Wanderers strengthen grip on third place

Sliema Wanderers 3
Dronca 62 pen; Woods 69; Failla 90
Hibernians 0

Sliema Wanderers produced an accomplished display to put themselves in the driving seat in the battle to secure the third place and now need only a solitary point against rivals Qormi on the final day to reach their objective.

After Qormi's 2-1 defeat to Valletta on Thursday, the Wanderers well hellbent to pick up maximum spoils as they looked to seize the advantage over the Yellows ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

On the otherhand Hibernians were looking to bring to an end a disappointing run of seven successive defeats.

Boosted by the return of four first-team players, namely Alex Muscat, Ryan Fenech, Mark Scerri and Clayton Failla, the Wanderers enjoyed the majority of possession in a dull first half but failed to break down a resilient Hibs defence that was brilliantly marshalled by Jonathan Caruana and Aaron Xuereb.

With nothing more to play for than mere pride, Hibernians played with the enviable freedom on the counter attack, while Sliema pushed and probed with width and pace throughout.

Mark Miller used this match to plunge some of his youngsters into action and they showed admirable intent in a surprisingly open game. The Paolities had the first genuine chance from Elton Morelato whose angled shot from Andrew Cohen's fine pass was comfortably kept out by Simon Agius.

Sliema's Julio Alcorse was an isolated figure up front as the Wanderers continuously pumped long balls towards the Argentine, which were easily dealt with by the Paolites' towering defenders.

After 20 minutes, John Mintoff headed the ball straight into Daniel Balzan's arms after connecting to a cross by Clayton Failla's cross.

A double chance for Mintoff at the start of the second half suggested the second period would again be dominated by the Wanderers.

First, an astute pass from Alcorse found the nippy midfielder through on goal but he shot high and wide. Then, Adrian Pulis's last-ditch tackle prevented a marauding Mintoff from pulling the trigger from just inside the area.

Hibernians continued to defend deeply, inevitably dragging Sliema's pressure on their rearguard.

Ivan Woods took the opportunity to test Balzan with a fierce low drive which saw the young goalkeeper produce a smart save to block.

But then on the hour mark came the key moment of the afternoon.

Alcorse played a crucial role with a run into the area and a clever flick into the path of Mintoff who was floored in the area by the onrushing Balzan with the referee quickly pointing to the spot. From the resultant penalty, Lucien Dronca kept his composure to put his team ahead.

Eight minutes later, Woods struck a spectacular goal, controlling Failla's pass before volleying the ball beyond Balzan with a force that left the Hibs goalkeeper powerless.

Cohen could have pulled a goal back for Hibernians in the latter stages but his swerving shot was tipped onto the bar by Agius.

But Sliema's dominance resulted in Failla scoring the goal his performance merited, when he headed into an empty net after Woods had hit the bar.

Sliema
S. Agius-6, A. Muscat-6, I. Azzopardi-6, J. Mifsud-6.5 ('76 C. Gatt Baldacchino), R. Fenech-6.5 ('87 L. Martinelli), M. Scerri-6, I. Woods-7.5, L. Dronca-6, J. Alcorse-7, J. Mintoff-7 ('80 A. Mercieca), C. Failla-7.

Hibernians
D. Balzan-5, R. Duca-5 ('88 K. Tanti), A. Xuereb-6, J. Caruana-6, A. Pulis-6.5, C. Callejas-5 ('65 D. Sammut), A. Cohen-5, C. Camilleri-6, T. Caruana-5 ('77 A. Azzopardi), E. Morelato-5, B. Camilleri-5.

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

BOV player of the match: Ivan Woods (Sliema).