Zammit double propels City to derby win

Valletta 2
Floriana 1

Gusty winds blew across the pitch, the fans sang and traded insults and the players gave their all to overcome the difficult conditions in pursuit of a sound performance and a victory.

This, in a nutshell, was the story of the first derby of the 2008-09 season between champions Valletta and neighbouring foes Floriana.

Victory went to the Citizens courtesy of striker Ian Zammit whose early double left Floriana with a mountain to climb.

Having initially struggled to cope with the Citizens' forays, Floriana raised their game from the moment Orosco Anonam, their best player yesterday, pulled a goal back soon after Zammit had struck his second for the Citizens.

After half-time, Floriana tried to take the game to Valletta who looked somewhat rusty after going seven weeks without playing a competitive match but Paul Zammit's men weathered the pressure and relied on their experience to hold out for their third win this season.

Undeterred by the wintry conditions, the hard-core fans of these two rival clubs began to gather outside the National Stadium more than an hour before kick-off.

The first match at the National Stadium in five weeks also brought a much-yearned sprinkling of colour to the stands.

Cameroon forward Doding Priso was the only overseas player in Valletta's 18-man squad yesterday after the champions parted company with Brazilian striker Marcelo Tolomeotti last month.

Injuries deprived City coach Paul Zammit of three players, namely Steve Bezzina, Dyson Falzon and Cleaven Frendo. The absence of Bezzina impelled Zammit to deploy Kenneth Scicluna at left-back with Justin Grioli patrolling the other flank.

An uplifting sight for Floriana was that of Serbian goalkeeper Dejan Maksic trudging out of the tunnel together with the remaining members of the Greens' first XI.

Coach Zoran Popovic had no significant selection worries for his first derby since taking charge of Floriana in the summer. Montenegro forward Aleksandar Madzar again had to be content with a place on the bench as Popovic opted to start with Ryan Darmanin as his attacking spearhead and Christian Caruana and Orosco Anonam pushing from wide.

Barely, 10 minutes from the start of the game had elapsed when Valletta captain Gilbert Agius, yesterday partnering Zammit in attack, traded passes with Edmund Agius before mustering a rising shot that sailed wide of the near post.

Valletta's first notable move of the game yielded an opener on 15 minutes. Priso made headway on the left before squaring the ball to Gilbert Agius on the edge of the box and the latter's pass was deflected by the sliding Pablo Doffo towards Zammit who drilled a low shot past Maksic from a central position. One-nil to the City.

Floriana looked stunned and their predicament deepened nine minutes later when Valletta doubled their lead.

The static Greens defenders were guilty of a bout of ball-watching as Agius's cross from the right landed in the path of Zammit who was left isolated in the centre of the box.

Floriana shouted offside but as the flag of assistant referee Philip Agius stayed down, Zammit had ample time to pick his spot, beating Maksic with another low shot.

Valletta were ecstatic but in no time they received a stark reminder that the match was not yet won. Within four minutes of Zammit's second goal, Floriana had halved the deficit, Anonam having the better of Andrew Hogg with a powerful volley from the left of the penalty area.

The blustery conditions and the slippery pitch were making life difficult for both sets of players but to their credit, they persevered with their bold efforts to produce constructive football.

Six minutes before half-time, the Citizens came close to restoring their two-goal lead. There seemed little danger for Floriana when Edmund Agius nodded a long ball forward as Julian Briffa was a couple of metres ahead of Zammit but the City striker gave chase and forced his way past the Greens defender but his effort was deflected away for a corner.

At the other end, Anonam, who caused Grioli endless problems during the first half, advanced down the inside-left channel before producing a grounder that flashed just wide of the far post.

The first substitution of the match came five minutes into the second half, Marlon Briffa replacing Joseph Borg for Floriana.

Minutes later, Valletta were awarded a free-kick on the right after Sunday Eboh tripped Gilbert Agius. The latter opted to pass the ball back to Grioli from the set-piece but the Valletta right-back's diagonal shot flew wide.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Duncan Pisani's cross from a left-wing free-kick soared dangerously towards the goalmouth where Caruana leapt as he attempted an acrobatic volley but he only succeeded in diverting the ball away from goal.

Maksic then did well to push away Agius's cross from a free-kick.

The exchanges continued to be balanced with neither team seemingly capable of gaining a foothold in the match.

Danger loomed for Valletta when Mauro Brincat's cross from the left found their defence in a dishevelled state. The erstwhile ineffective Darmanin squeezed his shot towards goal but Hogg managed to save.

Trailing 2-1, the Greens brought renewed urgency to their game as the minutes ticked away. Brincat and Doffo worked their socks off in midfield while Anonam continued to stretch the City defence with his forceful incursions down the left.

Popovic made a double substitution, bringing on Madzar and Steve Bonnici for Darmanin and Julian Briffa respectevely.

Zammit first replaced Giglio with David Camilleri and then introduced Jonathan Bondin, who has just recovered from a long-term injury, for Grioli.

Scoring chances were at a premium in the final stages with Valletta comfortably seeing off Floriana's disjointed efforts to salvage a draw.

In stoppage time, the Greens were reduced to ten men when Caruana was dismissed after a verbal exchange with Edmund Agius earned him a second yellow card.

Valletta: A. Hogg-5.5, J. Grioli-4 ('78 J. Bondin), J. Mifsud-6, L. Dimech-6.5, K. Scicluna-5, S. Giglio-5.5 ('75 D. Camilleri-5.5), J. Pace-5, E. Agius-7, D. Priso-6.5, G. Agius-6, I. Zammit-7.5 ('90 T. Mckay).

Floriana: D. Maksic-6, C. Camoin-6.5, S. Eboh-6.5, J. Briffa-4 ('73 S. Bonnici), D. Pisani-6, M. Brincat-6, P. Doffo-6, J. Borg-5.5 ('50 M. Briffa-4), O. Anonam-7.5, C. Caruana, R. Darmanin-4 ('73 A. Madzar).

Scorers: Zammit 15, 24 (V), Anonam 28 (F)

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Yellow cards: Caruana; Zammit; Eboh; E. Agius.

Red card: Caruana (F) 90.

BoV player of the match: Ian Zammit (Valletta).