Match Day 3 Roundup - The Malta BOV ePremier League

Match Day 3 of the BOV ePremier League saw the return of Christian and Gianluca and what a week it was! 

Here’s how the featured matches went on Thursday evening.

Santa Lucia back with a Bang!

Santa Lucia FC vs Tarxien FC (Chrismeister888 vs Klawka)

Leg 1: 3-2
Leg 2: 5-0

Stunning start by Santa Lucia as after just 5 minutes of play, the ball found its way to R9, who coolly slotted the ball home. The Vikings kept pressing with the ball again falling at the feet of R9 who scored an almost identical goal to double Santa Lucia’s lead in the 30th minute.

Tarxien’s Klawka fought back, producing a superb showing in the second half. He levelled matters at 2-2 in the 52nd and 69th minute through Eusebio and R9. However, Christian immediately replied, hitting the winner in the 75th through R9 who sealed his hat-trick. 

Christian reminded the viewers why he is currently Malta’s number 1 seed in the EA Global Series PS4 leaderboard. Santa Lucia went all out attack and dominated the second game winning 5-0 with R9 and Messi both getting a brace, CR7 finished things off.

Offside Goals prove costly for Balzan! 

Valletta FC vs Balzan FC (Txrbulense vs isaackylegrima)

Leg 1: 1-1
Leg 2: 4-1

Txrbulense, playing his first match after returning from Valencia, had a tough nut to crack in Balzan’s Isaac Kyle Grima. 

The match started as expected with both sides testing the waters. It was a quiet affair until the 42nd minute when Isaac had the audacity the produce a Rainbow Flick with Neymar and saw his shot hit the post but from the rebound, R9 tapped the ball into an empty net. However, to the dismay of the Balzan supporter, the goal was ruled out for offside. 

Fast forward to the 64th minute and once again Balzan had a goal disallowed, this time scored by Neymar. From the resulting free-kick, Valletta took the lead after some great build-up play saw both Ronaldos link up with R9 scoring against the run of play. Isaac forced his way back into the game late on and found an equaliser in the 90th minute thanks to Lionel Messi. Nothing to separate the two but Balzan unlucky not to win with two goals ruled out for offside. 

Balzan thought they were on to something in the 12th minute of the second round as they took the lead with a Neymar JR finish but Valletta had other ideas. Txrbulense fought back to win the game 4-1 after a brace from R9, Cruyff and Messi getting on the scoresheet.

Gudja finally get their first Win!

Gudja United vs Birkirkara FC (Haller10 vs Lawfu)

Leg 1: 1-3
Leg 2: 1-0

Gudja United were still winless entering Match Day 3 and facing last week’s player of the week “Lawfu” was not going to be a straightforward task.

From the kick-off, Gudja showed hunger and immediately found the net after a Lionel Messi effort. Haller made sure that he kept possession throughout the game but in a quick counter-attack, Lawfu managed to level matters after a sleek through-ball to R9 who calmly slotted home following a quick ball roll. In the 35th minute, Birkirkara again saw an opening in the middle of the park and it was Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi who turned the tide in their favour. 

The second half saw a lot of end-to-end action but it wasn’t until a Virgil Van Dijk blunder that handed R9 an easy finish in the dying minutes of the match to seal all three points for Birkirkara. 

The second match was tense and it was evident both sides did not want to concede. It was going to be either a mistake or an excellent goal that would break the deadlock. In this case, it was the latter as an R9 thunderbolt in the top left corner was enough to give Gudja their first three points of the league phase.

Santa Lucia go top of the table!

Santa Lucia FC vs Hamrun Spartans (chrismeister888 vs brandsha)

Leg 1: 2-0
Leg 2: 2-1

The match of the day was eagerly-expected as Ħamrun Spartans’ Brandsha took on Santa Lucia’s Chrismeister888 to determine who will be the leader come the end of the day. 

A series of shots following a corner in the 16th minute saw the ball fall to Lionel Messi who opened the scoring for the Yellows. It was a defending masterclass from Christian in that first half, blocking anything that came his way in the middle of the park through Ruud Gullit and N’Golo Kante. 

The second half was more of the same as once again, the defence was key for Santa Lucia. Christian managed to make the score 2-0 in the 62nd minute after R9 made headway on the right-hand side before passing the ball to CR7 who hit the post but scored from the rebound. 

Brandsha had to make amends for his disappointing attacking performance in that first round. Ħamrun took the lead in the 30th minute through a fine counter-attack that was coolly dispatched by Lionel Messi. The lead was almost doubled in the 38th minute but Van Dijk was the saviour for Santa Lucia as he blocked an easy 1 vs 1 for Ħamrun. 

Santa Lucia increased the pressure and it paid off in the 58th minute as Christian’s top scorer R9 pounced on Van Dijk’s mistake to make things even. That was not enough for Christian as he pressed even more and the ball found its way to Lionel Messi who beat Van Dijk easily and fired home to secure all the points. Thus, Christian cemented his name as the sole leader of the Malta BOV ePremier League after this Match Day.

Floriana too strong for Mosta 

Floriana FC vs Mosta FC (Mizu vs lukebartolofifa) 

Leg 1: 2-0
Leg 2: 1-0 

A match which, on paper, promised to be an action-packed fixture between two FUT verified players Mizu and lukebartolofifa ended up being a one-sided affair as Luke is still trying to find his best form in this Malta BOV ePremier League.

As soon as they stepped into the studio, things were already looking to be in Mizu’s favour as he was coming from two wins against Gudja, whilst Luke suffered two defeats against Hibernians. 

Floriana found the net with a great strike from R9 in the 29th minute. Mizu continued searching for the second and they struck gold in the 60th minute after a Messi near-post finish to cruise to victory. 

Mosta tried hard to get back into contention but Floriana’s defence was too strong in the second round of this fixture, blocking shots left, right and centre. A flurry of elastico’s saw R9 put the ball in the back of the net for Floriana in the 38th minute to give them the lead, even though Mosta enjoyed 64% of the possession at the time. Mizu held out for three important points that puts him third in the standings and still unbeaten. 

Points shared between Alessio and Dunstan

Sliema Wanderers vs Hibernians FC (Alessio10 vs Dunstan12)

Leg 1: 1-1
Leg 2: 2-2

Both sides are known for their attacking football and it showed in both of these fixtures.

Sliema took the lead in the 36th minute off a VVD finish from a Johann Cruyff corner which was perfectly timed off the post. Dunstan did not waste any time to level matters as through a series of skills from Lionel Messi, he created_at an opening and hammered a diagonal shot to level matters. Alisson was the hero for both sides as it remained goalless in the second half to keep the result 1-1. 
Sliema dominated the second round with more than 65% of possession but were unable to find the net in the first half. Tactical changes at half-time had an impact as both defences started to open up with Hibernians finding the net through a Gullit bullet in the 54th minute.

A penalty was awarded to the Wanderers in the 65th minute after a poor Alisson tackle and it was R9 who put it past Becker.  Sliema continued to press forward and deservedly forged ahead in the 79th minute through a CR7 tap-in after good work on the flank from Messi. When it looked as though the match was going Sliema’s way, Mbappe somehow found the back of the net to rescue a point for Hibernians.