Tarxien Rainbows 1
Lopez Alcantara 5;
Vittoriosa Stars 1
Guerrero 20;
Premier League relegation battlers Tarxien Rainbows and Vittoriosa Stars yesterday locked horns in a keen encounter which ended all square... a result that did little to quell their relegation fears.
Fernando Lopez Alcantara sent Vittoriosa’s morale sinking five minutes into the game but the Stars’ answer came 15 minutes later from a penalty netted by Guerrero.
Both sides were keen to steal an early march on their rivals at the start of the Relegation Pool trek but scoring chances were scarce, mostly in the second period.
Vittoriosa were boosted with the return of winger Gilbert Martin and midfielder Filipe Aguiar, both included in the starting line-up along with newcomer Leonardo Torri, another central midfielder.
Clive Mizzi, the Tarxien coach, must have pondered how to lift his side’s spirits after three defeats in a row during which the Rainbows conceded seven goals.
He reshuffled his pack with Lopes Alcantara, Luca Martinelli, Carlos Hevia and Steven Bonnici drafted into the starting line-up.
Lucas and Andrew Agius missed out on a starting berth as Ryan Sammut was ruled out with suspension.
Tarxien didn’t have to wait long to take the lead.
Jorge directed a short free-kick to Carlo Mamo whose drive was blocked by the rearguard but the ball took a freak bounce to reach Lopes Alcantara and he buried home at the far post.
Bolstered by that early opener, Tarxien took charge of the game as Vittoriosa failed to make a reaction.
On nine minutes, the Tarxien defence wilted again as they failed to deal with Jorge’s corner, Bonnici squared for Daniel Mariano Bueno who flicked the ball goalwards but veteran Mario Muscat tipped the ball over the bar.
Vittoriosa were awarded a penalty on 20 minutes when Lopez Alcantara hauled down Martin in the box and Guerrero drilled his shot past goalkeeper Nicky Vella to make it one-all.
Undeterred, Rainbows remained a sprightly lot and ventured forward in search of the lead.
Making a quick transition from defence to attack, Jorge glided past Clive Brincat but his effort was pushed away by the alert Muscat.
The woodwork then came to Vittoriosa’s rescue as Demba Tourè raced past Brincat before unleashing a rasping drive that ricocheted off the post.
The Stars were the brighter team after the restart and Torri demonstrated his shooting abilities when served by Guerrero. His fierce strike whizzed past the post.
In the 68th minute, Bueno delivered a perfect cross to the unmarked Tourè who headed into Muscat’s hands as the pendulum swayed once more in favour of Tarxien.
Two minutes later, the Stars goalkeeper produced a smart save to fist Jorge’s free-kick over the bar.
At the other end, Martin arched a cross to far post, Vella rushed out to intercept but missed the ball. Pereira headed back into the goalmouth but Guerrero hit a rising shot well out of target from an ideal position.
Tarxien Rainbows
N. Vella-6, C. Mamo-6, M. Caruana-5.5, F. Lopez-6, L.Martinelli-5 (44 M. Ciantar-6), C. Hevia-6, D. Toure-6 (78 Lucas), S. Bonnici-6, D.M. Bueno-6, J. Mifsud-6, Jorge-7.
Vittoriosa Stars
M. Muscat-6, G. Martin-6.5 (90 M. Camilleri), M. Buttigieg-5 (64 C. Spiteri-5), L. Torri-7, C. Brincat-5.5, M. Pereira-6, L. Vella Critien-5.5 (57 C. Sammut-5.5), O. Guerrero-7, F. Aguiar-6, S. Arab-6, S. Ousmane-6.
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Yellow cards: Hevia, Lopez, Martin, Vella Critien, Bueno, Pereira, Brincat.
BOV player of the match: Oscar Guerrero (Vittoriosa Stars).