Qormi 1
Jorginho 77 pen.;
Valletta 4
Denni 8; Effiong 10, 30, 33;

What looked like a potentially tricky fixture for Valletta unfolded into one of the most one-sided encounters, especially in the opening half, so far this season as the champions unleashed a four-goal blitz inside the first 32 minutes of their clash with Qormi.

Denni’s eight-minute opener sparked Valletta’s early blitz as Qormi pressed the self-destruct button with a bout of wretched defending, not to mention the poor goalkeeping by Steve Sultana.

Renowned for attacking potential, Valletta took full advantage of their opponents’ inept showing with Alfred Effiong taking centre-stage after serving up a quickfire hat-trick to leave his former team-mates dazed.

Qormi did show signs of recovery in the second half but the game had long been won and lost by then as Valletta extended their positive run to open a six-point gap on Hibs who meet Birkirkara this afternoon.

Veteran midfielder Jamie Pace, Ousseni Zongo and Ian Azzopardi, back from suspension, were restored to Valletta’s starting XI as coach Jesmond Zerafa made three changes from the 4-0 win over Ħamrun Spartans.

Brazilian forward William Barbosa was forced out by a one-match ban and captain Gilbert Agius was kept in reserve after his build-up to the game was disrupted by a minor injury. Ryan Fenech also started on the bench for Valletta. Striker Michael Mifsud was absent from the squad as he is still recuperating from injury.

Pace resumed his midfield partnership with Edmond Agius in Valletta’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

Effiong retained his role as the Citizens’ attacking spearhead while Dyson Falzon, who played at left-back against the Spartans, took up a more advanced position on the left wing.

Qormi coach Stephen Azzopardi had to make do without Roderick Sammut, suspended, and injured duo Joseph Farrugia and Abubakar Bello-Osagie but he was boosted by the return of three players. Scottish midfielder Stuart Duff was back after seeing out his one-match ban in the 2-0 loss to Balzan Youths, and Daniel Nwoke and Federico Mirarchi recovered from injuries.

Luke Sciberras was also back under starter’s orders while Jeffrey Chetcuti and Dino Cachia featured among the substitutes.

Mindful of Valletta’s attacking prowess, Azzopardi modified his tactical strategy as Nwoke and Jorginho formed a two-pronged attack with Matthew Bartolo and Joseph Chetcuti seemingly more preoccupied with containing Valletta’s incursions down the wings than to attack themselves.

Valletta were ahead after only eight minutes. A miscued pass by Matthew Bartolo inside Valletta’s half proved costly for Qormi as the Citizens were quick to surge forward on the counter. Denni directed a forward pass to Effiong who raced into the box but his cross found no takers.

Qormi paid the price for their failure to clear the danger as Pace, yesterday wearing the captain’s armband retrieved possession and slipped the ball to Denni who slotted past Steve Sultana. This came after eight minutes.

In next to no time, Valletta doubled their lead, Effiong hitting low past Sultana after the Qormi defenders had again failed to track the Nigerian’s run into the box.

Two-nil down, Qormi had to step up their game to claw their way back into contention. Their hopes of pulling one back rose at the sight of Nwoke galloping towards goal as he latched onto a long pass but Jonathan Caruana timed his tackle to perfection to flick the ball away from the Nigerian.

Nwoke’s jinking movement inside the Valletta box unsettled the white-shirted defenders but out came goalkeeper Andrew Hogg to dispossess the Nigerian.

Referee Chris Lautier incurred the wrath of the Qormi fans after opting to give Zongo a verbal caution for a late challenge on the advancing Mirarchi.

Qormi’s hopes all but disappeared when Valletta extended their lead on the half-hour. Chaos reigned in the Qormi defence as Denni was allowed time and space to put in a cross and Effiong headed past the hesitant Sultana.

Effiong completed his hat-trick two minutes later, firing home from close in after Qormi had partially cleared Briffa’s cross-shot.

Four goals in arrears after just 33 minutes, Qormi looked dead and buried.

Jorginho tried to shake his team with a long-range grounder that was blocked by Hogg. Mirarchi also attempted to surprise Hogg with a shot from the distance but his effort rolled wide.

With Qormi clearly labouring to pose a semblance of attacking threat, Valletta seemed content to sit back and administer their four-goal cushion, prompting their fans to shout ‘we want more’.

After Lautier had sounded the half-time whistle, Qormi coach Azzopardi spent several minutes in front of a pitchside television, presumably to watch replays of the four soft goals conceded by his team.

Azzopardi responded by hauling off goalkeeper Sultana and defender Stephen Wellman who were replaced by Matthew Farrugia and Jeffrey Chetcuti respectively.

Early in the second half, Falzon curled his free-kick beyond Qormi’s defensive wall but the ball finished marginally wide.

At the other end, Nwoke gave the illusion of goal as his diagonal volley flashed against the side-netting. An intelligent pass from Duff procured an opening for Qormi as Jorginho forced his way into the box but back came Roderick Briffa to block the Brazilian.

Qormi pressed forward in search of a goal that would, maybe, revive their flailing hopes. They protested for a penalty when Jorginho, cutting in from the right, tumbled to the ground after coming in contact with Steve Borg but Lautier saw nothing wrong.

Caruana then took the sting of Jorginho’s shot as Qormi seemed to have remembered that, to create chances, they had to pass better, run more and pump more balls into the box.

With 14 minutes remaining, Qormi gained a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty after Agius was deemed to have stuck out a hand to block Jorginho’s free-kick. Jorginho drilled his shot past Hogg to narrow Qormi’s deficit.

Nine minutes from time, goalkeeper Matthew Towns made his first City appearance as he came on for Hogg.

As the heavens opened, Fenech, who had replaced Zongo, arrowed a long-range drive that ended wide.

Jorginho, a revitalised performer for Qormi in the second period, was prominent with a neat turn and shot but Towns saved.

Qormi
S. Sultana-4 (46 M. Farrugia-5), M. Bartolo-5.5, Joseph Chetcuti-4, L. Sciberras-6, K. Scicluna-5, F. Mirarchi-5, J. Bondin-5, Jorginho-6.5, S. Duff-5, S. Wellman-4 (46 Jeffrey Chetcuti-6), D. Nwoke-5 (73 G. Buttigieg)

Valletta
A. Hogg-6 (81 M. Towns), J. Caruana-7.5, S. Borg-6.5, I. Azzopardi-6 (85 Ramon), A. Effiong-7.5, R. Briffa-7, J. Pace-6.5, E. Agius-7, D. Falzon-6.5, Denni-6.5, O. Zongo-6 (79 R. Fenech).

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Yellow cards: Zongo; Agius; Borg.

BOV player of the match: Alfred Effiong (Valletta).

Attendance: 1,862.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Valletta	14	12	1	1	36	11	37
Hibernians	13	9	4	0	30	9	31
Floriana	14	8	3	3	19	11	27
Birkirkara	13	6	2	5	21	16	20
Sliema	14	4	8	2	23	19	20
Qormi	14	6	2	6	25	25	20
Balzan Youths	14	5	2	7	17	21	17
Ħamrun	14	4	2	8	19	30	14
Mqabba	13	3	3	7	16	24	12
Marsaxlokk	13	3	2	8	20	29	11
Mosta	14	2	4	8	12	26	10
Tarxien	14	3	1	10	17	34	10