Floriana 0
Valletta 1
Floriana: P. Jansen, M. Micallef, T. Paris, O. Bugeja, E. Akoto (B. Farrugia), I. Woods (J. Mintoff), T. Farrugia, P. Doffo, C. Borg, O. Sodje, C. Caruana (D. Pisani)
Valletta: A. Hogg, J. Caruana, S. Borg, G. Agius (T. Scerri), I. Azzopardi, R. Briffa, E. Agius, O. Zongo (A. Effiong), D. Dos Santos (S. Mady), W. Barbosa, M. Mifsud
Referee: F. Zammit
Asst.refs: J. Camilleri, A. Grech
4th official: C. Lautier
Scorer: E. Agius 38
Yellow card: T. Paris
Player of the match: O. Zongo (Valletta)
TMI top 3: 1. S. Borg 2. O. Zongo 3. T. Paris
Attendance: 2,339
Not even the motivation of derby rivalry could enable Floriana to halt Valletta’s winning streak as they grabbed their seventh league win on the trot that keeps the new champions unbeaten in 26 matches, without conceding in their last four.
Floriana produced their best patch in the early stages when they held the initiative and threatened to breach Valletta’s defence.
Floriana fizzled out in the second half though. Trailing by Edmond Agius’ first half goal, the Greens were unable to maintain the pressure on their opponents and Valletta looked the more likely to add to their lead, without breaking sweat, were it not for the goalkeeping heroics of keeper Patrick Jansen.
Valletta gave a start to Gilbert Agius in midfield, dropping Mady to the bench and Roderick Briffa as right back. Otherwise they kept the same team that beat Sliema Wanderers the previous week.
Floriana, who preferred Clyde Borg to John Mintoff, made the more assertive start and looked sharper on the ball in the opening minutes, with Christian Caruana being almost involved in all of their build-ups, throwing all the embarassment to the Valletta rearguard.
After ten minutes, on Micallef’s cross, Caruana’s header was saved by keeper Hogg.
Valletta were struggling to put three or four passes together as Mifsud was being frustrated with Floriana’s offside plan.
Midway through the half, Sodje’s cross from the left fell to the unattended Woods who skied the ball from a promising position.
While Floriana did most of the running, Valletta scored after 38 minutes, practically with their first genuine attack. Zongo was allowed space to cross from the right. Edmond Agius nipped in behind Bugeja to head past the helpless keeper Jansen.
With halftime looming, Valletta carved another good opportunity through Denni, who went past Paris from the left but he fluffed it himself, shooting wastefully off target.
The second half started in almost a carbon copy of the first. Floriana surged forward relentlessly but lacked the slightest hint of penetration in the face of Valletta’s blanket defence, with Steve Borg and John Caruana as its backbone.
Micallef headed a Doffo corner over soon after the restart, but that was the nearest the Greens could go. Without exerting themselves too much, Valletta’s frequency of scoring chances did increase after the interval.
The Citizens threatened on 54 minutes with a Barbosa dipper, from some 25 metres out, which ended narrowly over.
A minute later, Akoto headed Zongo’s testing cross into a corner before Mifsud could connect in front of goal.
Zongo just missed the target with a long range drilling shot. Gilbert Agius was halted by the assistant’s flag as he went inside the Floriana area in what looked a regular position.
On 77 minutes Mifsud ran inside the Floriana area but his shot was held out by Jansen’s point blank save.
And almost single handed, the Floriana custodian denied Valletta time and again, holding out another Mifsud shot on 83 minutes and blocking substitute Scerri’s effort from close range two minutes later.
Other substitute Effiong should have scored for Valletta in the dying minutes. With all the space in the world, he shot Mady’s perfect cross wide and the chance went begging.