Valletta 4
Effiong 15, 40; Barbosa 71; Denni 90;
Tarxien Rainbows 2
Bueno 18; Everton 84;
Valletta kicked off their title defence in impressive style last night as they saw off the bold challenge of Tarxien Rainbows in an entertaining encounter.
It was an efficient performance from the Malta champions who fully exploited Tarxien’s frailties at the back with their striking tandem of Alfred Effiong and Denni dos Santos continuously tormenting their opponents’ rearguard with their speedy incursions.
Effiong was a perfect replacement for the injured Michael Mifsud as the Nigerian forward made the most of some hesitant defending from Tarxien to hit a first-half double that put the champions on their way to victory before William Barbosa and Denni scored the goals that spelt finis to Tarxien’s resistance.
The Rainbows have only themselves to blame for this upset as after drawing level on one-all, courtesy of a Daniel Mariano Bueno gem of a goal, they somewhat manage to keep the pace with the Citizens but in the end some casual defending cost them dearly and as a consequence they left Ta’ Qali empty-handed.
Valletta coach Jesmond Zerafa was forced to do without illustrious striker Mifsud who was out with hamstring trouble. Brazilian defender Ramon is still recovering from a groin injury while skipper Gilbert Agius was not in the 18-man squad.
On the plus side, the Citizens welcomed back Jamie Pace after a three-game ban as Denni recovered from a knock suffered in last week’s Super Cup.
Noel Coleiro, the Tarxien coach, gave a debut to newcomer Rodrigo.
He teamed up with fellow Brazilians Bueno, Ricardo and Everton, all three retained from last season. Stefan Giglio, Carl Sammut and Adrian Carabott were the other new faces in Tarxien’s formation as the Blues had to do without suspended defender Ryan Mintoff.
Valletta were soon on the offensive and after only four minutes Denni breezed past two opponents before letting loose a fierce drive that flew wide.
Two minutes later the Citizens threatened again when William Barbosa unleashed a powerful drive that was parried away by Tarxien goalkeeper David Cassar.
Tarxien tried to hit back and on 14 minutes Justin Grioli picked Ricardo inside the area but the South American fired over with only keeper Andrew Hogg to beat.
The stalemate was broken on 15 minutes. Ian Azzopardi sent a perfect ball towards Denni who lost balance but in came Effiong who anticipated Cassar before depositing the ball inside an empty net.
City’s joy was short-lived though as three minutes later Tarxien drew level with a splendid Bueno goal. He won possession just outside the area and unleashed a powerful drive that flew into the top corner of the City net.
The Rainbows almost struck again on 21 minutes when Carabott was played into the Valletta area but was blocked by the alert Hogg. From the rebound, Rodrigo saw his effort cleared off the line by Steve Borg.
The next attempt on goal arrived on 32 minutes. This time, Cassar was forced into an acrobatic save to tip over Pace’s shot from the distance.
Seven minutes from the break Effiong did well to whiz past two defenders before serving Barbosa whose inswinger flashed past the upright with Cassar beaten.
Five minutes from the break Valletta regained the lead.
Azzopardi did well to intercept a poor clearance from Tarxien. The Valletta wing-back was quick to transfer the ball towards Effiong who in no time placed his shot beyond the Tarxien keeper’s reach.
Two minutes later, Fenech almost made it 3-1 but hit badly after running clear past two Tarxien defenders. At the other end, Hogg had to dive to his right to keep out Ricardo’s volley from close in.
During the break, Coleiro withdrew Giglio and roped in Manuel Caruana in a bid to shore up his backline and try and contain the quick forays of Effiong and Denni.
The Tarxien set-up looked more balanced and they came close to an equaliser when in a quick raid Carabott laid the ball towards the sprinting Bueno but his rising shot flew over.
On the hour, Rodrigo made way for Roberto Fagundes Saraiva as Tarxien made it clear they were not going to throw in the towel.
The match, however, lost much of the entertaining fare that had characterised the opening 45 minutes as scoring chances were now coming at a premium.
However, it was Valletta who scored again on 71 minutes when Barbosa headed the ball past Cassar from an inviting Effiong service.
The Citizens tried to slow things down now but six minutes from time, Tarxien pulled a goal back, Everton hitting superbly home from a free-kick.
However, it was Valletta who had the final say as, with Tarxien pushing forward for an equaliser, they struck the killer goal.
Effiong sped inside the opponents’ half before releasing the quick-thinking Denni who sped through impeded before hammering in past Cassar.
Valletta
A. Hogg-6, J. Caruana-6.5, S. Borg-6.5, I. Azzopardi-7, A. Effiong-8, R. Briffa-6.5, J. Pace-6, E. Agius-6, R. Fenech-6 (72 D. Falzon), Denni dos Santos-7.5 (90 O. Zongo), W. Barbosa-6.5.
Tarxien Rainbows
D. Cassar-5, C. Sammut-5, Everton-6, S. Giglio-5 (46 M. Caruana-6), A. Carabott-6.5, Ricardo-5.5 (74 C. Garcia Suguino), Rodrigo-6 (60 R. Fagundes Saraiva-5), D. Bueno-6.5, O. Anonam-6, L. Galea-6, J. Grioli-5.
Referee: Glenn Tonna.
Yellow cards: Bueno, Fagundes Saraiva, Grioli, Barbosa, Everton, Denni.
BOV Player of the match: Alfred Effiong (Valletta).
Attendances: 2,130.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Marsaxlokk | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Hamrun | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Valletta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Floriana | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Birkirkara | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Sliema | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Hibernians | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Tarxien | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Qormi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mqabba | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mosta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Balzan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |