Santa Lucia made history after sealing their first ever promotion to the Premier League

St Andrews ended up in this position after finishing 12th in the BOV Premier League. On the other end, Santa Lucia placed third in the First Division and thus ensured that they will have a chance to get promoted if they beat the Saints.

Santa Lucia made a good start to the match and broke the deadlock after 10 minutes. Kevin Rosero delivered a long ball forward in the direction of Patrick Jean Texeira who placed the ball behind Matthew Calleja Cremona.

St Andrews hit back and equalised two minutes later. Aidan Friggieri served Martin Davis inside the penalty area and the latter finished inside the net.

However, Santa Lucia remained composed and regained their lead on the 17th minute. Jackson Mendonza drilled a low shot from outside the penalty area that gave Calleja Cremona no chance.

St Andrews replied on the 52nd minute. Joseph Farrugia’s volley from the edge of the penalty area forced a good save from Ryan Caruana.

However, Santa Lucia increased their advantage on the hour mark. Following a corner, Calleja Cremona punched the ball in the direction of Mendonza who headed the ball home.

Farrugia who was the best player for St Andrews threatened Santa Lucia on the 68th minute. The veteran midfielder fired a shot that forced an excellent save from Santa Lucia’s goalkeeper.

Things went from bad to worse for St Andrews on the 74th minute as they were reduced to ten since Travis Blagrove was shown his second yellow card after pushing Luis Diego Mosquera. The foul took place inside the penalty area and so the referee was forced to point towards the spot.

In fact, Santa Lucia made the score 4-1 seconds later as they converted their penalty. Texeira took charge of the spot kick and made no mistake from the eleven metres mark.

Following this goal, St Andrews were completely out of the game as Santa Lucia sealed their first ever promotion to the Premier League. Meanwhile, St Andrews will play in the First Division as they got relegated.

St Andrews starting line-up: Matthew Calleja Cremona, Travis Blagrove, Ricardo Martin, Aidan Jake Friggieri, Joseph Farrugia, Kurt Magro, Adrian Borg, Jacob Walker, Martin Davis, Luke Sciberras, Matthew Woo Ling

Santa Lucia starting line-up: Ryan Caruana, Jeremy Busuttil, Jackson Mendonza, Luis Diego Mosquera, Jurgen Suda, Kevin Rosero, Jamie Magri, Karl Pulo, Dejan Vukovic, Patrick Jean Texeira, Lee Galea

Referee: Etienne Mangion

Assistant Referees: Alan Camilleri, Thomas Debono

Fourth Official: Fyodor Zammit