Rabat Ajax 1
Borg 13;
Tarxien Rainbows 3
Bonnici 9 ; Danilo 27; Bueno 60;
This was another afternoon of deep anxiety for bottom-placed Rabat Ajax but one full of encouragement for coach Clive Mizzi and Tarxien Rainbows as they continue to move up the standings thanks to a deserved victory – their third in four games – that boosts their aspirations of Championship Pool football this season.
On the other side of the coin, Rabat’s latest hopes of avoiding the drop following a surprise draw against table-toppers Valletta seems to have been built on quicksand.
Silvio Vella’s gamble to start with the half-fit Nerijus Astrauskas could become the stick to beat him with, as the Lithuanian striker lasted just seven minutes.
The Rainbows missed the presence of defender Evaldo, suspended, but Mizzi was lifted by the return of Daniel Mariano Bueno, Andrezinho, Justin Grioli and Manuel Caruana.
Caruana was the Rainbows’ holding midfielder in a 4-1-3-2 formation which was spearheaded by Danilo and Bueno in attack.
The same players in the same formation should deliver the same goods Vella must have thought before kick-off yesterday as he reconfirmed the starting XI that starred in their previous match against the champions.
Vella again favoured a straightforward 4-1-4-1 module with Astrauskas at the apex of the Magpies’ formation and Joseph Caruana occupying the holding midfielder’s role.
Yet the Lithuanian striker lasted only a few minutes before he was forced to go off, clearly in pain after appearing to have aggravated an ankle problem.
And Vella’s woes deepened two minutes later when some lax Rabat defending let Steven Bonnici with enough room to rise above friend and foe and head in via the underside of the crossbar following an inviting Andrezinho delivery from a corner.
But the Magpies looked grateful for an unexpected slice of fortune on 13 minutes when they were gifted the equaliser by Tarxien keeper Nicholas Vella.
Substitute Wayne Borg’s shot from outside the box looked innocuous but Vella let the ball slip from his grasp and under his legs for Rabat’s equaliser.
Tarxien soon clicked into gear again. Andrezinho’s curling effort dipped just wide of Sean Mintoff’s left-hand post midway through the first half and six minutes later Mizzi’s team were back in the lead.
This goal was again owed as much to the striker’s deadly efficiency as to another costly error by the goalkeeper, this time Rabat’s no.1.
Mintoff flapped at thin air as he came out for the ball when trying to intercept a corner by Andrezinho and Danilo was on the right spot to tap in after a goalmouth scramble.
Rabat were forced into another substitution in the opening half with Gaetano Gesualdi replacing Clive Brincat who was injured in a tackle. However, the Rainbows failed to test Vella’s reshuffled defence again until half-time.
The break came at the right moment for Mintoff who looked to have regained his composure with a stunning save to keep out Andrezinho’s free-kick on 48 minutes.
But any hopes the Magpies might have entertained of gaining a point or better from this match disappeared right on the hour when an exquisite move between Danilo and Bueno unlocked the Rabat defence and the latter let himself almost no margin of error in getting the ball between the onrushing Mintoff and the near post.
The luckless Rabat suffered a third injury setback on 63 minutes when winger Yan Cauchi limped off. He was replaced by Justin Felice.
The Magpies’ toils to haul themselves into contention were undone as Tarxien kept their opponents at arm’s length in the last stages of the match.
The Rainbows’ confidence was indeed high with a two-goal cuschion as they stroked the ball across the pitch with relative easy with Rabat unable to launch a comeback and conceding defeat well before the final whistle.
Rabat Ajax
S. Mintoff-4.5, I. Carapic-5, J. Caruana-5, H. Backhaus-5, N. Astrauskas (7 W. Borg-6), M. Fuster-5, D. Falzon-6, C. Brincat-4 (37 G. Gesualdi-5), Y. Cauchi-5 (63 J. Felice-4), D. Azzopardi-6, C. Gauci-6.
Tarxien Rainbows
N. Vella-5, M. Caruana-6, J. Grioli-6 (83 S. Sadowski), R. Bajada-5 (46 L. De Castro-6), Danilo-8, Andrezinho-7, K. Pulo-5 (54 M. Tanti-6), D.M. Bueno-7, D. Fenech-6, O. Anonam-6, S. Bonnici-7.
Yellow cards: Grioli, Mintoff, Backhaus.
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
BOV Player of the match: Danilo (Tarxien Rainbows).