BALZAN 2
HAMRUN SPARTANS 0
Balzan FC: S. Mintoff, S. Bezzina (J. Borg), M. Johnson, U. Ljubomirac, A. Effiong I. Bozovic (J. Grioli), B. Kaljevic, P. Fenech, M. Lepovic, B. De Oliveira, C. Mendes (S. Arab)
Hamrun S: S. Sultana, M. Criaco (A. Faria), D. Zerafa, C. Zaccardo, G. De Castro, L. Micallef, T. Caruana (D. Camilleri), T. Espindola, T. Souza, L. Sciberras (K. Micallef), A. Nilsson
Referee: P. Farrugia
Asst.refs: E. Spiteri, W. Debattista
4th official: J. Utulu
Scorers: U. Ljubomirac 16, D. Zerafa 90 og
Yellow cards: L. Sciberras, P. Fenech, M. Lepovic, S. Bezzina, T. Souza
Player of the match: C. Mendes (Balzan)
TMI top 3: 1. C. Mendes 2. I. Bozovic 3. T. Souza
Attendance: 964
Winning is all Balzan can do and while it was a patchy victory they will hardly care.
With Valletta and Gzira Unitd both dropping points in the weekend, Balzan needed to beat Hamrun Spartans to go three points clear above Valletta, whom they play next week.
The game had felt strangely underwhelming. Bereft of real excitement and a sense of occasion, the contest was weakened by Hamrun’s failure to put enough intensity in it.
While they were dominant for long spells, Balzan struggled to kill their opponents off after scoring in the 16th minute. They scored their second only on the stroke of full time.
This match between the two sides had ended goalless in the first round, but fortunes have changed in opposite directions since.
Balzan are on a 15-match unbeaten run, having won nine of their last ten matches, interrupted only by a goalless draw against Naxxar Lions.
Hamrun meanwhile are on a poor run of form. They last won a match in mid December, have collected only two points from the subsequent three league matches and went out of the FA Trophy.
Even without their most in-form striker, Alex Alves, suspended yesterday, Balzan looked superior to their opponents.
Balzan’s central midfield pairing of Milos Lepovic and Uros Ljubomirac dominated their counterparts and Carlos Mendes’ inventive helped reap the benefits.
Balzan edged ahead past the quarter hour after taking an early stranglehold on the proceedings. Mendes’ low drive rebounded off the foot of the post and Uros Ljubomirac was quick to fire in the rebound.
Balzan created more chances but failed to add further goals before the half was over. On a Bozovic cross, Lepovic headed narrowly off target and Effiong was the culprit of another miss.
Balzan’s commitment restricted Hamrun to very few clear opportunities. And even with Alex Nilsson and Lydon Micallef included in their attack, they hardly troubled the Balzan goal. The Spartans even pulled off Triston Caruana and introduced Dale Camilleri.
For long periods in the second half, Balzan turned up the heat on their opponents and it became a struggle for the Spartans to escape their half. A Mendes shot was repelled by keeper Sultana and another effort from the same player was deflected into a corner.
Hamrun could only really threaten on the hour. Balzan’s keeper Mintoff came to his side’s rescue as he blocked Nilsson’s shot into a corner.
That might have frustrated Balzan’s coach not to have already sealed victory.
Balzan did put the game beyond the Spartans on the stroke of normal time when an Effiong cross from the right was pushed by keeper Sultana in the path of Lepovic who tried to chip the ball over the grounded keeper, only for Hamrun defender Daniel Zerafa to deflect it over the line as he tried to clear.
BIRKIRKARA 5
SENGLEA FC 0
Birkirkara: K. Naumowski, E. Herrera (T. Agius), F. Barbosa, M. Andelkovic, J. Grech (A. Attard), W. Ferreira, K. Zammit, N. Vukanac, C. Concalves (G. Zammit), S. Dimitrov, B. De Brito
Senglea A: M. Farrugia, R. Vella, S. Bonnici, J. Bondin, S. Uyi, M. Garzia, H. Vella (I. Azzopardi), J. Spiteri, T. Vella (N. Palmieri), A. Caseres, G. Braga (J. Suda)
Referee: E. Mangion
Asst.refs: D. Sultana, T. Zammit
4th official: I. Barbara
Scorers: S. Dimitrov 35, 48, 73, J. Grech 43 pen, S. Uyi 64 og,
Yellow cards: E. Herrera, I. Azzopardi, J. Spiteri
Player of the match: S. Dimitrov (Birkirkara)
TMI top 3: 1. S. Dimitrov 2. R. Scicluna 3. M. Garzia
Some clinical finishing from their forward Srdan Dimitrov, combined with sloppy defending by their opponents, enabled Birkirkara to maintain their momentum, as they now move into the top four, with their sixth consecutive league win without conceding.
Birkirkara were dominant for long spells and after breaking down Senglea’s resistance past the half hour, they enjoyed themselves, pulling out the party tricks, hitting five goals in the process. And with Srdan Dimitrov lethal with his finishing, Senglea were left gasping for breadth.
With this damaging defeat, Senglea’s Premier League status remains under threat, although they had been offering fleeting glimmers of progress lately. Coach Favaretto was feeling optimistic after his team won three of the previous four matches, the latest against Lija Athletic a fortnight before.
Yesterday they even introduced two new players, Brazilian forward Gregori de Sousa Braga and midfielder Josuel Spiteri, formerly of Qrendi. Still, Virano was absent while Paz and Palmieri were named among the substitutes.
For the first half hour Senglea looked the livelier side. But their desire for more firepower is understandable. They do still need more bite up front. Senglea’s early promise waned after falling behind. They showed big flaws in defence, which Birkirkara exploited fully.
On 21 minutes Braga produced the first threat. His curling free kick from a tight angle on the left clipped the bar, forcing keeper Naumowski to palm the ball out. Braga shot against side netting when connecting well to a Spiteri cross and on the half hour Caseres tried to go past Pereira inside the Birkirkara area but his conclusion lacked precision.
There were practically no threats to the Senglea goal in the first half, save for the opening goal which Bikirkara scored after 35 minutes. On a Scicluna cross from the left, Srdan Dimitrov was left unmarked in the middle of the Senglea area and he flicked the ball intelligently beyond keeper Farrugia’s reach.
Birkirkara doubled that lead two minutes before the break, when awarded a penalty after Bonnici felled Scicluna inside the area with a late tackle. And when Jake Grech steered the ball low past keeper Farrugia from the spot, it was tempting to think Senglea’s only remaining objective was the keep the score down.
Fears grew when only three minutes after the interval, lax defending allowed Srdan Dimitrov to chase a Grech pass and run clear through the middle before slotting the ball low past the goalkeeper.
With the Stripes totally in control, there was further ignominy for Senglea on 64 minutes when, on a Herrera cross from the left, defender Sergio Uyi headed past his own goalkeeper.
The afternoon did not get any better for Senglea’s noisy supporters, when nine minutes later Birkirkara also scored their fifth and Srdan Dimitrov notched a hat-trick, with an unerring finish, after advancing unhindered on an Agius pass.