Tarxien Rainbows 1
Ricardo 21;
Mosta 0
A well-taken goal from Ricardo was enough to hand Tarxien their first win of the season as they edged past bottom side Mosta in a drab encounter in Corradino, yesterday.
Tarxien were relieved to have ended their four-match winless run but their performance was anything but convincing as once again, they looked short of ideas.
In the end, it had to be a moment of brilliance from their Brazilian midfielder-cum-forward to ease the pressure on Tarxien who finished the match with 10 men after Orosco Anonam was dismissed in the closing stages.
Goalkeeper David Cassar also played a crucial role in Tarxien’s victory as he produced two excellent reflex saves midway through the second half to deny Mosta an equaliser.
Mosta, for their part, attacked with intent but their lack of punch up front hampered their chances of adding to the solitary point they’ve gained so far following a one-all draw with Balzan Youths earlier this month.
Noel Coleiro received a warm welcome from the club fans as he made his way to the bench prior to kick-off.
The Tarxien coach had handed in his resignation after the 4-1 defeat to Qormi on Sunday but he answered the club’s call to reverse his decision following constructive talks with the team’s senior players.
Coleiro had a full squad at his disposal yesterday with Brazilian Roberto Saraiva given a rare start ahead of striker Rodrigo who had to settle for a place on the bench.
Mosta coach Oliver Spiteri was still unable to call on striker Gilbert Martin who failed to recover from an ankle problem.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Debono was preferred to Glenn Zammit.
It was Mosta who recorded the first attempt at goal when Brazilian midfielder Arilson unleashed a powerful shot that finished just over.
In the early stages, the Rainbows struggled to offer an attacking threat. The introduction of Saraiva meant that Ricardo played just behind main striker Daniel Mariano Bueno but in the early exchanges, the Brazilian trio did little to unsettle the Mosta defence.
Mosta protested for a penalty on 20 minutes when Cameroonian striker Bertrand Michel Mvondo beat the offside trap and looked to have been brought down in the area by Everton as he was about to shoot. Referee Fyodor Zammit saw nothing untoward.
Tarxien appeared jaded in the opening stages but it was they who drew first blood on 21 minutes in what was their only decent chance of the half.
Ricardo surged past two defenders before firing a low drive that rolled past Debono and into the bottom-right corner of the net.
The goal was a blow for Mosta who tried to get back into contention but their attacking manoeuvres were disjointed.
Mosta had to wait until the half hour to produce their first attempt at goal. Striker Ian Zammit tried his luck from the distance but his grounder was easily dealt with by Cassar.
Five minutes from the break, Arilson showed some deft footwork to slip past his marker but his angled drive came off the side-netting.
On 43 minutes, Mvondo had a glorious opportunity to put his side on level terms.
The Cameroonian striker was put through by Arilson but the Blues goalkeeper was alert as he came out to anticipate Mvondo.
On the restart, Coleiro withdrew the ineffective Saraiva and brought on Stefan Giglio to boost his defence.
Mosta were the more aggressive side at the start of the second half. They were unlucky not to equalise when, from an Arilson corner, Alex Cini’s header was cleared off the line by Luke Vella Critien.
Tarxien finally threatened on 56 minutes when Vella Critien’s dipping cross was misjudged by Debono, Bueno nodded the ball into the path of Ricardo who blasted over in front of a gaping goal.
Scoring chances remained a rare occurrence with both sides showing little inventiveness when going forward.
On 72 minutes, Tarxien substitute Rodrigo dashed into the area and fell to the ground after being challenged by Yannick Ossok but the referee booked the Rainbows striker for simulation.
At the other end, Cassar came to Tarxien’s rescue when keeping out Arilson’s close-range drive. From the rebound, the Brazilian was again denied by the Rainbows custodian.
Tarxien were reduced to 10 men late on when Anonam was shown a straight red card following a clumsy challenge on Mosta captain Nikola Bogdanovic.
In time added-on, Cassar did well to keep out Luca Martinelli’s long-range effort, pushing the ball away for a corner.
That was the last episode of note as Mosta’s reaction was a case of too little, too late.
Tarxien will hope that their first win in five matches will mark the start of a positive run as Coleiro’s men look to relaunch their bid for Championship Pool football.
Tarxien Rainbows
D. Cassar-7.5, S. Sadowski-6, M. Caruana-6 (90 A. Carabott), Everton-6, Ricardo-7, R. Saraiva-5 (46 S. Giglio-5), D.M. Bueno-6, L. Vella Critien-6.5 (66 Rodrigo-5), O. Anonam, L. Galea-6, J. Grioli-6.
Mosta
J. Debono-6, L. Martinelli-6, K. Farrugia-5, Arilson-7, N. Bogdanovic-6, I. Zammit-5 (62 F. Aboulezz-5), K. Magro-5.5, A. Cini-5 (85 S. Grech), A. Borg-5.5, Y. Ossok-5.5, M. Mvondo-5.
Referee: Fyodor Zammit.
Yellow cards: Borg; Galea; Bueno; Magro; Anonam.
Red card: Anonam (TR) 89.
BOV player of the match: Ricardo (Tarxien Rainbows).