Pietà Hotspurs 2
Grech 11; Frances 44;
Balzan 1
Arab 9;
A week after earning a famous victory over Valletta, Balzan fell at their first hurdle after going down to lowly Pietà yesterday.
The onus was on Balzan to see off the Hotspurs and keep their Europa League bid on track. Victory was deemed a straightforward task for Oliver Spiteri and his men but, like their opponents, Balzan have been somewhat unpredictable this season.
Inspired by keeper Miguel Montfort, Pietà sprung a surprise as they came back from a goal down to collect an important victory that will significantly boost their bid to maintain their status at the end of the season.
Balzan will feel aggrieved to have finished on the losing end after dominating the second half but Spiteri’s men were ultimately undone by their failure to break down stubborn opponents as well a glaring mistake by goalkeeper Christian Cassar which led to Pietà’s equaliser.
Spiteri had to re-invent his forward line as Bojan Kaljevic and Gianmarco Piccioni were both serving a one-match ban.
Leading Balzan’s attack was Ryan Darmanin who positioned himself in front of a midfield quartet composed of Dylan Grima, Edison Zarate Bilbao, Lydon Micallef and Oscar Guerrero.
Noel Coleiro, the Pietà coach, preferred the experienced Ricardo Costa to fellow Brazilian Gabriel. He tweaked his approach, going with a 4-2-3-1 with Charles Newuche in front Claudio Frances and Luke Micallef.
Before the game, Terence Agius presented a bouquet of flowers to Pietà president Joe Sammut as a mark of gratitude to the club where the midfielder grew up at before joining Balzan last month.
Balzan made the brighter start.
Inside the first four minutes Guerrero curled a corner into the box and Elkin Serrano Valero rose above friend and foe but his header was punched away by the alert Montfort.
Spiteri’s troops moved in front thanks to a gem of a goal on nine minutes.
Micallef was the provider, his delivery from a free-kick reaching Samir Arab who struck a swerving shot from the narrowest of angles.
The Hotspurs were back on level terms within the space of two minutes. Rafael whipped a curling free-kick from the right, Balzan custodian Cassar flapped at the ball and Christian Grech was on hand to score.
Balzan’s industry at the outset gave them an edge but Pietà’s solid defending denied them all the time.
A minute from half-time, the Hotspurs conjured a fine passing move to open up the Balzan defence. Arab lost possession cheaply and Orosco Anonam served Frances who arrowed a shot that bent away from Cassar’s despairing dive.
Micallef’s direct running was focal for Balzan soon after the change of ends, his team now relying on swift fast-breaks as they laboured to counter Pietà’s pace.
Shy of the hour mark, Zarate ran unimpeded towards the box before squaring to the unmarked Darmanin who hit a fierce shot but his drive was stopped by Montfort.
At this point, Spiteri withdrew Agius and Grima in favour of Ice-Cream Guobadia and Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza.
Five minutes later, Balzan thought they had gained an equaliser when Mifsud Triganza swivelled inside the box before crossing for Guerrero who struck the ball on the turn but much to his frustration, his drive was smothered by Montfort on to the woodwork.
As the minutes ticked away, Pietà threatened to punish Balzan’s flat-out approach with some devastating counter-attacks. A minute from time, Frances embarked on a mazy run but his curling shot was kept out by Cassar.
Pietà Hotspurs
M. Montfort-7.5, K. Micallef-6, C. Grech-6.5, L. Fortunato-6, J. Pisani-6, O. Anonam-6, L. Micallef-6 (68 D. Agius-5), Rafael-7, C. Newuche-6 (85 K. Cesare), C. Frances-7, Ricardo-5 (65 Gabriel-5).
Balzan
C. Cassar-5, J. Grioli-5, D. Grima-6 (56 J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5), E. Zarate Bilbao-6.5, S. Arab-6 (64 S. Bezzina-5), R. Darmanin-5, O. Guerrero-5.5, C. Brincat-5.5, L. Micallef-6.5, E. Serrano Valero-5.5, T. Agius-5 (56 I. Guobadia-4.5).
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Rafael; Brincat; Anonam.
BOV player of the match: Claudio Frances (Pietà Hotspurs).
Attendance: 702.