Brazilians on mark to lift Tarxien’s spirits

Ħamrun Spartans 1
Shields 15;
Tarxien Rainbows 4
Bueno 9; Sergio 14; Ricardo 26, 47;

Tarxien broke their duck in the Championship Pool with a convincing victory over Ħamrun Spartans yesterday that enabled the Rainbows to bridge the gap with the teams challenging for the leading positions in the Premier League.

Noel Coleiro’s side came under pressure after a dismal start to the Championship Pool with three consecutive defeats. But there was a mixture of relief and elation at the National Stadium as their Brazilian quartet rediscovered their old form and found the goals to beat Ħamrun, a significant boost ahead of Sunday’s FA Trophy quarter-final against Vittoriosa Stars.

The Spartans floundered in the face of Ricardo’s flair and attacking vision in a bright start for the Rainbows. Ricardo was inspirational for Tarxien, so much so that Coleiro did not feel like resting him even when his team were well on their way to victory as early as the 47th minute.

It was first blood to the Rainbows in a ding-dong clash, albeit in controversial fashion when a corner taken by Gianluca Calabretta was headed goalwards by Daniel Mariano Bueno. The ball hit the underside of the bar, bounced down apparently just over the line as it was cleared by Lee James Agius.

The referee Esther Azzopardi was uncertain if the ball crossed the line and consulted assistant referee Malcolm Mercieca who in a moment of drama indicated that it had.

Tarxien seized the moment and racked up the pressure on the Spartans defence. Five minutes later, Sergio lashed a fierce drive high past Ħamrun goalkeeper Omar Borg.

But the two-goal cushion stood fractionally longer than one minute. Marcelo Pereira picked up the ball from Dyson Falzon and Dene Shields timed his arrival perfectly to score from close-range.

The surge in Ħamrun’s confidence was instant, with David Cassar saving twice in quick succession from Shields’ rising effort and Massimo Grima’s close-range shot.

It was only a temporary reprieve, though as in the 26th minute, Calabretta, a left-footer playing on the right, collected the ball and sped up to the edge of the area before delivering a pin-point cross which Ricardo headed home.

Ħamrun needed to hit back quickly and Shields was guilty of an awful miss as he put the ball over the bar from only few metres out.

Just before half-time, Cassar produced a fine save to deny the Scottish forward. Few moments later, he tipped a Gaetan Spiteri’s header onto the bar, before the ball spun away from the goalmouth.

Any fears the supporters had of a slower-paced second half were dismissed within the first minute of restart. The Rainbows had missed Ricardo’s influence during the second round and yesterday it was the Brazilian midfielder who led the Rainbows charge. After 46 minutes, Ricardo met Bueno’s pass to fire a firm finish past Borg.

Now rather than the end-to-end action of the first half, much of the activity took place in the Spartans third. In the 51st minute, Grima went close with a fizzing free-kick that Cassar punched away.

On the hour mark, Shields stung Cassar’s hands with a pile-driver as the pace refused to relent. Steve D’Amato brought on Karl Magro and Dylan Kokavessis to add some freshness to the side but it was their flabby defence that suffered.

In the 71st minute, Ricardo should have scored his third of the afternoon after he was released by Cristiano but he fizzled a shot wide.

Calabretta was a constant source of danger and was only centimetres off target with an angled drive eight minutes later.

In the final minutes, the two teams ran out of steam but the Rainbows had long secured the points to lift their flailing spirits.

Ħamrun Spartans
O. Borg-5, D. Milovic-5, M. Grima-6, R. Mangion-5, D. Shields-6, L J. Agius-6, M. Pereira-5.5 (60 D. Kokavessis-4), D. Falzon-6, G. Spiteri-6 (71 M. Mifsud-5), J. Vukanic-5, D. Camilleri-5 (60 K. Magro-4).

Tarxien Rainbows
D. Cassar-6, S. Sadowski-6, M. Caruana-6, E. Pereira-6, G. Calabretta-7, Ricardo-8, Sergio-7 (81 J. Vella), D.M. Bueno-6.5 (70 Cristiano-5), L. Vella Critien-6.5, O. Anonam-5.5 (63 R. Mintoff-5), L. Galea-6.

Referee: Esther Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: Agius, Sadowski, Grima.

BOV player of the match: Ricardo Costa (Tarxien Rainbows).