Naxxar L.-Valletta 2-1

Naxxar L.: J. Azzopardi, V. Bellia, A. Buhagiar, R. Cassar, G. da Silva Ribeiro, A. Decesare, P. Doffo, T. Lopes de Souza, A. Rocha da Silva (J. Ani), T. Scerri (M. del Negro), E. Silva dos Santos.

Valletta: Y. Cini, J. Caruana, S. Borg, R. Fenech, E. Agius (H. Barry), JP Mifsud Triganza (I. Zammit), O. Reyes Sanchez, R. Bakare (S. Bajada), D. Rocha dos Santos, A. Nafti, L. Dimech.

Referee: M. Apap.

Asst refs: M. Scerri, D. Sultana.

4th official: A. Arciola.

Scorers: T. Scerri, T. Lopes da Silva, R. Fenech

Yellow cards: A. Decesare, T. Lopes da Silva, L. Dimech, S. Dos Santos, S. Borg, R. Bakare, R. Da Silva, V. Bellia,

Red cards: S. Borg,

Player of the match: G. Da Silva Ribeiro

TMI Top 3: 1. R. Da Silva, 2. G. Da Silva Ribeiro, 3. D. Dos Santos

Attendance: 743

Valletta suffered a major setback yesterday when they went down to Naxxar Lions by the odd goal in three.

In a keenly contested match, Valletta were well below par as the Lions appeared to be the better outfit all the way.

It was ironic that City´s best was reserved for the final 18 minutes, that is, when they were down to 10 men after the dismissal of Steve Borg.

But their final rally brought them only one goal and that came too late to enable them to at least salvage a point.

The defeat keeps them in second place, one point behind leaders  Birkirkara who have today’s match against Hibernians in hand.

In the initial stages of the first half, it appeared that Valletta would be overwhelming the Lions as they launched one attack after the other. But to be fair, they only tested Naxxar goalie Azzopardi seriously on one occasion.

Slowly, but surely, Naxxar gained a lot in confidence and even became the better side on the field of play. They were well organised at the back, worked hard in midfield and caused quite an amount of havoc in the City defence, especially on the left flank where Da Silva Ribeiro was a constant thorn.

 At the interval, the 2-0 result in favour of Naxxar must have been surprising to all those at the Victor Tedesco Stadium but they certainly did not demerit the verdict at that juncture.

 In the second half, Valletta attacked more consistently, but still failed to penetrate the determined Lions’ rearguard which closed all the gaps in front of Azzopardi.

When the citizens had Steve Borg sent off, Naxxar still played cautiously defending their two-goal cushion. They suffered a goal near the end, but it was not enough to stop them from celebrating an important win.

Valletta quickly took the initiative and on the seventh minute, a Denni dos Santos effort forced goalie Azzopardi to turn to corner with difficulty. From the resultant cornerkick, a Reyes Sanchez header went wide.

Naxxar also threatened on the 13th minute. Silva dos Santos set Da Silva Ribeiro on the left flank, but his effort was blocked to corner by the excellent Cini. From the corner kick, a header by Angus Buhagiar landed on the net.

Three minutes later, it was Cassar who crossed into the City area, but goalie Cini was not surprised as he confidently dealt with the situation.

On the 20th minute, it was Buhagiar who crossed into the City area, but Terence Scerri miskicked the ball and Luke Dimech could clear.

Naxxar opened the scoring two minutes later. Rocha da Silva set Da Silva Ribeiro beautifully on the left flank and his cross was met by Scerri who made no mistake from three metres.

Valletta went very close to an equaliser on the 31st minute. A Nafti freekick went out via the crossbar.

Valletta insisted but the Lions were very dangerous through Da Silva Ribeiro on the 36th minute but the ball was somehow cleared to a corner from which the score became 2-0 in favour of Naxxar. It was Thiago Lopes da Silva who headed the ball in despite Cini´s valiant effort to save after an earlier attempt had hit the post.

The citizens appeared shocked, but just before the interval whistle, Mifsud Triganza saw his effort hitting the side rigging.

Trouble on the pitch erupted in the 58th minute after Steve Borg was deemed to have kicked Naxxar´s central defender Silva dos Santos. There was confusion on the far side, but Mr Apap showed a yellow card – the second – to Steve Borg. And that was obviously followed by a red card, therefore compounding Valletta’s problems.

More arguments followed near the touchline following which City assistant coach Gilbert Agius was also given marching orders.

Valletta almost scored on the 67th minute. From a Bajada cornerkick, the ball went to Luke Dimech whose shot was blocked on the line by Ryan Cassar.

Two minutes later, it was Sanchez who tested Azzopardi, but the latter was not surprised.

It was now a complete bombardment by Valletta on the Lions’ fort. However, the amassed Naxxar defence was always on top until the 88th minute when it finally succumbed.

It was Ryan Fenech who concluded a personal action with a grounder from outside the area that beat Azzopardi all ends up.

But it arrived too late. The citizens did not have enough time to save a point and Naxxar emerged worthy winners on the day.