Dinamo – Tirana 1-2
The derby of Tirana has been decided, once again, by the duo Sinani – Salihi; well, maybe just half of it. Vioresin Sinani was the protagonist of the match with his goals against Dinamo which gave Tirana the late, narrow victory and him the lead in the scoring list with 12 over his partner, Salihi, who has 11.
Dinamo struck first with Ilir Qorri in the tenth minute, scoring his third for the season. At the end of the half the referee sent off both Ishka for Dianmo and Abraham for Tirana after continued altercations between the two. Throughout the game both teams displayed signs of anxiety and even player-coach Redi Jupi was booked. In the 40th minute, Sinani took advantage of a lapse by Dinamo’s defense and tied the score 1-1. After the game, Jupi spoke at length about the goal and contended that Sinani had been in an offside position.
The second half continued to be tense and most of the play developed in midfield. In the 90th minute Sinani surprised everyone, including Coach Muca, by scoring and sending everyone in the stands into frenzy. With the win Tirana will have 29 points and will maintain the lead for at least one more week.
Vllaznia – Shkumbini 2-1
After last week’s loss to Tirana, Vllaznia’s players were hungry for a victory but it would not come easy or early. The “red and blues” had to wait till the 88th minute for the hard-earned three points. The tempo of the game was limited by the continuing rain and the absence of Skerdi Bejzade was certainly felt in the ranks of Vllaznia. Shkumbini was careful in defense but Sejdini’s team would counter-attack with punctuality.
Shkumbini would strike first with Beqi from the penalty mark in the 42nd after Lika handed the ball in the box and the match for Vllaznia became even more difficult. In the 56th, referee Belcani pointed to the penalty mark once more and this time in favor of the hosts. From 12 yards, Bici does not fail. After the goal, Vllaznia launched ahead at full capacity and Shkumbini could do nothing else but defend. In the 88th, came the coup de grace with Dalipi which gives Vllaznia the win and the three points. With the victory, the team is now in fifth place, one point behind Partizani.
Teuta – Flamurtari 1-0
The lone goal of the match was scored in the 67th minute by the 21-year-old Ermal Gega who took advantage of a mistake by keeper Dede. With this win Teuta reaches the third place, surpassing Partizani which was stopped at home by Besa. For Flamurtari this is the eighth loss in 15 weeks and the team continues to get closer to the relegation zone. It must be noted that Flamurtari and its thugs in uniform do not fail to give us ugly displays of unsportsmanship week in and week out. This time, Richard was sent off with five minutes to go in the match as a result of a truly despicable reaction to a foul by Teuta defender Endri Vrapi, who was carded for the intervention.
Partizani – Besa 0-0
Besa’s performance in the first half was superior to that of that of the hosts, who continue to be unable to win, even at home. In the second half Partizani appeared to have woken up and pursued a goal but was unable to get it even with numeric superiority from the 6th minute of the second. With the tie Partizani loses the third spot in the chart to Teuta who managed a 1-0 win against Flamurtari. After the game, Hasan Lika expressed his lack of satisfaction with the way his team played but said that play had been acceptable considering the strength of the opponent.
Kastrioti – Elbasani 1-0
With the win against reigning champs, Elbasani, the team from Kruja remains undefeated at home in eight matches. This season, Kastrioti has defeated both Tirana and Elbsani and has tied with Partizani, Teuta and Vllaznia. The goal for Kastrioti was scored by Ziambo in the 16th minute of the first half. With the three points taken away from the ex-second place Elbasani, Kastrioti is now in sixth place with 21 points and next week they will play Flamurtari. Things do not get easier for Elbsani as they will have to host Vllaznia at “Ruzhdi Bizhuta”.
Apolonia – Luftetari 0-0
A point a piece left both teams happy with the result. Apolonia still remain at the bottom of the table with 11 points while Luftetari climb up to the 8th place with 18 points in fifteen games.
Round 16
16.12.2006
KF Elbasani – Vllaznia
Shkumbini – Dinamo
17.12.2006
Flamurtari – Kastrioti
SK Tirana – Partizani
Besa – Apolonia
Luftetari – Teuta
