Sliema Wanderers 4
Woods 6, 12 Pen, Ruggiero 58; Faccini 68;
Melita 0
This must have been quite an emotional occasion for Melita coach Martin Gregory as it was the first time he was facing Sliema Wanderers where he had made a name for himself as a player.
After guiding the Amateurs to their first Premier League win last week, Gregory had his sights set on another satisfactory outing but two early goals shattered his hopes.
The pressure of taking on their illustrious neighbours seemed to take its toll on the Melita players as they defended like novices, especially in the initial stages when Ivan Woods struck twice to effectively end the match as a contest.
A week before at the same venue, Sliema had been a pale shadow of the side that hammered Hibs 4-0 as they went down to Balzan but yesterday, the Blues were adamant not to suffer the same fate.
They received a pre-match boost as goalkeeper Henry Bonello was declared fit to start.
Bonello’s inclusion was one of three changes in the team as Ariel Laudisi replaced Mattias Mucciardi (banned) and Miguel Ciantar was preferred to John Mintoff.
After Luigi Ruggiero shot over the bar, Sliema opened the scoring in their next notable raid on six minutes. Laudisi’s through-ball un-hinged the Melita defence as Woods ran through unimpeded before lifting the ball past Matthew Sapiano.
Melita’s early woes deepened when, 11 minutes into the game, they conceded a penalty after Karl Vella Petroni floored Laudisi in the box. Woods rammed his spot-kick past the diving Sapiano to put Sliema 2-0 up.
The Reds’ defensive weaknesses were further exposed by Ruggiero as the Italian was granted time and space to wriggle his way inside the Melita box but his effort was saved in two attempts by Sapiano.
Paltemio Barbetti hit over after being teed up by Ruggiero as Sliema continued to exploit the glaring gaps inside Melita’s defence.
Eight minutes from half-time, Greco was forced into his first substitution as Woods’s outing was cut short by injury.
Moments later, Greco effected his second substitution as Josef Mifsud replaced Bianciardi.
Despite the double setback, Sliema remained on top.
Laudisi’s free-kick took a deflection but Sapiano did well to push the ball away for a corner. Alex Muscat then headed wide from another Laudisi free-kick.
The hitherto subdued Melita thought they had re-opened the issue when Jose Luis Armaro Negrin, the team’s attacking spearhead, tapped the ball into the net from Julian Galea’s assist but the Spaniard was flagged offside.
When the second half got underway, Melita sought to up their game but their efforts were easily controlled by Sliema.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Sapiano parried Ciantar’s free-kick but the Melita goalkeeper could do nothing to stop Ruggiero’s curling drive as Sliema put the result beyond their opponents.
In a rare attack, Luke Micallef spurned a good opportunity when firing wide after receiving from Nigel Rizzo.
Sliema went up at the other end and scored their fourth.
Receiving from Ruggiero, Alain Faccini, who had just come in for Laudisi, turned past his marker and prodded past Sapiano.
The game was now over.
Six minutes from time, Melita won a penalty after Gatt Baldacchino hauled down Negrin in the box but the latter failed to score from the spot as his shot cannoned off the crossbar.
Ivan Tufegdzic also wasted a glorious chance to score a consolation goal when heading wide from close range.
Sliema Wanderers: H. Bonello-6.5, A. Muscat-6, P. Barbetti-6.5, A. Decesare-6, C. Gatt Baldac-chino-6, I. Woods-7 (37 M. Scerri-6), L. Ruggiero-7.5, A. Laudisi-6.5 (60 A. Faccini-6.5), M. Ciantar-6.5, B. Muscat-6.5, S. Bianciardi-6 (39 J. Mifsud-6).
Melita: M. Sapiano-4, K. Vella Petroni-5, I. Tufegdzic-6, G. Gribbon-5, J. Vukanic-5, M.R. Sierra Camacho-5, L. Micallef-4, J. Luis Armaro Negrin-4, J. Galea-4, L. Sammut-4 (52 M. Valenzia-4), N. Rizzo-5.
Referee Mario Apap.
Missed penalty Armaro Negrin (M) 86.
Yellow cards Vella Petroni; Rizzo; Decesare; Barbetti; Gatt Baldacchino; Ciantar.
BOV player of the match Luigi Ruggiero (Sliema Wanderers).