PHOTOS – JOE BORG

Floriana FC Veterans ended their first round commitments from the VMFA Cisk Premier League in style after winning 5-2 against reigning champions MFPA.

Emerson Amaira, Manolito Micallef, Glenn Bonello, Mark Gauci and Gilbert Scerri scored a goal each.

George Frendo Scored a brace for MFPA.

Another breathtaking encounter was witnessed in the match between arch rivals Gzira United FC Veterans and Birkirkara Saint Helen Veterans FC with both teams sharing the spoils to a 7-7 result.

Both teams produced top quality football and kept fighting for the three points until the final whistle

Justin Grioli scored a hat-trick for the Maroons while Ian Zammit netted a brace. Daniel Mariano Bueno and Kevin Sammut scored a goal each.

For Birkirkara Federico Marine scored a hat-trick, Christian Caruana netted a brace while Ayrton Buhagiar and Daniel Cremona added another goal each.

Rabat Veterans returned to winning ways as they defeated Żurrieq Wolves A.S.C in a convincing way after a 9-1 scoreline.

Adam Smeir scored a poker for the Magpies and a brace from Gilbert Camilleri Lowell. Darren Galea, Gareth Magri and Dylan Falzon added a goal each.

Beppe Muscat Scored the only goal for the Wolves.

Hibernians FC Veterans broke their duck while registering their first victory of the season after beating Zejtun Red Stars Veterans 7-6.

Hibs closed the first half with the score of 5-1 in their favour, however in the second part of the game things changed dramatically and the score ended 7-6 for Hibs.

Luke Satariano scored a hat-trick for the team from Paola. Ilia Nazarov, Mauro Brincat, Beppe Antignolo and Adrian Lanzon added a goal each.

For Zejtun Charlo Magro netted a Hat-trick, a brace by Charlo Debattista and another goal from Eric Saliba.

STANDINGS – VMFA Cisk Premier League

Floriana FC 18, Gżira United Veterans 16, MFPA 15, Birkirkara St Helen’s 14, Rabat 10 , Żurrieq Wolves 6, Hibernians 3 , Żejtun Red Stars 0.

TOP SCORERS LIST – VMFA Cisk Premier League

Ayrton Buhagiar (Birkirkara St Helen’s) 16, Daniel Mariano Bueno (Gżira United) 14, Michael Galea (MFPA), Adam Smeir (Rabat) 12, Glenn Bonello 11.

Three teams are occupying the first place in the VMFA Cisk Premier League table as they maintained their consistent run.

There was a big win from Gzira United FC Veterans as they beat Żurrieq Wolves 10-0.

Prolific striker Daniel Mariano Bueno scored 5 goals and Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza scored a hat-trick. P io Sciriha and Justin Grioli scored a goal each.

Floriana FC Veterans bounced back from their first defeat of the season as they won 6-1 against Rabat Veterans. Despite the score margin, both teams produced high tempo football but the Greens were more clinical in front of goal.

Glenn Bonello scored a brace while the other goals came from team captain Brian Said, Manolito Micallef, Gianluca Calabretta and Emerson Amaira. Byron Fenech scored the only goal for the Magpies.

Massive win for Birkirkara Saint Helen Veterans FC as they smashed Hibernians FC Veterans 12-2.

Ayrton Buhagiar was on his best form as he scored seven goals, a record in the Veterans Malta Premier league.

Federico Marine scored a brace. Jeffrey Chetcuti, Robert Perkins and Daniel Cremona scored a goal each.

Ilia Nazarov and Steve Bonnici replied for the poalites.

Meanwhile, MFPA had a walk-over against Żejtun Red Stars.

Finally next week some direct clashes will be played as champions MFPA entertain Floriana FC while second-placed Birkirkara St Helen’s face Gżira United Veterans.

STANDINGS – VMFA Cisk Premier League

Gżira United Veterans, Floriana FC, MFPA 15, Birkirkara St Helen’s 13, Rabat 7, Żurrieq Wolves 6, Żejtun Red Stars, Hibernians 0

Gzira United FC Veterans produced a perfect second half as they gave Floriana FC their first defeat of the season to win 7-4.

Man of the Match Daniel Mariano Bueno was inspirational for the Maroons as he scored four second half goals. Pio Sciriha, Jonathan Pearson and Kevin Sammut scored a goal each.

For Floriana Glenn Bonello scored a brace with the other goals coming from Gilbert Scerri and Malcolm Licari.

With this result Gzira joined Malta Football Players Association and Floriana at the top of the table with 12 points as MFPA have a game in hand.

Żurrieq Wolves A.S.C won their second game of the season against Hibernians FC Veterans by three goals to nil!

Beppe Muscat scored a brace while Bjorn Bondin added another goal.

There was also a big win for Birkirkara Saint Helen Veterans FC over current champions and league leaders Malta Football Players Association as they beat them with a commanding 4-1 score.. Ayrton Buhagiar, Daniel Cremona, Daniel Scerri and Christian Caruana scored a goal each for Bkara. Michael Galea replied for MFPA

Rabat Veterans defeated Zejtun Red Stars Veterans 6-0. As the result shows, the Magpies dominated the game from start to finish with Rabat’s top scorer Adam Smeir and Ibrahim Tarek scoring a brace each. The other goals came from Timothy Zammit and Joseph Caruana.

STANDINGS – VMFA Cisk Premier League

MFPA, Floriana, Gżira United 12, Birkirkara St Helen’s 10, Rabat 7, Żurrieq Wolves 6, Hibernians, Żejtun Red Stars 0

TOP SCORERS LIST – VMFA Cisk Premier League

Michael Galea (MFPA) 12 goals, Ayrton Buhagiar (Birkirkara St Helen’s), Adam Smeir (Rabat Veterans), Glenn Bonello (Floriana) 8 goals, Daniel Mariano Bueno (Gżira United) 7 goals.

The Maltese national veterans team will be playing an international friendly match at Stadio Francesco Russo against All Stars Sicilia on December 14^th at 3pm. This will be the return game between these two teams as they met about two years ago with the final score being 2-2.

Veteran coach Joe Micallef has selected a squad of 20 players which are as follows:

Goalkeepers – Justin Spiteri, Roderick Debattista.

Defenders – Jonathan Pearson, Justin Grioli, Stephen Wellman, Daniel Scerri, Andre Scicluna, Gareth Magri, Leandros Calleja.

Midfielders – Jeffrey Chetcuti, Gareth Sciberras, Jamie Pace, Dino Cachia, Daniel Cremona, Christian Cassar, Charlo Magro.

Strikers – Adam Smeir, Ian Zammit, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, Manolito Micallef.

Floriana and MFPA are on top of the VMFA Cisk Premier League table after achieving important victories on the fourth day.

MFPA won 6-1 against Żurrieq Wolves. The Malta Football Players Association dominated this match with the Wolves who tried to defend as best they could.

Michael Galea continued to strengthen his place at the top of the top scorers’ table when he netted a brace with Mark Barbara, Stephen Wellman, Carlo Mamo and Roderick Bajada sealing the victory for their team.

Żurrieq Wolves reduced the score by Beppe Muscat.

Glenn Bonello was the inspirational for Floriana who got a comfortable 7-2 win over Hibernians. Bonello scored a personal hat-trick, with Christian Cassar, Brian Said, Mark Gauci and Andy Portelli adding more to the score for their team.

Mark Crupi and Carl Sacco scored for the Paolites.

In a very emotional game, Birkirkara St Helen’s and Rabat Veterans ended their confrontation in a 3-3 draw.

Andre Scicluna scored twice for Rabat with Melvin Borg adding another.

Birkirkara had Firas Aboulezz score two goals while Ayrton Buhagiar combined the three goals for his team.

Gzira United took a walk-over over Żejtun Red Stars.

STANDINGS – VMFA Cisk Premier League

MFPA, Floriana 12, Gżira United 9, Birkirkara St Helen’s 7, Rabat 4, Żurrieq Wolves 3, Hibernians, Żejtun Red Stars 0

BEST SCORERS LIST

Michael Galea (MFPA) 11, Ayrton Buhagiar (Birkirkara St Helen’s) 7, Glenn Bonello (Floriana), Adam Smeir (Rabat) 6.

Reigning champions Malta Football Players Association and newcomers Floriana are sharing the first place of the VMFA Cisk Premier League table after keeping their perfect patch of late.

MFPA defeated Hibernians FC Veterans with a final score of 5-1

Michael Galea and Gareth Sciberras scored a brace each and Mark Barbara added another one. Luke Satariano scored the only goal for the Paolites.

New comers Floriana FC continued with their winning streak (3 out of 3) and won the game of the week against title contenders Birkirkara Saint Helen Veterans FC 6-4.

Malcolm Licari was the hero of the night as he netted a hat-trick in his debut with the Greens. Glenn Bonello scored a brace and Christian Cassar added another one. For Birkirkara Firas Aboulezz scored a brace while Ayrton Buhagiar and Daniel Cremona scored a goal each.

Gzira United FC Veterans edged Rabat Veterans 4-3. Both teams played high tempo football and the game was close from start to finish.

Kevin Sammut scored a brace while Mifsud Triganza and Arthur scored a goal each for the maroons.

Rabat had prolific goal scorer Adam Smeir with two goals and Andre Scicluna added another one.

Żurrieq Wolves A.S.C broke their duck and registered their first win of the season on Zejtun Red Stars Veterans with a close result of 3-2. Clarence Thompson, Beppe Muscat and Mario Camilleri scored a goal each for the wolves. Noel Tabone scored a brace for the red stars.

STANDINGS– VMFA Cisk Premier League

MFPA, Floriana 9, Birkirkara St Helen’s, Gżira United 6, Rabat, Żurrieq Wolves 3, Hibernians, Żejtun Red Stars 0.

Three teams obtained maximum points in the VMFA Cisk Premier League as the second day of this league was played during this week.

The biggest victory of the day was achieved by Birkirkara St Helen’s who beat Żejtun Red Stars 10-0. As the score clearly indicates, the Stripes dominated from start to finish this match with the Red Stars finding it very difficult to control their opponents.

Daniel Cremona netted four goals while Federico Marine and Alan Tabone scored a double each. Jeffrey Chetcuti and Ayrton Buhagiar also participated in the goals scoring spree.

Even champions MFPA came out victorious over Gzira United Veterans 7-3.

Prolific scorer Michael Galea scored three goals with Julian Galea, Gareth Sciberras, Carlo Mamo and George Frendo also finding the net.

The Maroons had Daniel Mariano Bueno scoring twice while Rio Micallef added another one for them.

In a very interesting game that was decided in the last minutes, Rabat Veterans beat Hibernians 6-3.

Ibrahim Tarek was the star for the Magpies when he scored three goals with Darren Galea, Timothy Zammit and Gilbert Camilleri Lowell who were also among the scorers.

Luke Satariano, Steven Bonnici and Calogero Dalli scored for the Paolites.

Floriana got a good 4-2 win against Żurrieq Wolves.

Emerson Amaira scored two goals with Brian Said and Christian Cassar adding two more for the Greens.

Clarence Thompson scored a double for Żurrieq Wolves.

STANDINGS– VMFA CISK PREMIER LEAGUE:

Birkirkara St Helen’s, Floriana, MFPA 6, Gzira United, Rabat Veterans 3, Hibernians, Żurrieq Wolves, Żejtun Red Stars 0.

STANDINGS – TOP SCORERS:

Michael Galea (MFPA) 7 goals, Ayrton Buhagiar (Birkirkara St Helen’s) 5 goals, Adam Smeir (Rabat), Daniel Cremona (Birkirkara St Helen’s) 4 goals.

Champions MFPA got off to the best possible start to their VMFA Cisk Premier League after defeating Rabat Veterans 8-5.

Prolific scorer Michael Galea was the hero for the Malta Football Players Association as he scored a poker. On the other hand, Mark Barbara scored a double while Gareth Sciberras and Julian Galea combined the score for the champions.

Rabat, fresh from winning the David Cluett Memorial Cup, had Adam Smeir score four goals with Melvin Borg adding another for his team.

Meanwhile the biggest victory of the day was achieved by Birkirkara St Helen’s who beat Żurrieq Wolves 9-1.

The Stripes were in a class of their own as Ayrton Buhagiar scored four goals with Daniel Scerri scoring a brace and Colin Ciantar, Robert Perkins and Jeffrey Chetcuti also finding the net.

Beppe Muscat reduced the scoring margin for the Red Stars.

Floriana Veterans dominated their match against Żejtun Red Stars as they won 6-0.

Gianluca Calabretta scored twice while Brian Said, Christian Cassar, Manolito Micallef and Glenn Bonello continued to score more goals for the Greens.

Even Gzira United had a positive start in this league after beating Hibernians 6-1.

Daniel Bueno, Kevin Sammut, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, Justin Grioli, Arthur Oyama and Dino Cachia were on target for the Maroons.

Beppe Antignolo was the only goal-scorer for Hibernians.

STANDINGS – VMFA CISK PREMIER LEAGUE

Birkirkara St Helen’s, Floriana FC, Gżira United, MFPA 3, Rabat, Hibernians, Żejtun Red Stars, Żurrieq Wolves. 0

David Cluett Memorial Cup

Birkirkara St Helen’s …….1

Rabat Veterans ……………..2

(H.T 1-0)

Rabat Veterans won the David Cluett Memorial Cup as they saw off Birkirkara St Helen’s 2-1 in a very exciting final.

This was the first competition organized by the Veterans Malta Football Association which kicked off a busy season.

On their path to the final, Rabat eliminated Żejtun Red Stars 6-2 and the holders MFPA 5-4 while Birkirkara St Helen’s beat Żurrieq Wolves 4-1 and Gżira United 6-2.

Birkirkara St Helen’s started brightly and went ahead on the quarter through Ayrton Buhagiar.

In the second half, the Magpies were determined to turn the tables and managed to equalize through their new acquisition Andre Scicluna so that at the death, Adam Smeir scored the winning goal.

At the end of the match, Rachel, Julia and Emma Cluett, daughters of the late David Cluett presented the cup to the Rabat Veterans captain Adam Smeir in the presence of VMFA president Malcolm Camilleri and Azeta Ltd director Kurt Zarb, sponsors of this competition.

Birkirkara St Helen’s: James Borg, Ayrton Buhagiar, Bojan Kaljevic, Christian Caruana, Clayton Micallef Vassallo, Colin Ciantar, Daniel Scerri, Firas Aboulezz, Jeffrey Chetcuti, Justin Zammit, Mario Caruana, Robert Perkins.

Rabat Veterans: Ivan Cassar, Adam Smeir, Byron Fenech, Darren Galea, Garrett Magri, Gilbert Camilleri Lowell, Melvin Borg, Ibrahim Tarek, Timothy Zammit, Andre Scicluna, Joseph Caruana, Luke Portelli.

Referee: Ray Tabone.

Rabat Veterans and Birkirkara St Helen’s will contest the David Cluett Memorial Cup final when they won their respective semi-final matches.

Rabat Veterans surprised holders MFPA to beat them 5-4.

The Magpies made their intentions clear from the start and built a comfortable advantage although the Malta Football Players Association made a reaction which despite everything was not enough.

Adam Smeir was the protagonist for the Magpies when he scored a hat-trick with Timothy Zammit and Gilbert Camilleri Lowell adding more goals for their team.

MPFA had Alexander Ribic, Branko Nisevic, Michael Galea and Thomas Paris who found the back of the net.

Birkirkara St Helen’s got a good 6-2 win against Gzira United Veterans.

Christian Caruana was the hero for the Stripes when he scored a hat-trick while Firaz Aboulezz scored a double. Ayrton Buhagiar tied the score for Birkirkara St Helen’s.

Ian Zammit and William Camenzuli scored for Gzira.

Meanwhile the final between Rabat Veterans and Birkirkara St Helen’s will be played on Thursday at the Dorotej grounds in Ħaz-Zebbuġ and will start at 7.30pm.