Valletta 2
Birkirkara 0
Champions Valletta got their competitive season off to a flying start last night when they lifted the BOV Super Cup for the seventh time in their history after a 2-0 victory over rivals Birkirkara.
Emboldened by their creditable performances in the Champions League, Valletta took some time to find their rhythm in a tepid first half but Jamie Pace's first goal for the club on the half-hour mark strengthened their self-belief and set them on their way to a deserved victory.
Birkirkara put on a committed performance but they just seemed to lack the verve and bite up front to repeat their 4-2 victory over the champions in last season's FA Trophy semi-finals.
With midfielders stealing the show with their dogged efforts to gain supremacy in the middle, it was fitting that Stefan Giglio, one of Valletta's best performers, should seal their win nine minutes from time. Giglio was set up by skipper Gilbert Agius who produced another fine performance, especially in the second half, to the delight of his team's vociferous fans.
The celebrations of the City fans reached their peak when Agius received the Super Cup trophy from MFA head Joe Mifsud in the presence of BOV official Charles Borg.
As in the Champions League matches against Slovakia's Artmedia Petrzalka, Valletta coach Paul Zammit selected an all-Maltese formation as Cameroon forward Priso Doding started on the bench.
Suspension kept Malta defender Luke Dimech out of yesterday's showdown while goalkeeper Andrew Hogg was sidelined with an ankle injury.
For Birkirkara, midfielder Shaun Bajada started on the bench as he is yet to fully recover from the injury that forced him out of last week's UEFA Cup 3-0 home defeat to Hajduk Split.
Trevor Cilia, the only close-season addition to Birkirkara's squad so far, had to settle for a substitute's role.
If Nicky Vella, Valletta's young goalkeeper, was tense about the prospect of deputising for Hogg, he didn't show it. Vella was called to make a save as early as the third minute, coming out to block with his feet a dangerous effort from Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza.
Incisive football was conspicuous by its absence for much of the opening 25 minutes as both teams struggled to carve out openings in attack.
Valletta had captain Gilbert Agius as their focal point in attack as Ian Zammit and Dyson Falzon were again detailed to push up the flanks.
John Buttigieg, the Birkirkara coach, favoured a 4-4-2 formation with Mifsud Triganza and captain Michael Galea as their attacking spearheads.
The champions had not created a genuine scoring chance in the opening exchanges but it was they who forged ahead. The game was approaching the half-hour mark when Giglio whipped in a great cross from a left-wing corner and Pace flashed in like a bullet to head the ball firmly past Omar Borg.
Pace's goal jolted Birkirkara but the latter would have restored parity five minutes from half-time but for the woodwork after Mifsud Triganza's header from an Alan Tabone free-kick came off the crossbar. The loose ball sailed towards George Mallia but he headed over the bar.
Early in the second half, Paul Fenech attempted to surprise Valletta with a first-time shot but his effort landed wide of the far post.
Birkirkara tried to up the tempo of their game in a bid to unsettle Vallwetta's defence. On one occasion, Mifsud Triganza looked set to capitalise on a moment of hesitancy by Vella who had been slow coming out to grab the ball but the young keeper somehow managed to stop the Birkirkara striker's dangerous run.
Moments later, Birkirkara shouted "penalty" after Mifsud Triganza tumbled to the ground as he tried to run past Josef Mifsud. Referee Adrian Azzopardi was unimpressed.
Fourteen minutes into the second half, Cilia made his debut for Birkirkara as a replacement for Tabone. Zammit also made a substitution at this juncture, Doding coming on for Falzon.
A brilliant move by Valletta would have yielded them a second goal but for a fine save from Borg. Having retrieved possession deep into Birkirkara half, Zammit skipped past an opponent on the left before passing to Agius. Spotting Bezzina's strong overlap on the left, the City captain duly picked him out with an intelligent cross that was met with a fierce, dipping volley by the left-back. Borg did well to top the ball away for a corner.
Nine minutes from time, Doding ought to have marked his debut with a goal when he burst through the spread-eagled Birkirkara defence with a typically strong run only to fire wide with only Borg to beat.
Birkirkara sighed with relief but their respite was fleeting as moments later, Agius galloped forward and squared to the unmarked Giglio who tapped the ball home.
Substitute Lee Lombardi might have put Birkirkara back in it but his effort cannoned off the crossbar.
Valletta N. Vella, J. Grioli, J. Mifsud, K. Scicluna, S. Bezzina, E. Agius, J. Pace ('88 C. Mattocks), S. Giglio, D. Falzon ('59 N.P. Doding), G. Agius, I. Zammit ('64 D. Camilleri).
Birkirkara O. Borg, T. Paris ('46 L. Lombardi), R. Hartvig, E. Yantchev, J. Zerafa, G. Mallia, M. Anastasi ('80 A. Buhagiar), A. Tabone ('59 T. Cilia), P. Fenech, J.P. Mifsud Triganza, M. Galea.
Scorers Pace 30, Giglio 81
Referee Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards G. Agius; E. Agius; Hartvig; Tabone; Zammit; Pace; Cilia.