Rabat Ajax 1
Micallef 6 pen;
Vittoriosa Stars 2
Pereira 31, 42;
Vittoriosa Stars had to summon all their fighting qualities to come from behind and tuck in maximum points against the already-doomed Rabat Ajax, yesterday.
At the end of the day, the Stars must have been relieved to come out unscathed from such a tricky situation. They had all the pressure on them and sought to make it two wins from two following the lifeline gained after lowering Floriana’s colours in their previous match.
Vittoriosa had Malcolm Buttigieg and Francisco Arriagada coming on for suspended duo Filipe Aguiar and Leonardo Torri.
Wayne Borg was dropped from the Rabat starting line-up with Joseph Caruana receiving the nod to man the central midfield area.
The Magpies had an auspicious start and were rewarded with a penalty on six minutes when the returning Ryan Micallef was tripped by Clive Brincat as he tried to turn past the defender inside the box.
The Rabat striker picked himself up to drive the ensuing spot-kick past Mario Muscat, the Vittoriosa goalkeeper.
Ten minutes later, Sorin Oproiescu showed great vision to create another opening for Rabat.
Malcolm Licari, however, lost the challenge for the ball with the onrushing Muscat who halted the Rabat move.
The Stars gradually recovered from that early setback to gain the initiative.
On 21 minutes, Oscar Guerrero’s run troubled the Ajax defence to the point that Ivan Carapic had to slide in to clear off the line. On the half-hour mark, Oscar Guerrero’s well-taken free-kick was met by Brincat at the far post but the former Rabat player could only direct his header against the post.
The Stars continued to dictate matters, their pressure forcing Rabat to give away possession on several occasions.
Vittoriosa’s efforts paid off on 31 minutes when Marcelo Pereira capitalised on a mistake by Rabat’s Pavle Velimirovic, hitting a curling shot from the right flank that squeezed in between the goalkeeper’s arm and the upright.
Guerrero’s marauding runs were a constant threat for the Mapgies.
It was the Colombian striker who started the move that led to his side taking the lead three minutes from break. Pereira latched on to Guerrero’s pass before beating the challenge of Zachary Tanti and plant the ball past Velimirovic.
Buoyed by their first-half lead, Oliver Spiteri’s side opted to sit back after ends were changed but Rabat still afforded them far too much time and space.
Past the hour mark, Rabat generated some momentum when Jonathan Bajada took flight on a solo run on the left but his inswinger was tipped over the bar by Muscat.
Five minutes from time, Vittoriosa substitute Michael Camilleri timed the flight of the ball from Guerrero’s corner to perfection. He rose high but sent his header crashing against the bar.
Rabat Ajax
P. Velimirovic-6, S. Gauci-5.5, D. Azzopardi-5, Z. Tanti-5, I. Carapic-5, J. Caruana-5, D. Carrillo Pendas-6, S. Oproiescu-6 (78 P. Borg), R. Micallef-5.5 (52 A. Azzopardi-4), M. Licari-5.5 (77 C. Vella), J. Bajada-6.
Vittoriosa Stars
M. Muscat-6, C. Spiteri-6, C. Brincat-6, Samir Arab-5.5, M. Pereira-7, O. Guerrero-7.5, O. Sidibe-6, Siraj Arab-6 (61 M. Camilleri-5.), F. Arriagada-6 (83 M. Barbara), M. Buttigieg-6, C. Sammut-5.5 (66 L. Vella Critien-5).
Referee: Philip Farrugia.
Yellow cards: Brincat; Oproiescu; Siraj Arab; Carrillo Pendas; Licari.
BOV player of the match: Marcelo Pereira (Vittoriosa Stars).