Valletta 1
Scerri 78;
Birkirkara 1
Kumbrevicius 90;
Valletta’s quest to remain unbeaten this season faced a stern test last night in the shape of Birkirkara.
While the Citizens came into this match in a relaxed mood after accomplishing their title mission with weeks to spare, the Stripes were under mounting pressure to gain the three points and narrow the gap on second-placed Floriana.
The prospect of ruining Valletta’s bid to finish the season without defeat ought to have reinforced Birkirkara’s motivation, especially in light of their failure to prevent their bitter rivals from wresting the league crown from their grasp in such emphatic fashion.
A slow-burning encounter looked to be going Valletta’s way when Terrence Scerri, a second-half substitute, put the Citizens ahead to end his goal drought.
Birkirkara’s hopes of producing a late rally were boosted by the sending-off of Valletta defender Steve Borg as the outgoing champions looked headed for a potentially costly defeat.
But, there was to be another late twist in a dramatic finale as Rodolfo Kumbrevicius, another second-half substitute, snatched a last-gasp goal to keep the Stripes’ hoping for the runners-up spot.
The benefits of having an expansive squad came to the fore yesterday as Valleta coach Jesmond Zerafa was still able to send out a strong formation despite the absence of four key players.
Defenders Ian Azzopardi and Ramon were ruled out by suspension while striker Andrade and winger Omonigho Temile were sidelined with injuries.
Their absences brought first-team recalls for Jamie Pace, Kevin Sammut and Ian Zammit but Scerri, the Premier League’s top scorer, again had to settle for a place on the bench.
Birkirkara coach Paul Zammit also had two first-choice midfielders missing as Paul Fenech was serving the first of a two-match ban and Shaun Bajada was laid low by an ankle injury.
Captain Michael Galea was surprisingly left out as Zammit handed the three attacking roles to Ibrahim Babatunde, Emiliano Lattes and Trevor Cilia.
As he had done in the previous clash with Valletta, Zammit deployed Andrei Agius in the holding midfield role alongside Rowen Muscat.
Zerafa also tinkered with positions as Edmond Agius and Roderick Briffa were briefed to patrol the right and left flanks respectively while captain Gilbert Agius took up the anchor role in front of a four-man defence.
The City players made a brief appearance on the pitch before kick-off for a commemorative photo along with the technical staff and the committee.
Club president Victor Sciriha was the last to leave the pitch, triggering a mixed reaction in the stands as the booing from the Birkirkara fans was drowned out by the applause of the C faithful.
Inside the opening three minutes, Angus Buhagiar surged into the box but his shot sailed over.
Neither side managed to establish a foothold in the early stages. A good opportunity beckoned for Valletta when Ian Zammit’s centre dropped in front of Denni but the Brazilian was penalised for raising his foot at keeper Manuel Bartolo as the two went for the ball.
At the other end, after 17 minutes, Lattes dragged a dangerous cross into the six-yard box where Muscat got the ball first but the Birkirkara midfielder was intercepted by the City defenders.
Valletta’s efforts to put Bir-kirkara under some sort of pressure were not being abetted by Denni’s tendency to lose balance almost each time he tried to go past an opponent.
Goalmouth action remained scarce as both sides looked short on inspiration.
Eight minutes from half-time, a long pass from Buhagiar threatened to open up the Valletta defence as Babatunde ran forward to reach the ball but Edmond Agius cut across the Nigerian forward to clear the danger.
The second half started on a promising note in so far as attacking football was concerned.
In fact, after just 37 seconds, Babatunde’s cross from the left sailed towards the far post but Cilia just failed to connect with the ball.
Valletta were quick to respond.
Zammit’s wayward header from Edmond Agius’s cross became an inviting assist for Gilbert Agius but his first-time strike was deflected past the far post.
It proved to be a false dawn as for much of the next 18 minutes, goal opportunities proved hard to come by.
Zammit tried to give his team fresh impetus by bringing on Galea for Andrew Decesare midway into the second half. Minutes later, Zerafa also made his first substitution, throwing on Scerri for Zammit.
With 17 minutes remaining, Valletta fashioned a good move as Sammut’s pass beat the offside trap and rolled into the path of Gilbert Agius who tried to cross for Scerri but the opposing defenders cleared.
The introduction of Karl Pulo for defender Patrick Borg saw Zerafa move to centre-back but Birkirkara were still adjusting to the changes when Valletta struck 12 minutes from time.
Gilbert Agius’s long ball, hit over the top of Birkirkara’s defence, arced towards the edge of the box where Scerri used his towering presence to outjump Bartolo before driving the ball into an empty net.
As Valletta celebrated their opener, eyes were drawn to the centre of the field where a visibly angry Andrei Agius was seen remonstrating with Borg. Referee Alan Mario Borg cautioned Agius and Borg, the latter also receiving a red card as he had been booked earlier following a verbal exchange with Baba-tunde.
Emboldened by his goal, Scerri powered his way into the box from the right before passing to Denni whose shot was deflected away for a corner.
Birkirkara’s reaction was confused but they managed to draw level on the stroke of time.
Babatunde did well to jink his way into the box before rifling a shot that was repelled by Hogg. The loose ball again dropped to Babatunde whose centre reached Kumbrevicius, the Brazilian ramming the ball home from close range.
Valletta
A. Hogg-6, R. Briffa-6, J. Caruana-7, S. Borg, G. Agius-6, E. Agius-6.5, J. Pace-6.5, K. Sammut-6, Denni-5 (90 K. Magro), I. Zammit-5 (71 T. Scerri-6), R. Fenech-5.5.
Birkirkara
M. Bartolo-5, E. Lattes-5.5, A. Buhagiar-6, J. Zerafa-5, A. Decesare-5.5 (67 M. Galea-5.5), A. Agius-6.5, N. Vukanac-6, P. Borg-6 (75 K. Pulo), R. Muscat-7, T. Cilia-6 (84 R. Kumbrevicius), I. Babatunde-7.
Referee: Alan Mario Sant.
Yellow cards: Buhagiar; Fenech; Babatunde; Borg; A. Agius; Lattes.
Red card: Borg (V) 79.
BOV player of the match: Jonathan Caruana (Valletta).
Attendance: 2,625.