The Saints maintain their winning ways

Mons Calpe 1
St Joseph 3

It took St Joseph just 25 seconds to put Mons Calpe’s goalmouth under pressure. Unbeaten in their first two league matches and having defeated Lincoln Red Imps in the Pepe Reyes Memorial Cup final, St Joseph came into the match as favourites.
Mons Calpe weathered the early pressure, penned deep in their half for the first ten minutes, which were tense. A yellow card was given to Consigliero after five minutes for a challenge, with Mons Calpe not seeing the other half of the pitch until eight minutes into the game. St Joseph dominated and pressed Mons Calpe throughout those first eight minutes.
Ironically, Mons Calpe’s first surge into St Joseph’s half exposed their defense, with a floated cross to the back post, headed past Banda in Mons Calpe’s first attempt.
Although St Joseph tried to regain momentum, the early goal gave Mons Calpe a boost, allowing them to venture more into the attack, stretching the field.
This opened up more space at both ends, creating an exciting, end-to-end game in the minutes following the goal.
After 13 minutes, St Joseph earned a corner, but it came to nothing. In the 16th minute, a curled cross into the penalty area was met well, but the resulting header ended on the wrong side of the near post for St Joseph.
Two minutes later, St Joseph had another shot blocked as they searched for an equalizer, only for Mons Calpe to clear the danger.
Mons Calpe succeeded in slowing the pace, much to the detriment of their opponents.
As they approached the half-hour mark, despite their very defensive posture, Mons Calpe could not be faulted for how they stalled St Joseph. However, they were unable to hold them off for long. A corner in the 30th minute saw St Joseph score, levelling the game.
Mons Calpe, who had not ventured forward since their goal, responded by pressing forward once more. Having tasted the lead, they didn’t sit back and used their chances to push the game towards St Joseph. With neither team content to defend, space opened up again, promising a faster-paced final 15 minutes to the first half, with action at both ends.
St Joseph capitalized on this, weaving passes down the right to slot in their second goal in the 37th minute. Regaining their confidence, they found a way to break through the game plan that had initially stalled them.
A confident start to the second half for St Joseph saw them slice through Mons Calpe’s defense from inside their own half. A series of quick one-touch passes set up a swift attack, resulting in their third goal just three minutes into the second half.
Playing with a high press, St Joseph didn’t give Mons Calpe any chance to catch their breath after the goal. The Saints began to assert their dominance, showing why they are one of the favourites to challenge for the league title.
Liam Walker, who had scored a spectacular goal from a corner the previous Sunday against San Marino, came close to repeating the feat against Mons Calpe. His curler glanced just over the crossbar in the 56th minute, and an earlier corner moments before was diverted for another corner after a clearance off the line.
Just a minute later, another corner was met with a header at the far post, sent just wide as the Saints threatened to add a fourth goal.
Mons Calpe went down to ten men in the 60th minute after a deliberate arm pull stopped a quick counter near the edge of the box. However, the resulting free kick was wasted, with the ball sent well wide of the crossbar.
The Saints seemed to drop down a gear after this, allowing Mons Calpe a bit more play. However, in the 67th minute, only an outstretched foot from the Mons Calpe keeper saved them from conceding a fourth, deflecting the ball over the bar for a corner.
Comfortably in control, St Joseph pushed Mons Calpe deeper into their half. In the final 20 minutes, it was the Mons Calpe keeper who kept St Joseph from scoring a fourth, with a handful of timely saves denying the Saints a last goal.