Naxxar Lions 0
Tarxien Rainbows 1
Aboulezz 35;
Firas Aboulezz marked his return to the Tarxien Rainbows fold by scoring the all-important goal which gave the Premier League strugglers victory over Naxxar Lions.
It was a timely boost for Clive Mizzi’s men who came into the match on the back of a poor run of results that saw the team slip into the relegation zone after eight matches without a victory.
Last week’s defeat to bottom-placed Żebbuġ Rangers had piled the pressure on the Rainbows but yesterday they produced a more committed performance, weathering Naxxar’s storm after the interval to bag three priceless points.
Mizzi had defender Owen Bugeja and midfielder Aboulezz making a comeback from injuries.
Ryan Sammut and Jorge were included among the substitutes while Alex Cini was preferred to Matthew Tabone.
Naxxar coach Jesmond Zerafa opted for two changes in his starting formation as David Reano and Pape Gueye were included at the expense of Uzeh Edafe and Uchenna Emenike.
Tarxien dominated the early exchanges but despite a higher percentage of possession, they only had an Aboulezz effort, saved by goalkeeper Julian Azzopardi, to show.
On 21 minutes, the Rainbows were awarded a free-kick in a central position but Triston Caruana’s effort flew over.
The best chance at that juncture fell to Naxxar on 25 minutes.
Gueye sped behind the Tarxien defence and sent a low cross towards Terence Vella who saw his effort cleared off the line by the alert Cini.
At the other end, Clebinho’s curling drive flew just past the Lions’ upright.
The stalemate was broken on 35 minutes when Aboulezz outmuscled Edet before firing a firm grounder that had the better of Azzopardi.
Naxxar looked stunned.
Their response came four minutes from the break when, from a free-kick, Gilmar’s stinging drive was high.
Gueye then pounced on some hesitant defending by Bugeja but fired wide under pressure from goalkeeper Sean Mintoff.
Zerafa was clearly unhappy with his team as he withdrew Reano and Vella and roped in Emenike and Mattia Del Negro at the half-time break.
Emenike was soon in action as he sprinted past Cini before picking out Daren Falzon but the Naxxar striker headed over.
Two minutes later, Tarxien keeper Mintoff somehow kept out Gilmar’s free-kick and from the rebound, Falzon’s grounder came off the post.
Naxxar kept up the pressure. Angus Buhagiar connected with Gilmar’s corner but his header was blocked by the Tarxien keeper.
On 65 minutes, Emenike dashed into the opponents’ penalty area but was blocked by the onrushing Mintoff who cleared the danger.
With the match entering the final 15 minutes, the tension grew for the Lions who were now relying mostly on long balls towards Gueye and Emenike.
However, the end-product was poor as the Tarxien defence was holding firm.
Eight minutes from time, Edet found space in the Tarxien half but his effort was repelled by Mintoff as the Rainbows held out for a crucial victory.
Naxxar Lions
J. Azzopardi-6, A. Scicluna-6, I. Edet-6, T. Vella-5 (46 M. Del Negro-5), P. Gueye-5.5, D. Falzon-6, Gilmar-6.5, R. Cassar-4.5, P. Doffo-5, A. Buhagiar-5.5, D. Reano-5 (46 U. Emenike-6).
Tarxien Rainbows
S. Mintoff-7, K. Farrugia-6, M. Caruana-6 (87 M. Tabone), O. Bugeja-6.5, Alvaro-6 (82 R. Sammut), Clebinho-6, T. Caruana-6, F. Aboulezz-6.5 (90 L. Aquilina), C. Hevia-7.5, A. Cini-6, A. Lopes Pereira-6.
Referee: Chris Lautier.
Yellow cards: Doffo; Farrugia; Hevia; Aboulezz; Buhagiar; Mintoff.
BOV player of the match: Carlos Hevia (Tarxien Rainbows).