Full Report

Bernardo Lopes came off the bench to score twice as we produced an emphatic second-half display to secure a convincing 5-0 victory over FC Hound Dogs.

The Imps dominated proceedings throughout the first half but struggled to find a breakthrough against a well-organised and defensively disciplined Hound Dogs side.

Álvaro Romero thought he had given us the lead in the 28th minute after latching onto a clever pass from Toni García. Famara Leoture Touray saved his initial effort, but he reacted quickly to tuck away the rebound, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside.

We continued to push forward in search of the opener, with both Romero and Manuel Toledano testing Touray, who produced important saves to keep the scores level.

There were strong appeals for a penalty in the 42nd minute when Matthew Clenahan challenged Julliani Eersteling inside the area, but the referee waved play on as we headed into the interval with the score goalless.

Head coach Juanma Pavón made a triple substitution on the hour mark, introducing Yussef Flalhi, Kike and Bernardo Lopes in place of Leon Mason, Álvaro Romero and Gabri Cardozo.

The changes proved decisive as we finally made the breakthrough in the 64th minute. Julliani Eersteling delivered a cross towards the back post, where Kike headed the ball back across goal for Bernardo Lopes, who was perfectly positioned to guide his header into the top corner.

Our lead was doubled in the 72nd minute when Manuel Toledano rose to meet Nano's delivery, powering an unstoppable header beyond Touray to make it 2-0.

Just two minutes later, Bernardo grabbed his second of the evening and our third. Yussef Flalhi's cross fell kindly to the captain inside the penalty area, and he made no mistake, rifling a powerful effort past the helpless Hound Dogs goalkeeper.

The goals continued to flow as we were awarded a penalty in the 77th minute after Aly Shawky was adjudged to have kicked out at Kike inside the area. Yussef stepped up and confidently converted from the spot to extend our advantage to four.

We rounded off an impressive second-half performance deep into stoppage time when Álex Mula picked out Kike inside the box, and the striker drilled a precise finish into the bottom corner in the 94th minute to complete the scoring.

The emphatic victory sees us climb to second place in the Gibraltar Football League table, level on points with St Joseph's, following their draw against FC Magpies last Friday.