Valletta-Sliema W 1-0

Stewart Said

Valletta are the only team momentarily with two wins when they defeated Sliema Wanderers 1-0 with a late goal scored by super-sub Federico Falcone who for the second time in two games came off the bench and scored but this time his goal was a match winner.

The citizens held the initiative through out the game but faced a stubborn opponent who closed all the spaces in defence and tried to win their first points.

Paul Zammit made only one change from their win against St.Andrews as Abdelkarim Nafti took the place of Njongo Priso who’s nursing an injury. On the other hand Stephen Azzopardi made no less than six changes from their loss against Tarxien Rainbows as Michael Mifsud and Pedro dos Santos Calcado made their first appearance, Ledesma and Elezaj started their first game while Johann Bezzina and Benjamin Essel made their debut.

Valletta created their first action after six minutes when a free-kick by Jhonnattann Benites was turned into a corner by Elezaj. Sliema went close three minutes later with a shot by Michael Mifsud that was saved by Bonello. Jhonnattann tried again on the 14th minute with a shot from an angled position that was saved by Elezaj.

The best action of the half came on the 27th minute when Benites crossed from the right, Elezaj blocked partially, from the rebound, the header by Mifsud Triganza was blocked by Clifford Gatt Baldacchino and the final shot by Cremona rattled the crossbar. Two minutes later Sliema hit the post as Ledesma hit the upright from an angled position.

On the 41st minute a free-kick by Calcado was saved by Bonello and a minute later a slow shot by Nafti finished off target. Sliema went close to take the lead on the 45th minute with a shot from distance by Ledesma that hit the crossbar.

Sliema kept their tactical plan also in the second half as Valletta were started to get frustrated. The citizens had their first action of the second half on the 56th minute when from a corner by Jhonnattann Benites, Jonathan Caruana gave only the illusion of the goal with a header that finished off target. On the 75th minute a free-kick from distance by Benites was saved well by Elezaj.

Valletta scored the winning goal on the 89th minute when from a fast counter-attack, substitute Albert Bruce crossed to Roderick Briffa who headed to Federico Falcone who was there at the right place at the right time to beat Elezaj with a low shot in the corner.

Naxxar L.-Balzan 0-2

Chris Cassar

Balzan grabbed the first victory of the season with a deserved win over Naxxar Lions, who suffered their second consecutive defeat and are still in search of their first goal this season.

Naxxar however made strides forward following their dismal display against Birkirkara, but this was still not enough, as Balzan showed all their worth, especially after building a two-goal cushion at the start of the second half.

From then onwards the match was a no-contest affair with Naxxar unable to reproduce their first half performance and for Balzan it was an easy game where the score could have been even bigger.

Naxxar had a promising start missing a sitter after barely three minutes with Oussou failing to score all alone in front of goal. Naxxar had another good move on 15 minutes when Lodetti’s cross found Cardozo unmarked, with his grounder well saved by Cassar. Balzan’s first attempt came half way through the first half with Mensha blasting over the bar from a distance.

The same Mensha missed a glorious chance on 27 minutes when he failed to head home a Justin Grioli freekick. Balzan were now taking the game in their hands and had attempts from Agius and Mensha going well over the bar.

In stoppage time Balzan went close again when a Mensha freekick smashed againt Naxxar’s defensive wall and from the rebound Effiong’s shot was blocked by Azzopardi.

Balzan were more determined on the resumption and broke the deadlock on 58 minutes when Effiong was tripped by Ishmael Grech and from the penalty spot Godwin Mensha made no mistake.

Six minutes later Balzan doubled the score when Mensha crossed towards Zarate whose scorcher from the edge of teh area was deflected by Grech, with the ball finishing past a helpless Azzopardi.

Naxxar threw in the towel after suffering the second goal as Balzan could have added further goals with Azzopardi effecting a string of good saves denying Mensha and Effiong.

Birkirkara-Tarxien R 2-2

Stewart Said

Birkirkara failed to claim their second consecutive win after they were held by a resilient Tarxien side 2-2. Despite that the Stripes were a bit better, they couldn’t create enough danger to their opponents defence line and controlled well enough to win a point.

Birkirkara coach Giovanni Tedesco made two changes from their win against Naxxar as Justin Haber returned to defend the posts while Joseph Zerafa was prefered to Ryan Camenzuli on the left flank. Two changes also for Tarxien after their win against Sliema, as young striker Luke Montebello led the attack while Joao Oliveira Santos started from the first minute after coming off the bench in the first game.

Birkirkara couldn’t had a better start when they took the lead after just two minutes. It was Fabrizio Miccoli who crossed from a corner to Nikola Vukanac who anticipated his opponent and beat Andrea Cassar in an acrobatic fashion. Tarxien’s reaction came on the 14th minute when referee Adrian Azzopardi ordered a penalty after Cain Attard handled the ball in the penalty area. From the penalty spot Joao Pedro Oliveira Santos scored with a good shot on his right side.

The Stripes went again in front on the 32nd minute when Joseph Zerafa crossed in the small box, the defence cleared partially, the ball finished in the area of Fabrizio Miccoli who gave Cassar no chance with a powerful shot.

The second half kept the same rhythm as Birkirkara held the initiative but they weren’t dangerous enough. The first real action of the second half came on the 59th minute as Birkirkara went close for a third goal. From a corner by Miccoli, Mazzetti rose above his opponents and headed on target but Andrea Cassar tipped into a corner with a beautiful save.

But Tarxien equalised on the 65th minute when from a corner on the first post by Triston Caruana, substitute Ebiabowei Baker surprised Haber with a fine header in the corner. The response from Birkirkara came two minutes later when Miccoli tried with a shot from a central position but Andrea Cassar managed to tip partially as the ball hit the crossbar.

Giovanni Tedesco made three changes in the space of twelve minutes to change things up in the attack but their real threat came in the last minutes. First on the 89th minute a shot by Miccoli finished off target and then in the stoppage time they had the match winner as Miccoli set up Plut who tried with a low shot, Cassar managed to flick the ball that hit the upright, but from the rebound Camenzuli’s low shot was saved in a brilliant way by the Tarxien defence.

 

Hibernians-Floriana 2-1

Chris Cassar

In a highly controversial, tense and exciting match, champions Hibernians defeated a gallant Floriana side by the odd goal in three.

The Greens surely deserved something better after a spirited display, which many a times had the champions at sixes and sevens.

It was an action packed match, with Floriana a completely different lot from their opener against Mosta last week.

Referee Clayton Pisani had a difficult evening taking some highly disputed decisions.

The match had a breath-taking start with Hibernians twice hitting the post in the first six minutes, through a Failla scorcher that slammed against the crossbar and with a Jorginho header that hit the upright.

In between Floriana missed a glorious chance when Fontanella failed to connect in front of goal following a Pisani freekick. Minutes later the same Pisani had a good run on the left with his cross met by Villa who shot slightly wide from close range.

On 13 minutes Hibernians broke the deadlock when Jorginho darted inside the box where he was tripped by goalkeeper Calleja Cremona, with the referee awarding the penalty in what seemed to be a harsh decision. From the penalty spot Clayton Failla made no mistake with a precise grounder.

On 23 minutes Floriana were unlucky when Conor Borg passed towards Fontanella whose shot hit the base of the upright. Four minutes later Calleja Cremona lost hold of the ball, but luckily for him Cohen shot over the bar.

On 36 minutes Calleja Cremona made amends when he blocked an Andrew Cohen first timer, and seconds later did even better blocking a close range header from Jorginho. On 40 minutes Jorginho went close again with his header going slightly over the bar following a Marcelo Dias impressive run on the right.

Floriana staged a forcing on the resumption with a Scozzese shot going wide, but on the hour the Greens were rewarded for their efforts when Monticelli was brought down by Marcelo Dias and from the penalty spot Mauricio Villa made no mistake.

But three minutes later Floriana were reduced to ten men when Enrico Pepe was shown a second yellow. This was a setback for the Żgreens as Hibernians took control of the match in search of the winner. On 73 minutes the champions were back in front when Marcelo Dias scored from an acute angle following a Cohen pass.

Floriana were now desperate but still pushed everything forward. Five minutes from time Hibernians too were reduced to ten men when Jackson Lima received two bookings in quick succession.

 

Seconds later goalkeeper Jurgen Borg saved the champions with a daring save off a Monticelli point blank shot.