Hotspurs Register Third League Win

Hotspurs Register Third League Win

Victoria Hotspurs 3 – 2 Kirkop United

Scorers: Karl Micallef 7′, Rondinely Robert Monteiro 58′, Kurt Borg 71′

On Saturday afternoon at the Sirens Stadium, Victoria Hotspurs did not have an easy task as they edged past Kirkop United 3–2 in their sixth outing of the BOV Amateur League I. The Gozo-based side opened the scoring early in the match but were forced to show resilience at various stages, as Kirkop United proved dangerous on the counter-attack.

In fact, Kirkop United created the first real opportunity of the game in the second minute when young striker Scion Cassar Grech forced Hotspurs goalkeeper Steve Sultana into a full-stretch save. In the sixth minute, Victoria Hotspurs took the lead following a corner, as the Kirkop defence failed to clear the ball and Karl Micallef was on hand to score from close range. Eight minutes later, Rondinely Monteiro tested goalkeeper Miguel Falzon, who reacted well. Barely a minute later, Rondinely was again involved, this time with a header that Falzon turned behind for a corner.

Kirkop responded on 20 minutes when the lively James Oghenekewaro fired over after another swift counter-attack. Their pressure paid off in the 35th minute when, following yet another break forward, Victoria’s defence was caught napping with Dicko Drissa tapping into an empty net to level the score. Three minutes before the interval, Misael Tabone tried his luck for Kirkop, but Sultana was alert, while Drisa also had a low free-kick saved by the Victoria goalkeeper.

The Gozitans regained the lead early in the second half when, following a scramble inside the penalty area, Rondinely struck a powerful shot to make it 2–1. Confidence grew for the Hotspurs, who soon added a third goal through Kurt Borg, who advanced well before finding the net past Falzon. Kirkop refused to give up and reduced the deficit in the 75th minute when Drissa headed past Sultana to complete his personal brace. The closing stages of the match were tense, with the referee issuing several yellow cards and showing a straight red card to Kirkop’s Misael Tabone.

Match Report by MFA Match Centre.