Naxxar Lions 2
Buhagiar 73; Scerri 79;
Tarxien Rainbows 0
Naxxar Lions put their Championship Pool aspirations back on track after scoring two late goals to see off ten-man Tarxien Rainbows yesterday.
The final scoreline, however, does not give a fair picture of this match as for most of the time it was the Rainbows who had more possession and created changes.
However, Josef Mifsud’s second-half dismissal proved decisive as Tarxien struggled to cope with a player less and the Lions struck twice in quick succession to seal a priceless victory.
This was Tarxien’s third successive defeat and leaves them with a lot of work to do to avoid the Rele-gation Pool as they remain third bottom, six points adrift of the sixth-placed team.
Coach Clive Mizzi retained Anthony Curmi in goal as Mifsud and Miguel Ciantar were both handed a starting berth.
Winston Muscat, the Naxxar coach, was boosted with the return of defensive midfielder Pablo Doffo.
The Argentine was positioned at the heart of defence in the absence of Thiago who was serving a one-match ban.
Andrew Decesare was recalled to fill the void left by Mattia Del Negro who was not included in the Lions’ 18-man squad.
Ousseni Zongo was not fit enough to retain his place upfront so he was replaced by Terrence Scerri.
The opening stages were rather scrappy but the Lions had their best chance after ten minutes when Evaldo’s defence-splitting pass released Gilmar only for the Brazilian striker’s shot to lack power and precision.
The Rainbows tried to hit back but they rarely tested Julian Azzo-pardi in the Naxxar goal.
Mizzi was forced to make his first substitution after 26 minutes when Ryan Sammut suffered an injury and was replaced by Steve Bonnici.
Nine minutes from the break, Everton picked Martinelli on the right and the Tarxien winger was quick to square the ball towards Santos Silva whose shot was blocked by Azzopardi.
On 44 minutes, Naxxar had a good opportunity to open the score when Scerri’s chipped pass put Jerry Ani through but he lobbed the ball over.
The Rainbows looked more determined on the restart. Everton delivered a pass towards Santos Silva who hit an angled drive that was stopped by Azzopardi.
At the other end, Scerri almost struck after picking his spot to reach Gilmar’s delivery but his flick went just wide.
Tarxien suffered a blow on 64 minutes when Mifsud was dismissed for a second booking.
The Rainbows still remained the more dangerous side and four minutes later Ronaille played in Santos Silva but the Brazilian fired wide. A minute later Azzopardi had to be alert to stop Ronaille’s drive.
Then, Naxxar were awarded a penalty when Carlo Mamo was judged to have fouled Rocha Da Silva in the box.
Mizzi, the Tarxien coach, protested vehemently for the decision and was dismissed. From the spot Rocha Da Silva saw his shot pushed away by Curmi.
However, Tarxien’s reprieve was short-lived as from the corner, Angus Buhagiar was first to Doffo’s cross to plant a header past Curmi.
Tarxien lost their plot and the Lions sealed the points with a Scerri goal. He stabbed home after a perfect ball from Victor Bellia.
Naxxar Lions
J. Azzopardi-6.5, J. Ani-5 (89 Y. Martines de Oliveira), V. Bellia-6.5, A. Buhagiar-6.5, R. Cassar-6, Gilmar-6 (84 D. Falzon), A. Decesare-6.5, P. Doffo-7, A. Rocha da Silva-6, T. Scerri-6.5 (79 D. Bonnici), Evaldo-7.
Tarxien Rainbows
A. Curmi-6.5, C. Mamo-5, F. Lopez-6 (79 M. Potezica), L. Martinelli-5, M. Caruana-5.5 (60 C. Hevia-6), Ronaille-6.5, M. Ciantar-5.5, Everton-6.5, R. Sammut (26 S. Bonnici-6), J. Mifsud, J. Santos Silva-6.
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Yellow cards: Mifsud, Rocha da Silva, Martinelli.
Red card: Mifsud (T) 64.
Missed penalty: Rocha Da Silva (N) 72.
BOV Player of the match: Gilmar (Naxxar Lions).