Albania round-up: Tirana duo lead the way

SK Tirana and KS Dinamo Tirana maintained their grip on the Liga e Pare with wins on Saturday.

Tirana giants triumph
League-leaders Tirana struggled to earn a 2-1 victory at home to bottom club KS Luftëtari while their local rivals had a much easier day, winning 3-0 against KS Besëlidhja.

Late winner for Dabulla
After an uninspired first half at the Qemel Stafa stadium, Tirana took the lead through Indrit Fortuzi's 47th-minute penalty. The visitors thought they had earned a draw when they grabbed a last-minute equaliser, but Tirana dashed their opponents' hopes by scoring straight from the kick-off through Rezart Dabulla.

Dinamo ease home
It was to prove a precious victory for the league leaders as second-placed city rivals Dinamo also gained maximum points on Saturday with a convincing 3-0 home victory over Besëlidhja.

Xhafa strikes twice
Daniel Xhafa opened the scoring with his first of the match in the 32nd minute, and Ulian Ahmataj doubled the advantage after 56 minutes. Xhafa completed the scoring with his second goal of the game with nine minutes left.

Teuta scrape a win
KS Teuta ensured the top two cannot relax though by keeping apace with a narrow 1-0 home win over KS Apolonia. Bledar Bancaku netted the only goal of the game in the 21st minute.

Late goal for Partizani
The other Tirana club, KS Partizani, needed an equaliser five minutes from time to salvage a point away at KS Bylis. Bardhyl Elezi's 32nd-minute strike gave the hosts the lead but Ledio Pano's late goal earned the fourth-placed visitors a share of the spoils.

Erzeni lose at home
In Saturday's other matches, KS Erzeni fell to a 3-2 home defeat against KS Flamurtari, KS Tomori and KF Lushnja shared the points in a goalless stalemate, while KS Shkumbini beat KS Vllaznia 2-1 at the Toza Haxhiu stadium.