Bondin's screamer gives City a breather

Valletta 3
Mqabba 1

Successive draws against Hibs and Msida St Joseph had turned up the heat on big-spending Valletta who held a series of meetings to try and identify the cause of their early struggles.

A fixture against newly-promoted Mqabba, the only team yet to collect their first point from their opening four league matches, was widely perceived as the perfect opportunity for the Citizens to pep up their flailing morale with a high-scoring victory.

For the best part of yesterday's encounter at the National Stadium, it looked as if Valletta were heading into a full-blown crisis as, with 20 minutes remaining, the score was tied at 1-1 after Mqabba had snatched a shock lead.

Valletta dominated long spells of possession but they were again hampered by a lack of cutting edge and flashes of erratic defending but their persistence was rewarded late on when Sebastian Monesterolo edged them 2-1 ahead and the industrious Jonathan Bondin secured their second win of the season with a thunderbolt 14 minutes from time.

A calf injury suffered in the 1-1 draw against Msida prevented Dyson Falzon from lining up against Mqabba yesterday. His place in the team was taken by David Camilleri while Kenneth Scicluna filled the void left by the absent Massimo Grima. The stocky defender was certified fit only to start on the bench after he received two stitches to a wound on his forehead in his side's previous outing.

Mqabba coach Joey Falzon effected three changes from the team that lost 2-0 to Hibs last Friday. Mauro Bonnici, Mark Anthony Psaila and Matthew Cocks were awarded starting roles at the expense of Lee Galea, Fabio Silva and John Paul Muscat.

After two minutes, Kris Calleja, the Mqabba goalkeeper, pushed out a firm grounder by Monesterolo and from the rebound, Ian Zammit incredibly skewed his shot over.

Five minutes later, Dylan Zarb, yesterday facing his former team-mates, was wide with a swerving free-kick from the right.

The Citizens soon regained the upperhand, Agius firing just wide from a David Camilleri service and Heiner Backhaus fashioning a low effort that demanded a commendable save from the sprawling Calleja after Mqabba had partially cleared the ball following a goalmouth melee.

It was one-way traffic for most of the opening 18 minutes, Valletta skipper Agius driving just wide of the near post after a shortly-taken free-kick.

However, Mqabba shocked their opponents a minute later when Brazilian striker Marcelo Pereira nipped behind City's sloppy defence before guiding the ball over the advancing Saviour Darmanin and into the net.

Given the intense pressure weighing on the shoulders of City coach Paul Zammit and his players, Mqabba's surprising breakthrough will have increased the sense of anxiety in the City clan.

To their credit, the Valletta players did not panic and duly levelled the scores on 26 minutes when Monesterolo's scrambled effort was deflected home by Zammit. Mqabba alleged that Zammit had been in an offside position when making contact with the ball but the flag of assistant referee Joe Camilleri stayed down.

After another spell of sustained but unproductive pressure from Valletta, Mqabba came close to restoring their lead on 38 minutes.

Valletta were again guilty of negligent defending in set-pieces as they allowed Zarb's curling free-kick to whistle across the face of goal and into the path of Italo Donizete Nogueira who headed just over from close range.

The second half was barely three minutes old when Claude Mattocks unleashed a dipping volley that had goal written all over it but again Calleja distinguished himself with a top-notch intervention to divert the ball away.

Having done his utmost to make an impression against the club that elected to loan him out for one season, Mqabba midfielder Zarb tried to surprise Darmanin with a long-range chip but the Valletta goalkeeper made a comfortable save.

Nine minutes into the second half, Valletta's predicament deepened when Agius appeared to suffer a thigh injury when in the act of shooting. The City skipper was unable to get back on his feet let alone keep playing. His place was taken by Justin Grioli.

Within minutes, Monesterolo could have given his team a much-needed lift but, having received a pass from Zammit, he hit the ball wide.

Mqabba provided a reminder of their counter-attacking potential when Pereira volleyed over from a good position.

Midway through the second half, Mqabba were dangerous again when Albert Busuttil lofted the ball backward and into the path of Zarb who darted into the box from the right but his near-post effort was touched away for a corner by Darmanin.

By way of reply, Valletta had a Camilleri shot that was tipped away by the defiant Calleja but the Mqabba goalkeeper's resistance was broken 20 minutes from time when Monesterolo rifled the ball home after being set up by Camilleri.

Released by Zammit in the area, the unmarked Backhaus should have made the points safe for Valletta but his goalbound effort was deflected on to the post. The loose ball rolled towards Grioli whose angled shot was deviated for a corner by Psaila.

Mqabba heaved a sigh of relief but not for long as the Citizens wrapped up the points on 76 minutes to a wondrous long-distance shot from Bondin which ripped past Calleja.

Monesterolo then spurned two other chances to put Valletta out of sight as his low attempts were saved by Calleja.

Five minutes from the end, Mattocks spoiled his bold display for Valletta by receiving a red card for use of abusive language.

In stoppage time, Mqabba substitutes Muscat and John Mintoff should have narrowed the deficit but their point-blank efforts were kept out by Josef Mifsud and goalkeeper Darmanin.

Valletta: S. Darmanin-6.5, J. Bondin-7.5, K. Scicluna-6, J. Mifsud-6, R. Forace-6, D. Camilleri-7, H. Backhaus-6.5, C. Mattocks, G. Agius-6 ('55 J. Grioli-6), S. Monesterolo-6.5, I. Zammit-6.5 ('87 B, Agius).

Mqabba: K. Calleja-7, M. Bonnici-6, A. Busuttil-6 ('72 F. Silva), I. Nogueira-6, M.A. Psaila-6, M. Briffa-6, M. Pereira-6.5, C. Calleja-5.5 ('84 J. Mintoff), M. Cocks-6.5, C. Gatt Baldacchino-6.5, D. Zarb-7 ('78 J. P. Muscat).

Referee: Anton Zammit.

Scorers: Pereira 19; Zammit 26; Monesterolo 70; Bondin 76.

Yellow Cards: Bonnici; Gatt Baldacchino.

Red Card: Mattocks 85.

BOV Player Of The Match: Jonathan Bondin (Valletta).