Inspired by the skill and pace of their Argentine midfielder Santiago Malano, Valletta overcame Hamrun Spartans with two second half goals from Umeh Uchenna and Malano, to move into third place, five points behind leaders Hibernians.
Valletta enjoyed the expected majority of possesssion in the first half without making it pay but the second came to belong to them, as they showed a hearty appetite for the fight.
The tempo of the game intensified in the second half, the champions going that extra mile to battle their way into the ascendancy.
Hamrun’s fight was not enough yesterday. Their tireless workrate, with defensive discipline and organisation, seemed to work well for the whole of a barren opening half. But in the second, defensive frailty proved to be their downfall.
Hamrun had defender Karl Micallef suspended and Luke Grech injured. They gave starts to wide back Christian Anigbogu and Nanapere instead. They suffered a severe setback when, on the quarter hour, their captain Jake Grech withdrew with a muscle problem and that complicated matter further.
The Spartans have now suffered two consecutive defeats.
Valletta, with Maximiliano Velasco preferred to Radzinevicius in attack, showed more urgency in the opening minutes but they huffed and puffed without causing the Hamrun defence much trouble.
Pani and Malano made sporadic bursts forward for Valletta but their ad hoc incursions did not yield shooting opportunities, underlining how fragmented Valletta’s attack looks these days.
The Spartans hoofed the ball away whenever under pressure but struggled to fashion anything of their own, although Giusti looked quite dynamic on the right flank.
It took a whole half hour for the Hamrun keeper David Cassar to be called into action as he saved Velasco’s shot from the edge of the Hamrun area. Cassar was equal to task nine minutes later as he easily saved Aguirre’s central free kick.
Hamrun looked menacing shortly before the break. The Valletta keeper Bartkus dropped a high ball when challenged by Manset. The Hamrun forward managed to put a foot to the loose ball but Caruana blocked his effort into a corner.
The pattern of the match did not change much after the restart but the second 45 minutes looked brighter for Valletta. On 54 minutes Malano set Romao through but the Valletta defender, who yesterday played in a more advanced midfield role, shot against the side netting.
With Malano becoming more influential on the game, the champions managed to break the deadlock towards the hour. The Valletta midfielder played the ball square from the right. It fell to the unmarked Umeh Uchenna who struck low paast the helpless goalkeeper.
Predictably Valletta began playing with more confidence and authority after that lead. On 66 minutes Hamrun again failed to clear their lines on another Malano cross, this time from the left, the ball bounced invitingly for Velasco, blazed his shot wastefully over.
A minute later Malano hit the Hamrun bar with a rasping shot from outside the area before the Spartans were undone by Valletta’s second goal on 73 minutes.
An Aguirre cross from the left was cleared short by the Hamrun defence and Santiago Malano crowned a five-star performance with a goal himself, hitting in at the roof of the net.
Hamrun were undoubtly in disarray and were struggling to get any meaningful possession, let alone create any chances. When Manset advanced and went past the Valletta keeper he put his final shot wide.
VALLETTA- 2
HAMRUN SPARTANS- 0
Valletta: D. Bartkus, J. Caruana, S. Borg, R. Camilleri, S. Malano (L. Montebello), C. Pani, U. Uchenna, L. Aguirre, R. Muscat, M. Velasco (L. Cremona), R. Romao (N. Pulis)
Hamrun S: D. Cassar, M. Micallef (S. Arab), L. Sciberras, C. Anigbogu, S. Nanapere, J. Grech (B. Paiber), L. Rodriguez, I. Misan, M. Giusti, S. Raphael, M. Manset
Referee: T. Farrugia Cann
Asst.refs: J. Spiteri, R. Vella
4th official: E. Mangion
Scorers: U. Uchenna 59, S. Malano 73
Player of the match: S. Malano (Valletta)
TMI top 3: 1. S. Malano 2. U. Uchenna 3. M. Giusti
Attendance: 1,932