Naxxar Lions returned to winning ways as they defeated Valletta by the odd goal in three. A result which sends the team from the Capital in serious relegation problems.

In their last match Valletta were held to a draw by Balzan whereas Naxxar Lions lost heavily against Sliema Wanderers by a 4-1 scoreline.

Valletta were in dire need of the points to avoid entering into the red zone with their opponents Naxxar wanting to return to the form that made them one of the surprise teams of the season.

During the first days of the year the Lions welcomed back Colombian striker Robinson Blandon. On the other hand it seems that there will be wholesale changes in the Whites team since they have struck a deal to co-opt Stephen Vaughan who will eventually lead the administrative side.l

The last time that these two teams met was in season 2017/18 with Valletta winning that match by a solitary goal.

Naxxar had a bright start and after just five minutes they took the lead. It was Yamaguchi who received a ball on the edge of the area and fired past Galea for the Lions opener.

Naxxar continued to dictate matters and on 27 minutes they nearly doubled their lead. A corner by Maicon found Neil Pace Cocks whose header was deflected into another corner.

But three minutes later Naxxar found the net once again. Augusto supplied the cross towards Edson Farias whose shot on the run beat the Valletta goalkeeper all ends up.

Two minutes after the restart Valletta back into the match when following a blunder by the Naxxar goalkeeper Federico Falcone headed into the net.

Naxxar’s reaction was an immediate one and on 51 minutes an Augusto shot was deflected into a corner. And four minutes later the same player brought the best out of Galea.

Valletta were now pressing to save the match and just off the hour Paiber played the ball towards Dimech but the latters shot just missed the target. And in the 68th minute Paiber was unlucky when his effort hit the woodwork.

A minute from the end Valletta missed what could have been a dramatic equalizer when Jake Azzopardi saw his shot from beneath the post sail over the bar.