Valletta 3
Ottoni 26; Zammit 34 pen; Falzon 81
Birkirkara 0
Valletta struck a psychological blow on the eve of the new season with an emphatic victory in the Euro Cup curtain-raiser against arch-rivals Birkirkara.
There was little friendly on display at the Centenary Stadium as Valletta and Birkirkara lined up alongside each other under a sultry June sky.
It was clear the match would be anything but friendly, both sides notched up win over the other late in the season, but Birkirkara's 1-0 win of Valletta remained a painful reminder for the proud City fans.
There were several tough tackles from both sides, taking attention away from a game which Valletta dominated, and the bad feeling culminated when Valletta captain Gilbert Agius had to be substituted after he suffered an injury midway through the first half.
The first scoring opportunity arrived after three minutes when Trevor Cilia's deflected shot forced a smart save from Andrew Hogg. Two minutes later, the Valletta goalkeeper was again alert to keep out the Birkirkara midfielder's point-blank shot.
However, Valletta's passing was crisper, their link-up play more inventive and it showed in the number of chances they created. New recruit Hercules Ottoni gave the Lilywhites faithful a sparkling display of his talents.
Several times in the early stages, his power and position led him into great positions - none better than on 23 minutes. Ian Zammit's long-range shot shaved the foot of the post but Dyson Falzon gathered the rebound and crossed for Ottoni to glance a header beyond the near post to put Valletta 1-0 up.
On several occasions there was a distinct lack of communication between Birkirkara goalkeeper Ezequiel Lovizon and his back line - a two-goal deficit only being prevented by the quick feet of Patrick Borg. In the 27th minute, substitute Justin Grioli saw his well-struck shot beat Lovizon but luckily for the goalkeeper the post did his work for him.
On his part, Jesmond Zerafa fielded the eagerly-awaited central defence with new boy Ramon Dos Santos lined up alongside Steve Borg.
Borg tracked every run Zammit made but on the half hour mark, the striker escaped the attentions of the Birkirkara defender but an ill-timed challenge from Borg sent Zammit tumbling into the box, who picked himself up to drill home the penalty.
Valletta continued to look the more likely to score after the interval. In fact, Ottoni looked odds-on to score few minutes after the break when Zammit sent him clear, but the Brazilian shot high and wide from the edge of the area. After 70 minutes, Valletta hit the woodwork again when Zammit raced on to Roderick Briffa's pass and lofted the ball over Lovizon and against the top of the bar.
Ten minutes from time, the outstanding Falzon put Valletta out of sight when he followed Briffa's through ball to run clear and beat Lovizon in composed fashion.
Tomorrow: Centenary Stadium - 18.15 Valletta vs Sliema Wanderers.
Valletta: A. Hogg, R. Briffa, S. Borg, S. Bezzina, R. Dos Santos, E. Agius, G. Agius ('24 J. Grioli), D. Falzon, K. Sammut ('80 K. Magro), I. Zammit ('84 D Grima), H. Ottoni.
Birkirkara: E. Lovizon, T. Cilia, A. Decesare ('70 R Scicluna), N. Vukanac, P. Fenech, T. Paris, J. Zerafa, P. Borg, A. Tabone, I. Camilli ('60 S. Comvalius), K. Pulo ('60 M Galea).
Referee: Chris Lautier.
Yellow cards: Fenech, Agius, Tabone, Decesare.