Mosta 1
Apap 46
Tarxien Rainbows 3
Bueno 14, 83; Bajada 68

Last night Mosta were chasing the top spot in the standings for the first time in their history but instead they ended up suffering a dizzy bout of vertigo and succumbed to an unexpected 3-1 upset to Tarxien who boosted their top-six aspirations by no small measure.

Clive Mizzi’s Rainbows banished the painful memories of last week’s heavy defeat to Birkirkara with a fine all-round display, the seal on which was placed by five-star Daniel Mariano Bueno.

Initial interest centred on defender Tyrone Farrugia.

His presence in the Mosta line-up provided a reminder of the Blues’ resolve to keep their status among the elite despite losing some key players this month.

Mosta were again down to the ‘bare bones’ yesterday as Steve D’Amato only had players from the youth squad manning the substitutes’ bench with Firas Aboulezz, Steve Bezzina and Obinna Obiefule all unavailable.

Mizzi rung the changes, making no fewer than four alterations following the toothless display against Birkirkara.

The most notable was the omission of new Brazilian midfielder Marco Lopes Silva with goalkeeper David Cassar, Steven Sadowski and Manuel Caruana also losing their place.

Defender Branislav Timotic re-united with former Mqabba coach Mizzi at Tarxien and made his debut yesterday.

The Rainbows were forced to weather one uncomfortable moment before taking command.

After 12 minutes, Danial Mitev’s thunderbolt from outside the box swerved beyond Vella but crashed against the post.

But Bueno soon put his team ahead, having collected Anderzinho’s through pass and run clear inside the box before squeezing his effort under Justin Haber’s body.

One goal down and D’Amato was forced into a first substitution just before the quarter of an hour as Alex Cini limped off.

Tarxien carved out another fine move involving Andrezinho, Bueno and Leandro Almeida before the latter directed a shot that flashed wide.

The Rainbows continued to impose themselves, forcing a series of flag-kicks which, however, failed to yield anything tangible as goalmouth action became sparse until half-time.

The score at the break was not exactly what Mosta had longed for but 50 seconds into the second half, the Blues levelled matters.

Mitev supplied a teasing ball from a corner and defender Ferdinando Apap rose above a host of Tarxien defenders before planting the ball home.

At the other end, Bueno ran clean through following poor Mosta defending but a decisive Bryan Agius tackled halted the Brazilian’s dangerous run.

On the hour mark, Justin Grioli made headway down the right but while his cross-cum-shot beat Haber it cannoned off the bar.

Tarxien seized the initiative again and on 68 minutes, Andrezinho zipped open the Mosta defence with a splitting pass to the unmarked Roderick Bajada who beat Haber hands down.

The modus operandi was the same a few minutes later as another good move by Tarxien saw Bueno breaking clear through the middle before guiding a through-pass to the advancing Leandro Almeida but Haber produced a brilliant one-handed save to keep his team in the match.

Haber was again on the right spot to deny Andrezinho but seven minutes from time it was all over as Tanti roared down the right flank before dragging a cross into the path of Bueno who tapped the ball behind Haber after his first shot was half-parried by the keeper.

Mosta: J. Haber-6.5, F. Apap-6, T. Farrugia-5, B. Agius-5, M. Micallef-5, R. Grech-5 (56 A. Farrugia-5), J. Bajada-5, D. Mitev-6.5, A. Cini (14 G. Sammut-5), C. Campagnoli-5 (85 S. Schembri), D. Maia Dos Santos-4.5.

Tarxien Rainbows: N. Vella-6, J. Grioli-6.5 (90 C. Mamo), R. Bajada-7, Leandro-6, Andrezinho-7.5, R. Sammut-6, M. Tanti-6 (86 D. Fenech), D.M. Bueno-8 (90 Lopes Silva), B. Timotic-5.5, O. Anonam-6, S. Bonnici-6.

Referee Fyodor Zammit.

Yellow Cards Campagnoli; Grioli; Maia Dos Santos.

Bov Player Of The Match Daniel Mariano Bueno (Tarxien).

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