With second placed Valletta playing against neighbours Floriana, separated by only two points in the table, this derby might have had the makings of a gripping game.

It turned out to be a disappointing match devoid of real excitement and for large parts it was largely a sterile encounter although Valletta were always slightly better.

Hibernians’ win against Mqabba on Friday had upped the pressure on Valletta who felt they could not afford to falter to keep within closing distance of the leaders.

Valletta did not play anywhere near as well as they can, but did just enough to win all three points thanks to William Barbosa’s only goal on 31 minutes.

Floriana were good in defence, with Thomas Paris as holding midfielder, breaking down many of Valletta’s attacks on the edge of their area, but they lacked creativity in midfield. With Boris Odwong going in only as a late substitute, the isolated Ivan Woods was starved of service in attack.

The Greens had to rely on shots from a distance or some Cassar free kicks from outside the area which all lacked enough power and precision.

They were hampered by the two forced substitutions of two key players Christian Caruana and Tyrone Farrugia in the first half.

The former was stretchered off after only four minutes, with an ankle injury following a challenge with Valletta’s defender Ian Azzopardi, while Farrugia was injured when trying to challenge Michael Mifsud for the ball in the action of Valletta’s opener past the half hour. After that, Pablo Doffo dropped in central defence as Floriana missed something in midfield.

Valletta, who exiled Alfred Effiong to the bench and gave a start to Dyson Falzon, also lacked the usual incisive movement between their forwards, for shortage of enough openings. On 27 minutes, Briffa’s cross fell to Mifsud who passed the ball to the unmarked Denni. His shot was blocked by keeper Bartolo.

Four minutes later, Azzopardi cleared the ball forward from the left towards Mifsud, who turned off Farrugia’s challenge before crossing to William Barbosa to beat the Floriana keeper with a low diagonal drive.

That gave the champions a narrow lead by halftime.

The second half remained equally sterile with both teams stifling each other as they tried to go past the halfway line.

Floriana laboured when defending set pieces, which however were few and far between.

On 55 minutes, a Falzon corner from the right causes some anxious moments in the Floriana area before Caruana’s close range shot was held out by Bartolo’s reflex save.

Floriana put in Odwong for Cassar past the hour and the introduction of Effiong for Falzon and Gilbert Agius for Barbosa gave Valletta some better shape.

In fact in the final three minutes, Valletta carved out more chances than in the entire match. On Edmond Agius’ free kick, Effiong headed towards the top corner but keeper Bartolo reached for the ball to turn into a corner.

Then Gilbert Agius put Effiong clear on the right. His cross towards Denni was again blocked by the Floriana keeper. And on the stroke of full time, Gilbert Agius crossed for Mifsud who missed the target with a free header.

The last hurrahs were for Valletta keeper Hogg who blocked an insidious Woods to preserve a clean sheet.

Floriana M. Bartolo, O. Bugeja, T. Paris, J. Mintoff, P. Doffo, M. Micallef, C. Caruna (J. Borg), I. Woods, D. Pisani, T. Farrugia (C. Borg), C. Cassar (B. Odwong)

Coach M. Woods

Valletta A. Hogg, J. Caruana, S. Borg, I. Azzopardi, R. Briffa, J. Pace, E. Agius, D. Falzon (A. Effiong), D. Dos Santos (O. Zongo), W. Barbosa (G. Agius), M. Mifsud

Coach J. Zerafa

Referee A. Azzopardi

Asst.refs A. Camilleri, R. Vella

4th official C. Lautier

Scorers W. Barbosa 31

Yellow cards C. Cassar, I. Azzopardi, I. Woods, J. Borg, A. Hogg, C.Borg

Player of the match Pablo Doffo (Floriana)

TMI top 3 1. I. Azzopardi 2. P. Doffo 3. T. Paris

Attendance 3,287