Balzan 1
Negrin 33;
Birkirkara 3
Haruna 50; Fenech 54; Camenzuli 90;
Birkirkara’s relief at the final whistle was palpable.
Still hurting from their unexpected exit from the U*Bet FA Trophy, this was a game Birkirkara had to win not only to consolidate top spot but, more importantly, to keep talk of a potential crisis at bay as their optimism had clearly been jolted by their Cup upset to Qormi.
When Jose Luis Armario Negrin lobbed the well-drilled Balzan into a 33rd-minute lead, the level of scrutiny and pressure on the champions rose by several notches.
Their tame display in the first half had done little to lift the spirits of the players and the agitated fans but the tone of the game changed completely after the interval.
Paul Zammit’s half-time talk and a minor positional switch aimed at giving Shola Shodiya Haruna more space and time on the ball worked wonders as Birkirkara played like champions with the Nigerian shining in this comeback win after scoring a fantastic equaliser, a pulverising drive from the distance.
Balzan fought bravely and did threaten occasionally on the counter but they were overwhelmed by Birkirkara’s relentless pressure in the second half.
Zammit’s starting XI showed one change from the 3-1 FA Trophy defeat to Qormi with Zach Muscat replacing Frank Temile who was left out of the 18-man squad.
With Muscat deployed on the right of Birkirkara’s three-man defence, Edward Herrera was afforded more freedom to drive forward on the flank with Joseph Zerafa patrolling the left wing. Zammit’s tactical gameplan was 3-5-2 with Haruna and Jhonnattann in attack.
Balzan’s hopes were boosted by the return of Steve Bezzina, Andrew Scicluna and Italian midfielder Fabio Vignaroli who missed the 1-0 league defeat to Valletta.
Negrin took up his usual duties as Balzan’s striker with Lydon Micallef, Pedrinho and Dylan Grima the three advanced midfielders in Jesmond Zerafa’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Birkirkara shaded the early exchanges. Ten minutes into the game, Zerafa squared to Haruna whose drive was repelled by Ramon.
The Brazilian defender was prominent at the other end of the pitch as his looping header, from Pedrinho’s free-kick, was pawed away by Justin Haber, the Birkirkara goalkeeper.
Birkirkara enjoyed the upperhand but Balzan were compact at the back.
With Balzan crowding the central areas, Zammit’s men tried to get the ball in the wide positions but they seemed to lack the belief and conviction to take on players while their final pass was often erratic.
Their fragile confidence was evident when, three minutes past the half-hour, Vignaroli dispossessed the dithering Ryan Scicluna near the halfway line and promptly played the ball through to Negrin. As the assistant referee’s flag stayed down, Negrin raced towards goal before dinking the ball over Haber to give Balzan the lead.
Stung by Balzan’s opener, Birkirkara fashioned a promising attack as Jhonnattann drifted infield from the left and dragged in a teasing cross that was touched away by Manuel Bartolo.
Despite dominating possession, Birkirkara hardly tested Bartolo, much to the frustration of their fans who urged the players to up their game as the two teams headed for the dressing rooms at half-time.
Zammit responded to his team’s attacking inertia by throwing on Brazilian forward Ronaille for Herrera.
There was also a change in Balzan’s ranks as Kurt Magro came on for the injured Justin Grioli.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Birkirkara were back on level terms thanks to Haruna’s thunderbolt.
By dropping deeper, Balzan ceded the initiative to the rejuvenated Stripes.
The champions duly took advantage, Paul Fenech putting them ahead on 54 minutes with another sweetly-struck shot after exchanging passes with Jhonnattann.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Magro’s cross was fumbled by Haber with the ball dropping to Micallef who miscued his effort.
Fenech’s participation was cut short by injury as the midfielder left the field on the hour to be replaced by Daniel Zerafa.
Midway into the second half, Haruna should have increased Birkirkara’s lead as the Nigerian intercepted Pedrinho’s pass to Edison Bilbao Zarate and strode forward through the middle. He took the ball past Bartolo but sent his shot against the side-netting.
Minutes later, Alejandro Mendoza headed fractionally wide from Jhonnattann’s free-kick as the Haruna-inspired Birkirkara pressed forward with gusto.
Zerafa then hit just wide after receiving from Scicluna but, 14 minutes from time, Birkirkara were reminded of the importance of putting away their chances as Balzan almost equalised from a rare counter-attack.
Negrin swept into the box to reach Zarate’s pass but Haber stood his ground as he parried away the Spanish striker’s effort.
In stoppage time, Ryan Darmanin, on as a second-half substitute for Balzan, blasted over from outside the area.
Birkirkara quickly went up at the other end. Ryan Camenzuli, a late substitute for Jhonnattann, punished more hesitant defending by Balzan as he raced past Ramon before ramming past Bartolo.
Balzan
M. Bartolo-5.5, J. Grioli-6 (46 K. Magro-5.5), S. Bezzina-6.5, A. Scicluna-6, Ramon-5.5, F. Vignaroli-6, Edison Bilbao Zarate-5, Pedrinho-4, D. Grima-5.5 (75 M. Spiteri), L. Micallef-5 (65 R. Darmanin-4), J.L. Armario Negrin-6.
Birkirkara
J. Haber-7, E. Herrera-5 (46 Ronaille-6), Z. Muscat-6, N. Vukanac-7, J. Zerafa-6, A. Mendoza-6.5, P. Fenech-6.5 (60 D. Zerafa-6), G. Sciberras-6, S.S. Haruna-8, Jhonnattann-6 (80 R. Camenzuli), R. Scicluna-6.5.
Referee: Sandro Spiteri.
Yellow cards: Sciberras; Zarate; Pedrinho; Negrin; Grima.
BOV player of the match: Shola Shodiya Haruna (Birkirkara).