Sliema Wanderers 0
Valletta 3
Denni 42; Mifsud 44; Zongo 54;

The party has kicked off, the bottles of bubbly uncorked.

A festive atmosphere reigned at the National Stadium as Valletta embellished their status as the kings of Maltese football after sealing their 21st title with a straightforward 3-0 win over Sliema Wanderers.

The title race had effectively been resolved before a ball was even kicked yesterday as Birkirkara’s stunning win over Hibernians had left Valletta needing only one point to make sure of retaining the title with two matches to spare.

Enticed by the prospect of seeing their team being crowned champions for the second year running, the Valletta fans turned up in their thousands.

They were not disappointed as Valletta produced a typically electric performance to accomplish their title mission in style after overwhelming the battling but limited Blues.

For a team who have deservedly forged a reputation as the dependables of Maltese football after going through 24 matches without conceding defeat, victory in yesterday’s clash was widely regarded as a formality. It certainly looked so after two quickfire goals late in the first half set Valletta on their way before Ousseni Zongo joined fellow forwards Denni and Michael Mifsud on the scoresheet with a second-half screamer amid the exuberant celebrations of their ecstatic fans.

As referee Paul Caruana sounded the final whistle, the Valletta players embraced in a huddle before going on to milk the adulation of the supporters who proudly belted out their favourite songs, including ‘We are the champions’ and ‘Lil tal-Belt ħadd ma jista’ għalina’ before the party continued in the capital.

“Why always us?... 21” read the message on placards held up by some City fans in reference to their club’s impending 21st championship.

There were no changes in the City line-up as coach Jesmond Zerafa kept faith with the players who started the 2-0 win over Birkirkara. The tactical strategy was also the same as Mifsud took up his usual station at the apex of Valletta’s 4-2-3-1 formation with the mobile trio of Roderick Briffa, Zongo and Denni pushing from behind.

Danilo Doncic, the Sliema Wanderers coach, sent out an all-Maltese line-up as Emiliano Lattes, Anicet Eyenga and Danail Mitev were on the bench while Nikola Bogdanovic and Rumen Galabov were ruled out by injuries.

With no recognised strikers in his initial XI, Doncic deployed Ryan Fenech as a lone striker with Alex Muscat and Trevor Cilia on the wings.

It says all about Valletta’s rich resources these days that three players in Sliema’s line-up, Fenech, Steve Bezzina and Cleaven Frendo, are on loan from the Citizens.

Eight minutes into the game, Denni drifted into the box from the right but his left shot was pushed away by Anthony Curmi, the Sliema goalkeeper.

Mifsud threatened to capitalise when Josef Mifsud’s clearance glanced off team-mate Clifford Gatt Baldacchino but the Sliema defender recovered quickly to hurl his body in the way of the Valletta striker’s grounder.

On 18 minutes, William Barbosa’s humdinger from the distance ended high as Valletta continued to hammer at Sliema’s backdoor.

The Citizens monopolised possession in the opening 25 minutes but were unable to translate their supremacy into clear chances.

Sliema did well to stifle Valletta’s attacking threat early on but they offered little going forward.

Four minutes past the half-hour, Curmi denied Valletta with a fingertip save from Barbosa’s header following a corner by Denni.

The Blues got a rare glimpse of Valletta’s goal when Fenech’s central free-kick was easily saved by Andrew Hogg.

This came four minutes from half-time. From their ensuing attack, Valletta put their noses in front.

Zongo and Mifsud combined well inside the Sliema box but the latter’s effort was blocked by the defenders. The ball broke to Denni who swivelled before arrowing his shot into the top-corner.

A deafening roar engulfed the National Stadium. The delight of the jubilant City fans increased as, barely two minutes later, the Whites doubled their lead, Mifsud hitting low past Curmi after receiving from Denni.

The Valletta players were applauded off the pitch as they headed for the dressing room at half-time.

Two goals up, the Citizens were in the driving seat but, early in the second half, Sliema twice came close to pulling one back.

It was defender Mifsud, a former City player, who popped in the City box to meet Cilia’s corner but his close-range header was kept out by Hogg. Shortly afterwards, Mifsud was at it again, this time with a low shot from Fenech’s pass that rolled wide of the near post.

Undeterred, the Citizens went up at the other end and scored their third, Zongo hammering a ferocious drive past Curmi after latching on to Denni’s perfect pass as Valletta broke on the counter.

Hogg then easily dealt with Frendo’s free-kick. On the hour, Barbosa was treated to a standing ovation as he made way for Gilbert Agius.

Midfielder Edmond Agius, a mainstay in the City team this season, threatened to get in on the act but his angled effort bounced just wide of the far post.

Denni, put through by Gilbert Agius, hit the post from close range as the champions continued to pound Sliema’s rearguard.

Valletta eased up in the closing stages, allowing Sliema to venture out of their defensive shell but their sporadic attacks were easily repelled.

With nine minutes remaining, the champions came close to a fourth goal when Terrence Scerri, who had replaced Denni, released Mifsud but out came Curmi to quell the danger. The Sliema goalkeeper then thwarted Scerri on two occasions.

In a rare counter-attack, Cilia found himself in a one-on-one situation with Hogg but the Valletta goalkeeper managed to deflect the Sliema winger’s shot wide of the near post.

Sliema Wanderers
A. Curmi-6, R. Fenech-6, J. Mifsud-7, R. Grech-5 (77 A. Caligari), M. Scerri-6, S. Bezzina-6, C. Gatt Baldacchino-5.5 (90 Z. Micallef), T. Cilia-6, A. Muscat-5, C. Frendo-5 (88 D. Vukovic), B. Muscat-5.

Valletta
A. Hogg-6.5, J. Caruana-7.5, S. Borg-6.5, S.M. Panandetiguiri-6, I. Azzopardi-6, R. Briffa-6.5, E. Agius-6.5 (73 R. Bajada), O. Zongo-6.5, Denni-7.5 (71 T. Scerri-6.5), W. Barbosa-7 (60 G. Agius), M. Mifsud-7.

Referee: Paul Caruana.

Yellow card: M. Scerri.

BOV player of the match: Denni (Valletta).

Attendance: 2,708.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Valletta	30	24	5	1	73	22	50
Hibernians	30	20	6	4	69	25	41
Floriana	30	16	6	8	46	30	33
Birkirkara	30	15	4	11	48	36	32
Sliema	30	8	14	8	42	42	21
Balzan	30	9	6	15	36	61	18
Qormi	30	14	2	14	52	44	30
Ħamrun	30	9	7	14	46	64	25
Tarxien	30	10	3	17	40	50	24
Mosta	30	8	8	14	36	46	21
Mqabba	30	8	7	15	36	53	21
Marsaxlokk	30	4	2	24	30	81	6