Spartans sink sorry Valletta

Hamrun Spartans 4
Valletta 2

Hamrun Spartans brought back memories of their glorious days with a 4-2 triumph over Valletta yesterday at Ta' Qali.

Languishing in the lower half of the table and billed as contenders to flirt with the drop, the Spartans defied the odds and produced their best performance of the season to record their first win over Valletta since December 2002 to re-ignite the once fierce rivalry that existed between these two clubs.

Hamrun built their success on their lightning attacking play and exceptional defensive organisation which saw them deploy the offside game to perfection much to the dismay of the Valletta forwards.

Striker Gaetan Spiteri was undoubtedly the man of the match but in reality, this was a collective effort with the heroics of Jason Cordina in goal and the relentless running of Steve Sadowski on the right flank contributing to this magnificent win.

Valletta had Ndubisi Chukunyere making his debut as he lined up in the City attack alongside Mark Galea. Skipper Gilbert Agius was only named on the substitutes' bench although the veteran ace was brought into the fray nine minutes before half time.

On their part, the Spartans fielded their strongest formation with veteran Ivan Zammit leading the defence and the hardworking Spiteri spearheading the attack.

Valletta had the first sniff at goal on five minutes as Massimo Grima's free-kick from the edge of the area filtered through a maze of players but Cordina was well positioned to block.

The match maintained a steady momentum with both sides producing some fluid moves that delighted the sizeable crowd present at the stadium.

Galea was always sprightly in attack for the Citizens and whenever he received the ball, the nippy striker often left his markers chasing shadows. On the other end, Spiteri and Chidi Nwankwo combined well to hassle the Valletta rearguard marshalled by Branko Nisevic.

Midway through the first half, Hamrun took the lead. An excellent pass by Jonathan Magri Overend put Spiteri through on goal and the latter clinically beat Sullivan with a low shot.

Six minutes into the second half, Valletta fashioned a good move as Agius lofted the ball towards Chukunyere who was blocked by Patrick Ndah who cleared to a corner.

On 56 minutes, the Spartans should have doubled their lead. Rupert Mangion met a loose clearance and hastily propelled the ball back into the penalty area towards the unmarked Spiteri.

The Hamrun striker instead of controlling the ball opted for a volley that finished off target much to the frustration of his team's supporters.

The match was once again teeming with action and a minute later, Agius nearly restored equilibrium with a stunning overhead kick that narrowly failed to beat Cordina.

Hamrun made it 2-0 on the hour. A swift counter attack caught the Valletta rearguard on the wrong foot. Ivan Zammit swept the ball upfield towards Nwankwo who nodded the ball towards Okoro.

The Nigerian powered his way into the penalty area before slotting the ball towards the unmarked Spiteri who had no difficulty in tapping the ball home.

The Citizens attempted a reaction when they won a freekick on the edge of the area. Agius blasted a powerful shot that had Cordina stretched to his limits as the Spartans' guardian dived to his left to partially repel the ball and then recover to parry Forace's rebound from close range.

Having survived this scare, Hamrun went on the rampage again on 63 minutes as Spiteri turned provider by feeding Okoro who planted the ball into the top corner of the net.

Shy of the last quarter, Valletta were awarded a penalty as Agius was floored in the area by Johnny Debattista. Substitute Ian Zammit stepped up for the kick but he skewed his shot wide.

More misery was in store for Valletta on 76 minutes as Mangion unleashed a superb shot from just outside the box to notch his side's fourth goal. Three minutes later, the Citizens were reduced to ten men when Forace received marching orders after elbowing Sadowski.

With the match into stoppage time, Valletta managed to score two consolation goal through Agius and Chukunyere but that was too little too late for J.J. Aquilina's side to spoil the Spartans' party.

Hamrun Spartans: J. Cordina-8, S. Sadowski-8, I. Zammit-7.5, P. Ndah-7, R. Fenech-7 ('65 D. Galea-5.5), R. Mangion-7, M. Okoro-7.5, C. Nwankwo-7.5 ('77 S. Sultana), G. Spiteri-8, J. Debattista-7, J. Magri Overend-7 ('83 K. Borg).

Valletta: S. Sullivan-6, K. Cassar-5.5, S. Pace-5.5, B. Nisevic-6, S. Bezzina ('36 G. Agius-6.5), M. Grima ('46 D. Zarb-6), R. Forace, K. Fenech, J. Bondin ('62 I. Zammit-5), N. Chukunyere, M. Galea.

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

Scorers: Spiteri 25, 60, Okoro 63, Mangion 76, Agius 90, Chukunyere 90.

Yellow Cards: Bezzina, Debattista, Chukunyere, Zarb.

Red Card: Forace 79.

Bov Player Of The Match: Gaetan Spiteri (Hamrun Spartans).