Borg spares City blushes

Valletta 2
Mifsud 55; Borg 87;
Mqabba 1
Nwoba 8;

Steve Borg came to Valletta’s rescue yesterday as he netted a last-gasp winner to hand the Citizens a hard-fought win over Mqabba.

The champions were on the verge of a shock result after Mqabba belied their poor form – one victory in the last ten matches – to frustrate their more quoted opponents.

John Nwoba had set the tone when he gave Mqabba the lead early on. Valletta’s response was rather weak with only two shots at goal after the first half-hour.

With the Citizens crying for inspiration, an upset looked on the cards but coach Jesmond Zerafa then introduced Gilbert Agius and Alfred Effiong and both left an immediate impact on the match.

Zerafa made only one change from the 1-1 draw against Hibernians, midfielder Jamie Pace replacing Gilbert Agius who started on the bench.

Pace played deep in a 4-3-2-1 formation that became a 3-4-3, allowing Roderick Briffa to push on extremely high up the pitch.

Mqabba’s Clive Mizzi decided to include Clayton Micallef in place of the suspended Claudio Calleja but raised a few eyebrows when leaving Bojan Mamic on the bench as Nwoba was tasked with the main goalscoring duties.

The Nigerian quickly repaid the confidence shown in him by heading home unhindered a David Azzopardi cross inside the first eight minutes of the match.

That early goal enhanced Mqabba’s plans of trusting in a conservative 4-4-1-1 module as Mizzi planned a protracted resistance.

The immediate and practical consequence of that selection was evident as Valletta laid siege to the Mqabba goal in search of an equaliser but Mqabba held firm.

It was not before the 27th minute when Valletta had the first glimpse of goal, Michael Mifsud forcing a smart save from Kris Calleja.

A few moments later, the Malta striker turned provider and swung in a cross from the left. William Barbosa rose above his marker but his header failed to trouble Calleja in goal.

Just before half-time, Edmond Agius went close but his grounder was just off the target.

The gulf in class remained stark after the break, though Valletta had to wait until the 51st minute to trouble the Mqabba rearguard when Barbosa sent in an inviting ball into the box but Branislav Timotic was well-placed to clear off the line.

Zerafa’s thoughts on his team’s performance were reflected in a bold decision to withdraw Edmond Agius and Ousseni Zongo on 54 minutes.

And that double substitution paid instant dividends!

Agius ran on to Mifsud’s lofted pass before squaring for Effiong whose shot was kept out by Calleja. However, the ball fell kindly into Mifsud’s path who somehow managed to find the net with a scrambled effort.

Mqabba were now on the back foot as Valletta stepped up the pressure but Mifsud’s equaliser did not appear to deflate Mqabba. Their compact defensive set-up was up to the task.

But as Valletta fell into a lull – largely because Mqabba were reading their attacking tactics – it was Borg who found an opening after joining his team-mates in attack late on.

City’s robust defender had been relatively quiet up until that point but on 87 minutes he had the ball at his feet following a poor defensive clearance and let fly an unstoppable shot that soared into the Mqabba net.

Mqabba became ragged and Mifsud showed some of his expertise in front of goal when he raced to reach a Denni pass and looped the ball over Calleja. However, he dragged himself too wide, seeing his effort finishing against the near post.

Mqabba refused to leave Corradino quietly with Borg blocking an effort by Thiago Mazzitelli.

But that was too little too late as the referee soon blew the final whistle.

The Mqabba players left the field with their heads held high, knowing that they had given the league leaders a good run for their money.

But that proved to be no more than a scant consolation.

Mqabba
K. Calleja-7.5, M. Bonnici-6, C. Micallef-6, B. Timotic-7, M. Potezica-6, D. Azzopardi-6.5 (84 S. Magro), J. Nwoba-6.5 (60 B. Mamic, 70 M. Briffa), P. Grima-6.5, R. Sammut-6, T. Mazzitelli-5, J. Briffa-6.

Valletta
A. Hogg-6, J. Caruana-5, S. Borg-7, I. Azzopardi-6, R. Briffa-6, E. Agius-5.5 (54 G. Agius-6), J. Pace-5 (76 D. Falzon), Denni-6, O. Zongo-5 (54 A. Effiong-6), W. Barbosa-6, M. Mifsud-7.

Referee: Malcolm Spiteri.

Yellow cards: Caruana, Grima.

BOV Player of the match: Kris Calleja (Mqabba).