Action from the Qormi-Valletta match. Photo: Ian Pace

Qormi 0
Valletta 1
Nafti 90;

Football can deal cruel blows to the bravest of sides.

It certainly did so to Qormi last night as they were hit by a stroke of bad luck that saw them leave the stadium empty-handed despite a gallant display against Valletta.

Qormi closed all gaps to their goal and also created a few scoring opportunities.

In the end, it was only City keeper Pietro Marino who prevented Qormi from a shock victory before the talented Abdel-karim Nafti spared his team’s blushes with a last-gasp goal to earn Valletta a hard-fought victory.

City coach Mark Miller made only one change, defender Jonathan Caruana taking the place of Yessous Camilleri. New signing Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza was introduced as a late substitute.

Qormi had midfielder Triston Caruana and Emerson Vella in coach Tommaso Volpi’s initial formation but the returning Jorginho started on the bench.

A cohesive Valletta move opened up the Qormi defence on 10 minutes.

Hamza Barry laid the ball to the advancing Nafti who came in flying to volley goalwards but the shot cannoned off Matthew Farrugia’s hands, onto the bar and away to safety.

In Qormi’s first telling foray inside Valletta’s half, Alfred Effiong exploited acres of open space on the right flank, before releasing Roderick Bajada who did well to break free but his efforts were twice blocked in quick succession first by Barry and then by Jason Vandelannoite.

Bajada was at the core of most of Qormi’s moves, proving himself as an influential player in an advanced roaming role.

The rhythm largely subdued as Valletta struggled to make an impact and rarely troubled the Qormi defence.

In fact, they had to wait until the 43rd minute before they recorded a genuine attempt but Roderick Sammut bravely dispossessed the goalbound Roderick Briffa with a timely tackle.

Volpi, sensing that Valletta were having problems to click into their usual fluent game, introduced Brazilian striker Jorginho at the start of the second half as he tweaked his side to deploy a three-pronged attack.

Jorginho took just five minutes to dispel any doubts about his form and fitness after an absence of a year from the local scene. However, his chip over the stranded Marino crashed against the post.

Valletta not only lacked their usual flair, they also looked devoid of fighting spirit yesterday. They were only dangerous on set-pieces, mainly through the dynamic Nafti.

The Citizens’ toils triggered a barrage of whistles from their erstwhile subdued fans and Miller responded with Zammit and Barry making way for Mifsud Triganza and Romulo respectively.

Yet Qormi continued to show the better fare and five minutes from time, Jorginho’s cross sailed towards the unmarked Effiong whose close-range header was brilliantly kept out by Marino.

A few moments later, after another strong overlap, Innocenti set up Effiong who came face-to-face with Marino only to be thwarted by the agile Italian custodian.

With the game destined for a draw, Nafti then sprinted into the Qormi box, slipped past substitute Jonathan Bondin and summoned an audacious chip that soared beyond Farrugia’s reach and into the far corner of the net.

It was heart-breaking for Qormi. They did not have enough time to recover.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, A. Effiong-6, R. Sammut-7, R. Bajada-7, T. Caruana-7, G. Nucera-5 (46 Jorginho-6), E. Vella-5.5 (57 J. Bondin-4), O. Bugeja-7.5, D. Pisani-7, R. Innocenti-7, F. D’Aniello-5 (71 L. Del Giudice).

Valletta
P. Marino-7.5, J. Caruana-5, R. Fenech-5, I. Zammit-5 (64 J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5), R. Briffa-5, H. Barry-5 (64 Romulo-5), A. Corr Nyang-5 (80 E. Agius), D. Falzon-5, J. Vandelannoite-6, A. Nafti-7.5, L. Dimech-5.

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: D’Aniello, Effiong.

BOV player of the match: Owen Bugeja (Qormi).