Birkirkara have taken an important step towards winning the championship after edging Valletta 1-0 in this afternoon’s title clash.
Trevor Cilia’s early goal proved decisive as Birkirkara held on to their lead to pull off a deserved win that sends them four points clear at the top with only five matches left.
True to expectation, this match drew a large crowd to the National Stadium with the two sets of fans giving their all to support their players.
Birkirkara’s afternoon started on a negative note as they lost midfielder Paul Fenech to injury inside the opening 10 minutes but this setback failed to taint their resolve.
The Stripes stunned Valletta by taking the lead after 19 minutes. Michael Galea ran at the slow-moving Valletta defenders down the left before laying the ball back for Shaun Bajada who hit first-time effort. Andrew Hogg, the Valletta goalkeeper, got his hands to the ball but could not hold Bajada’s shot and Trevor Cilia out-thought Steve Bezzina at the far post to fire home.
As Valletta struggled to hit back, Birkirkara came close to a second goal nine minutes from half-time when Bajada, easily the best player on the pitch in the first half, advanced down the left and set up Cilia whose first-timer was blocked by Jamie Pace. The loose ball rolled to Alan Tabone, who had replaced Fenech, but once more Pace managed to get in the way of the Birkirkara midfielder’s shot, Birkirkara claimed that Pace had touched the ball with his hands but their penalty calls were turned away by referee Alan Mario Sant.
Valletta threatened to equalise in the first minute of the second half when Bezzina lofted the ball to Agius in the box but the latter’s pass was deflected away for a corner by Branko Nisevic and Nikola Vukanac. The Citizens saw more of the ball in the second half but their efforts were controlled by Birkirkara.
Late in the game, Birkirkara defender Angus Buhagiar kept his side’s lead intact when clearing Declan O’Brien’s goalbound flick off the line.
In the dying stages, Valletta’s Steve Borg was sent off after he appeared to swing an arm at Bajada.
Birkirkara midfielder Rowen Muscat was voted BOV player of the match.