Francisco Farias emerged was the hero as his late goal saw Santa Lucia come from behind to beat Pietà Hotspurs and clinch their first win of the season.
After a bright opening by Santa Lucia, it was the Hotspurs, who had the first real attempt on goal when Daniel Zerafa picked the ball up in midfield and forced his way through before squaring for Terence Agius. The midfielder was given space and time but his radar was slightly off as he dragged his shot wide.
Neither side was giving much away and chances were at a premium.
At 20 minutes, Pietà surged into the lead. David Schembri Wismayer whipped in a cross from the right and as the Santa Lucia defence slept, Atanda Ogungbe headed the ball into the path Jake Ghio who sneaked in and prodded into the net.
The Santa Lucia supporters were soon on their feet, as three minutes later, their team was back on level terms. Nicholas Pulis hit a low drive as Davidy Valpoort got in the way to divert the ball past Sunday Dele Alampasu.
If the first half was even, Santa Lucia began to dominate possession after the break.
PIETÀ HOTSPURS 1
Ghio 20
SANTA LUCIA 2
Pulis 23, Farias 86
PIETÀ HOTSPURS
S. Alampasu-6, S. Okoh-6, C. Bangura-5.5, O. Temitope-5 (46 Y. Morita-6), D. Zerafa-6 (74 S. Mizzi), J. Ghio-6 (62 A. Camara), T. Agius-6, L. Abedel-5, A. Schembri Wismayer-6.5 (68 K. Leonardi), Z. Leonardi-5, A. Ogungbe-5.5
SANTA LUCIA
M. Calleja Cremona-6, Y. Fonesca-6, N. Pulis-7, R. Bairam-5 (46 E. Moreno-6), D. Valpoort-6 (90 M. Johnson), A. Bah-5, D. Francarolli-6, D. Xuereb-6, J. Pisani-6.5, F. Farias-6.5, Z. Jie-5.5 (70 R. Saito).
Referee: Etienne Mangion.
Yellow cards: Morita, Francarolli,
BOV player of the match: Nicholas Pulis (Santa Lucia)
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