Valletta 1
Sliema Wanderers 1
Valletta had to settle for a point as they were held to a one-all draw by Sliema Wanderers, who have been passing through a bad patch of form, at the Victor Tedesco Stadium yesterday.
Roderick Briffa gave the champions an early lead after the interval with a spectacular long range drive, but Sliema equalised past the hour through their best player, Roderick Bajada, after showing persistence inside the Valletta area.
Sliema’s point came after dropping six in consecutive defeats in their last two matches while Valletta only failed to win for the first time in five matches.
They now join Hibernians at the top of the standings but the latter have a game in hand as they play Hamrun Spartans tomorrow.
Buoyed by Rumen Galabov’s return from injury, Sliema stayed composed at the back and allowed their opponents little comfort on the ball. Valletta found it extremely difficult to penetrate through the middle, with wide players Denni and the returning Fenech probing for openings in a restricted space on the flanks.
Barbosa’s shot from the left had the Sliema keeper Curmi turning into a corner.
Silva was the first to test keeper Hogg with his shot from the left as he went in for Bajada’s through pass.
On seven minutes Mitev ran down the right, and from the byeline sent an inviting ball across the face of the Valletta goal but nobody could connect. Hogg was again made to parry Silva’s powerful shot on the run.
Valletta threatened past the quarter hour with a Mifsud grounder that keeper Curmi deflected into a corner as a Fenech long range shot narrowly missed the target.
Sliema procured the other noteworthy episode in the first half when, eight minutes from the break, Mitev cut through the middle and unleashed a rasping shot that had Hogg turning into a cornet at full stretch.
Valletta upped the tempo in a more entertaining second half.
It took them only ten minutes to break the deadlock. Azzopardi headed the ball from midfield into the path of
Roderick Briffa who drilled his shot at the top left hand corner beyond Curmi’s reach.
The goal sapped much of Sliema’s brittle confidence.
Valletta again went close past the hour, again with a left foot shot by Fenech from a distance. Keeper Curmi blocked on the ground.
On 64 minutes, Valletta looked dangerous on the break. Mifsud played one-two with Denni. His shot was blocked by the keeper and Denni’s effort on the rebound was also blocked.
But as Valletta seemed to take the grip between their teeth, Sliema stunned them with an equaliser on 67 minutes.
Roderick Bajada went inside the area on the left, persisted against Borg and as he was losing his balance, he slotted the ball low past the grounded Hogg.
Valletta failed to react despite putting in Effiong and Gilbert Agius for the last quarter hour. Michael Mifsud agin failed to score in the league and his erratic finishing did not help Valletta’s cause at the end.
Sliema could defend the point with minimal fuss.
Valletta: A. Hogg, J. Caruana, S. Borg, I. Azzopardi, R. Briffa, J. Pace, E. Agius, R. Fenech, D. Dos Santos (G. Agius), W. Barbosa (A. Effiong), M. Mifsud
Coach: J. Zerafa
Sliema W: A. Curmi, A. Muscat (T.J. Thomas), J. Mifsud, M. Scerri, D. Mitev, S. Bezzina, J. Lima, R. Galabov, R. Bajada, J. Silva, C. Frendo
Coach: D. Doncic
Referee: T. Farrugia Cann
Asst.refs: I. Spiteri, T. Debono
4th official: K. Azzopardi
Scorers: R. Briffa 55, R. Bajada 67
Yellow cards: S. Borg, M. Mifsud, R. Bajada. D. Mitev, R. Galabov
Player of the match: R. Bajada (Sliema W)
TMI top 3: 1. R. Bajada 2. J. Pace 3. R. Galabov
Attendance: 1,054