Mosta 1
Ebere Eugene 82’
Gżira United 1
Gabriel Mentz 90+1’
Gabriel Mentz struck deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for Gżira United in a 1-1 draw against Mosta in their Malta Premier League encounter at the Tony Bezzina Stadium.
The Malta international scored in the first minute of added time to cancel out Ebere Eugene’s 82nd-minute opener and deny Mosta what appeared to be a valuable victory.
The result left Mosta on 12 points, four behind leaders Valletta, while Gżira remained second from bottom with just three points.
The opening half produced little in the way of goalmouth action, with both sides struggling to create clear scoring opportunities.
Mosta came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Geoffrey Acheampong delivered an inswinging free-kick from the right which struck the crossbar.
The match improved after the interval, with Gżira showing greater attacking intent as they searched for an opening goal.
In the 69th minute, former Melita striker Andre Costa went close with an effort that finished narrowly wide.
Costa threatened again shortly afterwards, but his attempt was blocked by a Mosta defender.
With eight minutes remaining, Mosta finally broke the deadlock when Ebere Eugene found the net with a finish past Gżira goalkeeper Edoardo Colombo.
The goal appeared sufficient to secure all three points for Mosta, but Gżira continued to push forward in search of an equaliser.
Their persistence was rewarded in the first minute of stoppage time when Mentz reacted quickest following a corner and bundled the ball home from close range.
The late goal ensured the Maroons avoided defeat, although the draw did little to improve their difficult position in the standings.
For Mosta, it was a frustrating conclusion to a match in which they had looked set to move closer to the top of the table.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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