Balzan 3 Camilleri 52; Elton 72, 90;
Tarxien 4 Evaldo 2; Andrezinho 9; Bueno 65 82;
Tarxien Rainbows faded badly after the brightest of starts when they looked home
and dry 2-0 up at half-time. Goals flew freely after the break as Balzan produced a
late rally capped by a clinical Elton to conjure up an enthralling finale.
Yet the industrious Balzan side had given as much as they got for but Daniel Mariano
Bueno struck twice in the closing period to help Tarxien strengthen their hold on the
fourth place in the standings.The game had barely started when Jacob Borg sent Bueno crashing following the first venture towards the Balzan area after just 70 seconds.Andrezinho sent in a perfect cross to Evaldo in the insideright channel who headed the ball in from close-range.
The Brazilian’s goal set the tone for the match as the Tarxien players ran with far greater confidence that any of their markers from the first whistle and Frederick Tabone’s goal was breached again eight minutes later.
In a devastating counter-attack, Danilo strode forward on the left flank and served Andrezinho who swept past the onrushing the goalkeeper and poked the ball into an unguarded net.
Bouyed by their two-goal salvo, Tarxien unwisely opted to sit back and absorb pressure. After the break Balzan started to push forward in abid to get back into contention and Elton dashed into the area,shrugged off the challenge by Ryan Sammut, his rising shot appeared tobe flowing dangerously towards goal but Cassar leapt to touch the ballaway via the crossbar after 47 minutes.
Five minutes later, Yessous Camilleri gave his side a lifeline in somehow bizarre circumstances when Licari getting hit in the face bythe ball following an off the target shot by Matthew Mendy, served Camilleri who scramble the ball home.
And in next to no time, the Rainbows restored their two-goal lead when Andrezinho directed a perfect pass to Bueno who embarked on a diagonal run that took him past his marker to beat Tabone with a precise shot.Yet, Elton was again in the thick of things when he pulled one back for Balzan rising high to de Barros Consani’s corner past Cassar six minutes later.
Seven minutes from time, Danilo cut up the Balzan defence with a through-ball to Bueno who embarked on a diagional run before beating Tabone with a low shot.The last chance fell to Elton again as he rifled the ball past the diving Cassar from outside the area.