Albania round-up: Tirana march on

Albanian First Division leaders SK Tirana extended their advantage at the summit to four points after a 1-0 victory over KS Elbasani on Friday.

Halili the hero
Mahir Halili scored the only goal of a hard-fought encounter after 55 minutes to improve Tirana's hopes of wrestling the title from city rivals KS Dinamo Tirana. The Albanian Cup holders, looking for their first league title since 1999/00, have suffered only one defeat this season and conceded just five goals in 13 matches.

Vllaznia lose ground
KS Vllaznia lost ground on Tirana after only managing a 1-1 draw at lowly KS Apolonia. Apolonia, second-bottom of the standings, went in front in the 58th minute with a penalty from Ansi Agolli but Safet Osja struck a dramatic equaliser in the last minute to seal a point for Vllaznia - only their second draw of the season.

Partizani held
KF Partizani stay third, a further two points behind Vallaznia, after claiming a 2-2 away draw against mid-table KS Besa. In a match played in Lushnja due to reconstruction of the Besa stadium, the visitors went in front twice through Rrahman Hallaci and Gjergji Muzaka, but they were pegged when Fatjon Ymeri and Edmond Kodra got their names on the scoresheet to secure a share of the spoils for Besa.

Dinamo back on track
Fourth-placed Dinamo closed the gap to two points by virtue of a 1-0 home win over KF Lushnja at the Selman Stemazi stadium, Edmond Dalipi scoring the game's only goal after 25 minutes to reignite the champions faltering title ambitions.

Point for Besëlidhja 
KS Besëlidhja remain rooted to the foot of the table despite claiming a 2-2 draw at KS Flamurtari. Sherif Idrizi gave Flamurtari a 20th-minute lead but Edvin Lika equalised from the penalty spot ten minutes before the interval. Anseti Vito also converted from the spot to put the hosts back in front but Lika had the last word, scoring his second spot-kick of the match in the added time.

Erzeni hopes buoyed
KF Erzeni enhanced their chances of avoiding relegation with a 2-1 victory over KS Bylis. A Bleder Lala own goal gave Bylis the lead but Erzeni hit back through Elion Nushi (60) and Alion Hasho (84) to join their opponents on 14 points. The first division is to be reduced to ten teams next season, meaning that four teams will be relegated and no teams promoted from the second division.

Joy for Teuta
In the weekend's other match, KS Teuta moved into eighth place with a convincing 3-1 win at KS Shkumbini. The match was played in Elbasan due to a punishment imposed on Shkumbini by Football Association of Albania, and Teuta took full advantage as a double from Dritan Babamusta and a late strike by Migen Memelli rendered Daniele Zaccanti's little more than a consolation for Shkumbini.