Valletta: S. Darmanin, J. Grioli, M. Grima, B. Nisevic, R. Forace, D. Camilleri, K. Fenech (M. Barbara), D. Falzon (D. Grima), G. Agius, I. Zammit, R. Siberie (K. Magro)
Sliema W: M. Akanji, M. Dilello, B. Said, L. Lombardi (O. Anonam), C. Mattocks, R. Bajada, J. Chetcuti, I. Woods, A. Madzar, S. Giglio, S. Pace (M. Galea)
Referee: P. Caruana, Asst. refs: I. Spiteri, M. Debono, 4th official: S. Tanti
Scorers: I. Woods (pen), D. Falzon
Yellow cards: K. Fenech, J. Chetcuti, M. Grima, J. Grioli, I. Zammit, M. Dilello
Player of the match: Dyson Falzon (Valletta)
TMI top three: 1. D. Falzon 2. R. Bajada 3. I. Woods
Sliema's residual hopes of challenging Marsaxlokk for the title were dashed to the ground yesterday by Valletta in a 1-1 draw that only came to life in the second half especially after Sliema had taken the lead through a dubious penalty.
However Valletta obtained the equaliser ten minutes thanks to a spectacular goal by Dyson Falzon, in Valletta's first shot on target. This goal and the exclusion of Siberie, brought a drastic change in Valletta's approach and flow of play, with the Citizens finishing the match as the better team.
Earlier on Sliema dictated matters with Rodrick Bajada and Ivan Woods above the rest. In fact they looked for a victory especially after Ivan Woods scored his 20th goal of the season direct from the penalty spot. But Sliema literally faded out after Valletta's equaliser, with the result being a fair one in the end.
Sliema set the pace in the opening minutes with Saviour Darmanin effecting a brilliant save off a Rodrick Bajada free-kick. Two minutes later Bajada's cross from the right split the Valletta rearguard, but Mattocks headed slightly wide. City's first sortie up front came on 16 minutes through Ian Zammit who tried his luck from an acute angle, but his effort went over the bar.
Valletta were finding it hard to worry the Sliema defence with Siberie and
the rest of the side using different wavelengths. On 20 minutes the Valletta defence was caught napping again on a Bajada corner, with Said completely unmarked in front of Darmanin but the defender's header went over the bar.
The match failed to lift off but Sliema were always the better team showing superiority in all sectors. On 30 minutes from a Giglio free-kick, Rodrick Bajada found his way inside the area but his angled shot missed the base of the upright.
No changes were made at the interval and unfortunately even the rhythm of the match did not change much.
However on 51 minutes referee Paul Caruana livened up the match when he awarded Sliema a penalty when Madzar was pulled by Nisevic for a very harsh decision. From the penalty spot Ivan Woods made no mistake to put Sliema in front.
City coach Paul Zammit introduced Magro for Siberie, but Sliema continued to push forward with Bajada testing Darmanin. Ten minutes later Valletta were back on level terms with their first real attempt at goal. It was a gem of a goal scored by Dyson Falzon who unleashed a beauty from more than 20 metres with the ball hitting the upright before finishing at the back of the net.
The match was now more interesting with Valletta showing signs of progress.
Madzar penetrated from the left but his cross found no players with the blue shirt to put it in. On the other end Grioli tried his luck from the edge of the area but his shot went completely off target.
On 72 minutes Valletta produced a good move down the right flank finished off by Ian Zammit whose shot was blocked by Akanji. Valletta were now playing better and Dyson Falzon missed a great chance three minutes later.
He did all the running beat a couple of Sliema defenders but failed to beat Akanji.
Valletta pressed for the winner but left some space at the back and Madzar hit the side netting with Darmanin beaten. Dyson Falzon continued with his impressive runs but Mark Barbara failed to capitalise. Tempers flared in the last minutes with Ian Zammit and Mauro Dilello almost coming to blows but they received only a yellow card.