Mosta skipper Fabio Vignaroli holds off Shaun Bajada, of Sliema Wanderes . Photo: Matthew MirabelliMosta skipper Fabio Vignaroli holds off Shaun Bajada, of Sliema Wanderes . Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Mosta 0
Sliema Wanderers 1
Woods 69;

Ivan Woods earned Sliema Wanderers a hard-fought victory over Mosta last night, sending Alfonso Greco’s side up to third place, just four points adrift of leaders Birkirkara.

The 36-year-old forward’s opportunistic strike midway through the second half proved enough to sink the bottom club in the Championship Pool after Mosta goalkeeper Jeffrey Farrugia had threatened to frustrate the Wanderers.

Farrugia produced a string of excellent saves both before and after Woods had netted his 11th goal for Sliema this season.

Paltemio Barbetti, Matias Muchardi, Luigi Ruggiero and Ian Zammit were all denied by the former Dingli goalkeeper but Sliema still managed to return to winning ways to pull clear of Tarxien Rainbows ahead of Saturday’s big match against leaders Birkirkara.

As was to be expected, Greco fielded the same formation that started the 0-0 draw against Tarxien Rainbows. The tacitcal strategy was also the same as the Sliema coach stuck with 4-3-3, with Woods taking up the central position up front.

On the back of Mosta’s positive performance in their 3-1 defeat against Hibs, many probably presumed that Danilo Doncic would do the same and retain the same starting formation but he elected to make three changes.

Kurt Magro back from suspension, Alex Cini and Carlos Campagnoli were awarded first-team recalls with Kurt Zammit and Jonathan Bajada having to do with a place on the bench.

The two central midfield roles in Mosta’s 4-4-1-1 formation were assigned to skipper Fabio Vignaroli and Campagnoli.

An intelligent run by Zammit carved an opening for Sliema inside the first two minutes before he delivered a low cross towards the advancing Woods but the latter’s flick was smothered away by Farrugia, the Mosta keeper.

Yet the opening 20 minutes were devoid of goalmouth action as Mosta repelled all Sliema’s efforts.

On 34 minutes the Hibs Stadium was hit by a power failure that forced referee Alan Mario Sant to interrupt the match due to inadequate lighting. The match resumed after nine minutes when the level of light at the stadium increased partially after the Ground Management turned on some reflectors located on the stands.

Given that their opponents were lacking bite up front, Greco allowed skipper Alex Muscat to push on extremely high up the pitch in a re-designed 3-3-4.

The Whites were now roaring forward with renewed vigour with Muscat and Bajada at the heart of their attacking moves. The two combined beautifully on the left to create an opening for the defender whose well-struck shot brought a smart save from Farrugia.

Muscat’s movement was causing Mosta problems. On another occasion Muscat guided a through-pass to Woods who created space for a shot inside the box but Farrugia blocked it.

Four minutes from the start of the second half Clifford Gatt Baldacchino’s cross from the distance slid through a thicket of players but Bajada, positioned at the far post, miscued his shot.

On 56 minutes, Muscat surged into the box but instead of lifting the ball over the advancing Farrugia, the Malta defender shot straight into the hands of the Mosta custodian.

Farrugia then charged out to block the goalbound Woods while on the hour he did well to tip over Barbetti’s shot.

A few moments later, Woods swivelled in the middle before hitting a grounder which Farrugia pushed onto the foot of the post.

But Farrugia was finally beaten on 69 minutes when the Wanderers broke the deadlock.

Woods pounced on a rebound from Zammit’s initial effort and threaded his shot past the helpless Farrugia.

Six minutes later, substitute Luigi Ruggiero looked certain to double the score but his piledriver from close range brought a top-drawer save from Farrugia.

Sliema were awarded a penalty in stoppage time when Ferdinando Apap brough down Zammit in the area but from the resultant penalty the former Valletta striker saw his shot saved by Farrugia.

Mosta
J. Farrugia-8, F. Apap-6.5, T. Farrugia-6, B. Agius-6 (73 J. Bajada), M. Micallef-5, D. Mitev-6.5, K. Magro-6, A. Cini-6, C. Campagnoli-6.5 (82 R. Grech), F. Vignaroli-7, B. Chikwado Mbonu-6.

Sliema Wanderers
G. Zammit-6, A. Muscat-6.5, P. Barbetti-6.5, J. Mintoff-6, M. Scerri-7, I. Zammit-6.5, C. Gatt Baldacchino-6, I. Woods-7 ( 87 B. Muscat), S. Bajada-6 (59 L. Ruggiero-5), M. Muchardi-6 (68 S. Ohawuchi-4), S. Bianciardi-6.

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Bajada; Mbonu.

Missed penalty: Zammit (S) 90.

BOV player of the match: Jeffrey Farrugia (Mosta).

  P W D L F A Pts
Birkirkara 27 16 7 4 58 21 34
Hibernians 27 17 3 7 57 30 32
Sliema 27 14 6 7 38 22 30
Valletta 27 14 8 5 58 24 27
Tarxien 27 13 6 8 45 38 26
Mosta 27 11 1 15 41 52 17
Floriana 27 9 10 8 38 36 25
Qormi 27 11 4 12 43 44 22
Balzan 27 8 9 10 42 45 20
Rabat 27 3 9 15 25 52 13
Ħamrun 27 5 5 17 29 69 12
Melita 27 3 8 16 23 64 10

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