea Farrugia. 2 minutes later, after 4 quick successive passes, Glen Magri scored again to seal the win for Naxxar. After this
goal Naxxar kept on pressing and created more goal scoring occasions. In the a space of 3 minutes, both Gilbert Camilleri and Mario
Debono had a shot saved by the goalkeeper and another missed the target after shooting from inside the penalty area. The last
opportunity of the game was 7 minutes from time when Mattia Del Negro shot over the cross bar.
After 17 matches Naxxar Lions are still leading the table with 43 points and head to the last match against Xghajra Tornadoes
with equal points as Zejtun Corinthians. A win for both teams will lead to a decider that will determine the winner of the section.
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