Valletta 2
Montebello 40; Elford-Alliyu 90;
Sliema Wanderers 0

Valletta stepped up their title bid as they scored a goal in each half to see off a stubborn Sliema Wanderers yesterday.

After Birkirkara had stretched their lead at the top to five points following their 1-0 win over Balzan on Saturday, the onus was on the Citizens to bag all points not only to bridge the gap on the league leaders but also to atone for their low-key showing in last week’s goalless stalemate against the Stripes.

Despite making a slow start to the match, the Citizens gradually seized the initiative. Inspired by the strong running of midfield duo Hamza Barry and Alan Da Silva Souza, they managed to pin Sliema in their own half and it was no surprise that young stiker Luke Montebello put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, his first goal since joining Valletta from Birkirkara late last year.

Sliema did try to get back into contention after the interval with striker Ivan Woods hitting the bar early on. But their challenge fizzled out and Admir Vladavic’s late dismissal all but ended their hopes as the Citizens went on to seal the points with a second goal in stoppage time.

Valletta coach Andre Paus made four changes from the team that drew against Birkirkara last week.

Gambian midfielder Hamza Barry was given the nod to start in the absence of Edmond Agius who was serving a one-match ban. Veteran defender Luke Dimech was back in Valletta’s starting formation, partnering Jonathan Caruana with Steve Borg moved to right-back as Spaniard Oscar Reyes Sanchez was not included in the 18-man squad.

Tunisian winger Abdelkarim Nafti was also handed a recall after being left out for the Birkirkara match as captain Ryan Fenech was only certified fit to start on the bench while Montebello was given a rare start ahead of Lateef Elford-Alliyu.

Brazilian forward Denni was again excluded from the 18-man squad.

Sliema coach Alfonso Greco also rang the changes as goalkeeper Glenn Zammit started ahead of Henry Bonello who had to make do with a place on the bench.

Mark Scerri failed to recover from a muscle injury with Trevor Cilia drafted in along with Vladavic who returned from a one-match ban.

The Bosnian forward filled the void left by Nigerian striker Stanley Ohawuchi, suspended.

Vladavic was soon in the thick of action as, after five minutes, he picked out skipper Alex Muscat who directed a firm header towards goal but Valletta goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili was alert to push the ball away.

The Citizens finally orchestrated a promising move on 17 minutes when, in a quick raid, Barry powered his way into the Sliema area but lost his balance when he was about to cross with the ball falling to Nafti who completely mishit his pass.

The match was short of any sort of fluidity in the early exchanges as the referee was forced to stop play continuously due to a series of fouls from both teams.

Just past the half hour, Valletta protested for a penalty when Sliema defender Stefano Bianciardi seemed to touch the ball with his arm as he intercepted Borg’s through-ball but referee Malcolm Spiteri saw nothing untoward and waved play on.

Ten minutes from the break, Borg connected with Nafti’s corner but his downward header hit the side-netting.

Two minutes later, the Tunisian winger was again the provider when he chipped the ball towards Montebello whose first-time effort flashed wide.

City’s pressure yielded an opener on 40 minutes. Roderick Briffa picked out Da Silva Souza inside the area and the Brazilian quickly transferred the ball to Montebello who stabbed home.

Greco looked to inject fresh energy into his team’s forward line when he withdrew the subdued Cilia in favour of the young Axl Xuereb.

The Wanderers went agonisingly close to an equaliser on 50 minutes when John Mintoff’s through-pass released Woods who produced a firm drive that came off the bar with Revishvili beaten.

Valletta responded on 61 minutes when Nafti’s corner was met by Caruana whose close-range header was somehow kept out by Sliema goalkeeper Zammit.

On 69 minutes, Barry embarked on another storming run before releasing Da Silva Souza whose shot was pushed away by Zammit. From the rebound, Barry blasted over.

Cramps ended Montebello’s participation as the young striker made way for Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza on 70 minutes.

Five minutes later, the Blues gave a reminder of their threat when Woods failed to control Jacob Borg’s cross from the right but the ball broke to Matias Muchardi whose firm drive was kept out by Revishvili.

Nine minutes from time, Briffa had a good opportunity to settle the issue in Valletta’s favour when he reached Nafti’s cross but his header was blocked by Zammit.

Sliema’s hopes of a comeback were all but extinguished on 87 minutes when Vladavic was shown a straight red card after hitting Valletta midfielder Irakli Maisuradze.

The Citizens profited from their numerical advantage in time added-on.

Nafti slid the ball to the unmarked Elford-Alliyu, who had earlier replaced Da Silva Souza, and the English striker rifled the ball home to seal a vital victory for Valletta.

Valletta
N. Revishvili-6.5, J. Caruana-6, S. Borg-6, R. Briffa-7, L. Montebello-6.5 (70 J.P. Mifsud Triganza-6), H. Barry-7.5, A. Da Silva Souza-7 (81 L. Elford-Alliyu), S. Bajada-6, I. Maisuradze-6, A. Nafti-6, L. Dimech-6.5.

Sliema Wanderers
G. Zammit-6, A. Muscat-5, J. Borg-6, J. Mintoff-5 (79 A. Podda), C. Gatt Baldacchino-6, I. Woods-6, T. Cilia-4.5 (46 A. Xuereb-5), P. Barbetti-6, M. Muchardi-5, S. Bianciardi-6, A. Vladavic.

Referee: Malcolm Spiteri.

Yellow cards: Barbetti; A. Muscat.

Red card: Vladavic (S) 87.

BOV player of the match: Hamza Barry (Valletta).

Attendance: 1,251.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	28	22	3	3	62	22	41
Valletta	28	20	5	3	63	19	39
Hibernians	28	18	3	7	69	37	34
Mosta	28	14	5	9	55	47	28
Sliema	28	13	9	6	51	34	27
Balzan	28	8	4	16	30	50	14
Tarxien	28	8	6	14	40	49	22
Floriana	28	11	5	12	43	45	21
Qormi	28	8	4	16	45	55	20
Naxxar Lions	28	9	6	13	36	51	20
Vittoriosa	28	6	6	16	34	61	15
Rabat Ajax	28	1	4	23	19	77	4