Valletta 4
Elford-Alliyu 2, 41, 60 pen; Nafti 45;
Floriana 1
Plut 77;

This was men against boys.

A potentially tricky derby against a Floriana side buoyed by back-to-back wins over Sliema Wanderers turned into a stroll for Valletta.

Their experience and attacking flair proved too much for this young Floriana team whose hopes of breaking their derby jinx fizzled out inside the opening 45 minutes, the time it took the champions to surge into a 3-0 lead.

Floriana coach Giovanni Tedesco had tried to outsmart Ivan Zammit by switching to a three-cum-five-man defence but with Valletta’s coruscating trio of Lateef Elford-Elliyu, Hamza Barry and Abdelkarim Nafti pouring forward with gusto, well supported from midfield, the Italian’s experiment failed as the Greens were often caught out on the wings, especially on the right.

The ease with which Valletta were tearing the Floriana defence apart induced Tedesco to revert to four at the back but two goals in the last five minutes of the first half ended the match as a contest.

Coming after a 6-0 thrashing of Tarxien Rainbows, Valletta’s outstanding display yesterday added weight to suggestions that the champions are back to their best after a dismal start to the season.

Rejuvenated by the arrival of Ivan Zammit who has now taken a leading role after being brought in to give a helping hand to Gilbert Agius, Valletta made it six wins on the run yesterday to ensure that they go into their crunch match against leaders Hibs next weekend in confident mood.

Much had been of Valletta’s failure to get the best out of their foreigners in the early weeks of the season but those who stayed on from last season are now proving their worth.

Only three started yesterday’s game but they contributed immensely to this win as Elford-Alliyu struck a hat-trick and Nafti was also among the scorers.

But it is the return of Barry that could well prove the turning point for the champions as the Gambian, whose move to Tunisian side Esperance failed to materialise, has been in terrific form since rejoining Valletta.

Barry didn’t get his name on the scoresheet but it says all about his dynamic performance that he clinched the journalists’ vote as the game’s best player.

Roderick Briffa, Nafti and Ian Azzopardi were restored to Valletta’s initial formation after being rested for the routine FA Trophy win over Birżebbuġa St Peter’s in midweek.

Valletta’s imperious showing in the 6-0 demolition of Tarxien Rainbows ensured that coach Zammit stuck with 4-3-3 with Nafti and Barry supporting Elford-Alliyu, the central cog in Valletta’s forward line.

Tedesco, the Floriana coach, also sent out his strongest formation with Gary Muir and Steve Bonnici returning to the fray.

The Italian tweaked his tactical approach, switching to 3-5-1-1 with Matteo Piciollo dropping behind Vito Plut and Muir and Brooke Farrugia on the flanks.

There was no place for Senegalese winger Amadou Samb in the Greens’ team.

Valletta took only two minutes to seize the lead. Shaun Bajada was the provider as his left-wing cross soared into the box and Elford-Alliyu steered the ball into the net.

Nafti’s long-range drive was marginally off target as the champions continued to fashion the better chances.

The exchanges became more balanced as the minutes ticked away but Valletta clearly possessed more attacking ammunition than the battling Greens.

Danger loomed for Floriana when Valletta broke on the counter on 25 minutes. Bajada, playing wide on the left of midfield, charged forward before serving Nafti inside the box but the Tunisian miscued his first-time effort.

For all their fighting spirit, Floriana hardly tested Nicky Vella in the opening half-hour as Tedesco’s troops were unable to get more men forward in support of Plut and Piciollo.

They were let off the hook on 31 minutes when Barry, a lively figure on the right wing, cut infield and guided a through-ball to Roderick Briffa.

“Offside” yelled the Floriana faithful but as the assistant referee’s flag stayed down, Briffa sidestepped his marker only to lift his shot over the crossbar with only Tyrone Gauci to beat.

Briffa was high from the distance after Barry, now pushing on the left, again found the Malta midfielder with a perfect pass.

Not before long Tedesco reverted to 4-3-3 as Samb came on for Brazilian defender Douglas eight minutes from half-time.

The sight of the Italian gesticulating inside the technical area reflected his frustration at Floriana’s inability to hold the ball.

Their predicament deepened five minutes later as Nafti’s corner from the left flew over a sea of players and towards the far post where Elford-Alliyu poked the ball home.

With Floriana looking shell-shocked, Valletta went for the jugular. They scored a third just before half-time, Barry again playing a key role as his marauding run on the right opened up the Floriana defence and his low cross was turned in by Nafti.

Conor Borg replaced the ineffective Farrugia at the start of the second half.

Nine minutes into the second half, Floriana finally presented themselves in the Valletta box as Steve Pisani’s set-piece cross landed at the feet of Rodrigo Aguiar who put the ball into the goalmouth as Bonnici stooped to produce an overhead volley that was tipped away by Vella.

Piciollo was wide from the distance but on the hour, Valletta went 4-0 up. Another powerful run by Barry unsettled the Floriana defence as the ball was diverted to Bajada whose piledriver came off Clyde Borg’s arm. Referee Philip Farrugia pointed to the spot and Elford-Alliyu drilled his shot net to complete his hat-trick.

With the joyous City fans urging their players to push for more goals, Valletta persisted with their attacking approach.

They would have scored their fifth but for a fine intervention by Floriana goalkeeper Gauci who dashed out to ward off Barry’s shot after the Gambian had received from Briffa.

At the other end, Floriana created a good move as Pisani advanced through the middle before switching the ball to Piciollo whose menacing cross was met by Samb who volleyed over.

Muir was narrowly with a curling free-kick but Floriana pulled one back 13 minutes from time.

Valletta were still adjusting at the back after Raphael Kooh Sohna replaced defender Jonathan Caruana when Clyde Borg directed an excellent through-ball to Plut who chipped the ball over Vella.

With the game having long been won and lost, the Greens tried to restore some lost pride but Valletta held firm.

Late on, Fenech unleashed a ferocious free-kick that whistled past the far post.

Valletta
N. Vella-6, J, Caruana-6.5 (76 R. Kooh Sohna), I. Azzopardi-7, S. Borg-6.5 (56 L. Dimech-6), R. Camilleri-6.5, R. Fenech-7, R. Briffa-7, L. Elford-Alliyu-8.5, H. Barry-8.5, S. Bajada-6.5, A. Nafti-7 (61 H. Faria-6).

Floriana
T. Gauci-4, R. Aguiar-4, Douglas-5 (36 A. Samb-5), S. Pisani-5, Clyde Borg-5.5, V. Plut-6, M. Piciollo-6, E. Briffa-5.5, B. Farrugia-4 (46 Conor Borg-5.5), G. Muir-5, S. Bonnici-5.

Referee: Philip Farrugia.

Yellow cards: Piciollo; Caruana; C. Borg; Samb.

BOV player of the match: Hamza Barry (Valletta).

Attendance: 1,760.

Standings

  P W D L F A Pts
Hibernians 14 13 1 0 45 7 40
Valletta 14 9 1 4 34 8 28
Birkirkara 13 8 0 5 24 15 24
Mosta 13 6 1 6 14 26 19
Balzan 13 4 5 4 17 20 17
Floriana 14 4 5 5 20 29 17
Sliema W.  14 4 4 6 13 17 16
Qormi 13 4 4 5 14 20 16
Naxxar L. 13 3 5 5 17 19 14
Tarxien R. 13 2 6 5 14 22 12
Pietà H. 13 3 3 7 12 23 12
Żebbuġ R.  13 0 5 8 14 32 5

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