Luqa St Andrews won the inaugural edition of the BOV National Amateur League after beating Melita 2-1 in the Championship Play-offs final at the Victor Tedesco Stadium in Ħamrun.
In a game of three penalties, it was the southerners who prevailed as they proved too strong for the previously unbeaten Melita, who will rue their 1-1 draw against Mgarr.
It was Luqa who were the more dominant side in the opening minutes, pushing more men into their opponents’ half.
However, their opening goal had to come from the spot after the half hour, following an overcommitment from Melita goalkeeper Luciano Camilleri inside the area.
Luqa’s Keith Vella sent Camilleri the wrong way and opened proceedings.
Melita got one back with a penalty of their own from another foul by the goalkeeper, this time Luqa’s Leighton Mifsud. Michael Cachia stepped up and Melita were back in the contest.
The Amateurs were close to making it two with another spotkick but this time Mifsud came out on top with an impressive stop.
Melita were under enough pressure at that point, but Luqa all but closed off the issue with another goal on 72 minutes. From a through ball, Lucky Nwaogu sped ahead and with the keeper to beat, he slipped past Camilleri and into the net amid Luqa celebrations.
The game took a violent turn at the end but Luqa held on to take the trophy at the end of the 90 minutes.
Champions Luqa, Melita and Mgarr United will be the top three teams promoted to the Challenge league. Rabat Ajax also added their name into the list after beating Kirkop in the promotion play-offs.
