Sliema Wanderers maintain charge

SLIEMA WANDERERS 4

TARXIEN RAINBOWS 2

Sliema W: H. Bonello, A. Muscat, I. Azzopardi, B. Nisevic, K. Bjedov (N. Turner), M. Bartolo, J. Chetcuti (C. Ciantar), I. Woods, I. Ciantar (D. Saverino), R. Bajada, R. Briffa

Tarxien R: A. Curmi, S. Sadowski (O. Grech), L. Galea, M. Caruana, I. Carapic, W. Chircop (M. Zammit), M. Tanti, R. Schembri, D. Bueno, L. Vella Critien (P. Sciriha), R. Cariaga

Referee: A.M. Sant Asst.refs: A. Camilleri, G. Barbara 4th official: M. Borg

Scorers: R. Briffa, I. Woods, K. Bjedov, D. Bueno (2), I. Azzopardi

Yellow cards: R. Cariaga, W. Chircop, I. Azzopardi

Player of the match: Matthew Bartolo (Sliema W)

TMI top three: 1. M. Bartolo 2. R. Cariaga 3. R. Bajada

SILVIO VELLA

Sliema Wanderers’ good patch of form continued with an assured victory as they stretched their unbeaten run to six matches and piled up more goals for Tarxien Rainbows.

With Birkirkara winning and moving at the top on Friday and Hibernians playing later on, the spotlight and the pressure turned on Sliema Wanderers who could not afford any slips in order to keep up the pace with the leaders.

Sliema, whose attacking intentions were the clearer, with winger Matthew Bartolo being the inspiration for most of their creativity, could have won by a landslide, so clear was their superiority yesterday.

But they wasted several scoring opportunities and after taking a three-goal lead before the half hour, allowed Tarxien to hit back twice in an exciting and eventful first half, only to make sure with another early second half goal. Tarxien, mostly outplayed by superior opponents, were only in the match for a short half-hour spell before conceding Sliema’s fourth.

The Wanderers could scarcely have made a more promising and productive start. They scored after two minutes when Bjedov, who was obstructed when trying to conclude Bartolo’s cross from the left, passed the ball back to Roderick Briffa to shoot in low at the far post from the edge of the Tarxien area.

For Tarxien, who had Mark Tanti starting the match for Borg, it was immediately an uphill struggle. Yet they valiantly put enough effort to move forward. Caruana picked a Sliema headed clearance and shot narrowly over.

But Tarxien were frustrated with Sliema’s sharp and incisive football. Bartolo continued to wield his magic into the Sliema side this season, pouring in all the embarrassment with his dribbles and runs on the left flank.

Twice in the space of a minute, Muscat spurned opportunities to increase Sliema’s lead. He headed Woods’ pass wastefully wide and then again failed to find the target on Bartolo’s cross.

Tarxien’s keeper Curmi kept his side into the game as he held out Bjedov’s effort past the quarter hour and then a Bartolo shot was smothered by the keeper but Bjedov’s shot on the loose ball was blocked into a corner.

There seemed to be a certain inevitability about Sliema’s second goal which came on 22 minutes. Ivan Woods steered Briffa’s pass past Curmi and two minutes later Kosta Bjedov ran in for Muscat’s cross from the right to side-foot the ball from close range.

At that stage, Sliema seemed to have the match well wrapped up, but Tarxien kept fighting gamely. With Cariaga their most creative force, the Rainbows hit one back midway through the half. His free kick from the right was knocked in by striker Daniel Bueno.

Sliema’s dominance could have yielded further goals for the rest of the first half. With Bjedov out on the touchline, receiving treatment for an injured wrist, Woods missed the target when standing clear on Bajada’s inviting pass and then Muscat failed to put his header on target, following Bartolo’s cross.

On 39 minutes Muscat hoisted incredibly over from under the goalpost Bjedov’s searching cross as the Wanderers continued to show more profligacy in front of the Tarxien goal.

They were punished a minute before halftime from another deadly set piece, as Tarxien’s aerial threat was put to use. Following a goalmouth scramble on another Cariaga free kick, Briffa’s sliding save to clear the ball off the line was met by the alert Daniel Bueno who was quick to hit it over the line and reduce the deficit.

With only a goal down, Tarxien still entertained some hopes of taking something from the match after the resumption. They put in Omar Grech for Sadowski to give more attacking options on the right flank.

But Sliema were first to threaten. Ian Azzopardi thumped his free kick against the bar before he himself beat keeper Curmi with a glancing header on Bajada’s corner kick on 56 minutes to restore a two-goal cushion for the Wanderers.

That drained all of Tarxien’s confidence to the point that they failed to capitalise when Sliema’s defence was caught on the hop on Cariaga’s cross on 66 minutes. Grech’s shot was parried by Bonello but Galea was unable to put the loose ball on target.

Sliema could defend their lead with minimal difficulty and still remained the more potent attacking force. Substitute Saverino ran in well from the left, on Chetcuti’s pass, but was blocked into a corner by keeper Curmi and in the late stages, Saverino again spurned the last chance, as he shot Muscat’s low cross over the bar from the edge of the Tarxien area.