HAMRUN SPARTANS-2, VALLETTA-8
Michael Mifsud scored six goals as Valletta hammered Hamrun Spartans 8-2 in a one-sided match this evening.
The champions had the points wrapped up inside the first 16 minutes as they stormed into a five-goal lead with Mifsud contributing four.
This massive win gave Valletta their fifth victory in as many matches and, more important, further boosted their confidence ahead of their match against rivals Hibs this weekend.
Valletta's explosive start left the Spartans reeling. The Citizens took only four minutes to open the scoring thanks to Michael Mifsud who fired a shot through Anthony Curmi's legs after receiving from Denni.
Three minutes later, Valletta doubled their lead, Ryan Fenech scoring with a fantastic acrobatic volley that gave Curmi no chance.
The Citizens continued to pile up to the pressure. They soon made it 3-0 from a penalty after Curmi tripped Leandro in the box. Mifsud converted from the spot for his second of the game and Valletta's third.
In the next two minutes, Mifsud scored another two goals, the first a tap-in from Dyson Falzon's assist and the second a low shot after being put through by Briffa.
The game had only reached the 16th minute mark and Valletta were already five goals ahead.
The out-of-sorts Spartans had a solitary chance but Gianluca Calabretta rammed wide after being served by Nikolay Bozhov.
Valletta's domination continued. Denni was denied by Curmi but, on 25 minutes,Valletta scored their sixth thanks to Denni who produced a stunning drive after William Barbosa's initial effort has smacked against the crossbar.
Things could have become worse for the Spartans were it not for Curmi who stopped Denni's grounder from Fenech's pass. Borg then headed wide and Gabriel had an effort cleared off the line by Roderick Fenech.
The Spartans managed a consolation goal on 33 minutes when Daniel Zerafa, who had just replaced Terence Vella, finished a good move, involving Calabretta and David Camilleri, with a powerful shot.
In the closing stages of the first half, Barbosa again shook the crossbar with one of his trademark thunderbolts.
Six minutes into the second half, Valletta hit their seventh goal and Mifsud his fifth. Profiting from a short backpass, Mifsud hammered past Curmi.
Unsurprisingly, Valletta took their foot of the accelerator as the second half progressed on.
Mifsud wasted a great chance when lifting over from point blank after getting on the end of Falzon's cross.
Mifsud soon made amends as, with 17 minutes left, he got his sixth with another close-range effort from Gabriel's assist.
Late in the game, Massimo Grima scored a consolation goal for the Spartans when his long-range drive caught Yenz Cini by surprise.
Mifsud was voted BOV player of the match.