Derby delight for unbeaten City

Floriana 0
Valletta 2
Denni 35; Zammit 90;

The prospect of a gripping encounter enticed a crowd of over 5,000 as old rivals Valletta and Floriana locked horns for the second time this season.

Derbies are usually tight affairs and the second-round showdown between these two teams was no exception but that mattered little for Valletta and their legions of supporters as the leaders eked out a 2-0 victory to stretch their unbeaten run to 18 games this season, in the process extending their gap at the top to 15 points, meaning they will start the Championship Pool with a seven-point cushion.

A slow-burning encounter sprang into life in the closing stages. Trailing to Denni’s first-half goal, Floriana sallied forward in numbers in an attempt to unhinge the well-drilled City defence but in doing so, they left themselves vulnerable at the back.

Valletta, who struggled for fluency, duly punished their opponents when Ian Zammit, who had just come on for Denni, exploited the gaps in the Floriana defence to apply the finishing touch in stoppage time.

It made for a dream finale for the City fans as their ‘killer’ goal was scored by a player who is Valletta through and through.

As always, the Valletta faithful turned up in their hundreds to the extent that, an hour before kick-off, the ‘City’ side of the enclosure was already bursting at the seams.

With the enclosure section closed, several other City fans spilled into the Millennium Stand, packing half of it.

Although outnumbered, the Floriana supporters were also numerous. The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric as the two sets of fans began to tease each other well before kick-off.

Floriana’s initial XI featured four changes from the 1-0 defeat to Sliema as Tyrone Farrugia and Mano Micallef returned from suspension, Christian Caruana replaced Kiril Dzhorov and winger Marcelo Guerreiro Fernandes was preferred to Joseph Borg.

For the third game in a row, Floriana coach Todor Raykov couldn’t bank on striker Daniel Nwoke who failed to recover from a thigh injury while suspension kept Thomas Paris out of the derby.

The inclusion of midfielder Jamie Pace, back after missing the previous two games due to injury, was one of three alterations in Valletta’s formation. Coach Jesmond Zerafa elected to restore Steve Borg to the centre of defence at the expense of Ramon who had to make do with a place on the bench.

Ramon’s place in the team was taken by the returning Pace, captain Gilbert Agius filled the void left by Ryan Fenech’s injury-related absence and winger Omonigho Temile replaced Kevin Sammut.

Floriana’s adventurous lift-off suggested that the Greens were determined to show their attacking intentions from the outset. But, the first glimmer of a chance came Valletta’s way when Agius’s floated pass from midfield set Denni on a run. The Brazilian released Terrence Scerri on the edge of the box but the latter’s cross-shot was cleared away by the Floriana defenders.

Raykov picked four attack-minded players in his team as Caruana, Fernandes, Ivan Woods and Dragomir Draganov were granted licence to swap positions in pursuit of openings in the City defence.

After his low-key debut, Andrade was given another chance to show his worth as the Brazilian kept his place in the team. He was deployed behind Scerri but for much of the opening 24 minutes, City’s attacking zephyrs failed to sparkle.

The game was only 26 minutes old when Zerafa was compelled to effect his first substitution after Pace, a second-half substitute for Malta in Wednesday’s friendly against Switzerland, appeared to suffer a recurrence of the injury that sidelined him for a couple of weeks.

Draganov’s lofted cross on 27 minutes found the City defence in a state of disarray but out came Andrew Hogg to close down Christian Caruana. The danger was not over though as Floriana retrieved possession with Caruana delivering a measured cross towards Draganov who directed a powerful header towards goal but Hogg denied him with a top-drawer save.

Valletta’s response was immediate. Andrade drifted inside the penalty area before squaring to Scerri who outmuscled his marker but his shot was too central to unsettle Lofti Saidi.

This proved to be the preamble to Valletta’s opener which came 10 minutes from half-time.

Temile produced a cross that sailed across the face of goal and into the path of Denni who hit a first-time volley that gave Saidi no chance.

Denni’s goal left a galvanising effect on Valletta who now drove forward with panache.

Latching on to a pass from Gilbert Agius, Briffa darted past Micallef and guided a cross-shot that was deflected away for a corner by the Floriana defenders.

Scerri then volleyed high from Edmond Agius’s dipping pass.

Within three minutes from the start of the second half, Gilbert Agius unleashed a powerful drive that was deflected away for a corner. He then summoned a perfectly-flighted cross from a left-wing free-kick but the sliding Scerri just failed to make contact with the ball at the far post.

At the other end, Hogg did well to fist away Pablo Doffo’s free-kick as Floriana forced two quick corners and from the second, taken by Fernandes, the ball was diverted into the path of Woods but his grounder was blocked by Hogg.

Caruana’s astute movement was very much at the heart of Floriana’s improvement.

On the hour, he picked out the advancing Duncan Pisani on the right before running into the box to meet the latter’s cross but his header was dealt with by Hogg.

Four minutes later, Andrade swung in a good cross from the right but Scerri miscued as he tried to flick the ball goalwards with his heel. Scoring chances were proving hard to come by as the two teams toiled for fluidity but with 19 minutes remaining, Floriana came close to an equaliser.

Doffo was the provider with another menacing free-kick and, from the ensuing scramble, Farrugia headed just wide.

The Citizens should have sealed the issue when Gilbert Agius threaded a through-ball to Andrade who ghosted into the box before laying the ball to Sammut but the midfielder’s close-range effort was pushed around the post by Saidi.

It was all Valletta now, Agius once more showing his extraordinary vision with a perfect ball to Denni who was clean through but the Brazilian lost his balance and his tame shot was blocked by Saidi.

With eight minutes left, Valletta spurned a good chance to put their minds at rest when Andrade’s cross flew to the unmarked Denni whose header smacked against the crossbar.

As Floriana hurled caution to the wind, the game opened up. While the Greens peppered the City defence with a series of crosses, Valletta threatened to hurt their opponents on the counter.

The leaders applied the killer blow in stoppage time when Gilbert Agius’s quickly-taken throw-in put Ian Zammit through. With the Floriana defence caught off balance, Zammit charged clear, burst through Micallef and Pisani and prodded past Saidi.

Floriana: L. Saidi-5.5, D. Pisani-6, B. Said-6, T. Farrugia-5.5, M. Micallef-6, P. Doffo-6.5, C. Borg-6 (74 K. Dzhorov), I. Woods-6.5, C. Caruana-7.5 (85 C. Cassar), D. Draganov-5, M.G. Fernandes-6 (59 S. Borg-6).

Valletta: Hogg-8, R. Briffa-6, S. Borg-7, J. Caruana-7, I. Azzopardi-6.5, G. Agius-7, O. Temile-8, Andrade-6, Denni-7 (89 I. Zammit), T. Scerri-6 (76 K. Sammut), J. Pace (26 E. Agius-6.5).

Referee: Paul Caruana.

Yellow cards: Temile; Azzopardi; Pisani; Denni; Caruana.

BOV player of the match: Denni (Valletta).

Attendance: 5,247.