Birkirkara 1
Sliema Wanderers 2
Etienne Barbara has endured a frustrating first season with Sliema but the mercurial striker enjoyed a rare visit to the limelight yesterday.
Gunning against Birkirkara, his former team, Barbara crowned a lively performance with a well-taken brace to give the beleaguered Wanderers a much-needed boost in the shape of a 2-1 victory.
While Sliema gained some much-needed respite from their troubles of late, Birkirkara were left to contemplate a defeat that has dealt a hammer blow to their title chances.
The inclusion of Thomas Paris, who replaced the unavailable Lee Lombardi, was the only change Birkirkara coach John Buttigieg made from the team that came from a goal down to beat Marsaxlokk 2-1 in the FA Trophy quarter-final.
Stephen Azzopardi, the Sliema coach, instructed Ian Azzopardi to deputise for the suspended Jeffrey Chetcuti, albeit the former Floriana defender was deployed at centre-half as Branko Nisevic was left out of the squad. Chucks Nwoko made a return after several weeks on the sidelines.
Only three minutes had elapsed when Birkirkara put their noses ahead. A cross from Shaun Bajada caught the Sliema defence off guard as Davy Amed Syllan lifted the ball past Murphy Akanji.
Trailing to one goal so early in the game, many expected Sliema to roll up their sleeves and force a reaction but their performance for much of the opening 25 minutes was lacking in verve and creativity.
Sliema's afternoon would have taken a turn for the worse but for Akanji who dashed out of goal to clear the ball from the advancing Sylla after George Mallia had picked out the Ivorian striker with an excellent through-ball.
This was on 27 minutes. Shortly afterwards, the Wanderers had another escape when Alan Tabone's corner, from the left, flew across goal and into the path of the unmarked Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza whose scrambled effort bounced off the turf and over the bar.
On a number of occasions in the first half, Sliema showed an inclination to play the offside game but their execution of this tactic looked somewhat unconvincing.
The Blues had struggled to make an impact in attack but in their first telling charge into opposing territory, seven minutes from half-time, they levelled matters.
Latching on to a headed service by Alex Muscat, Barbara ghosted past the ball-watching Birkirkara defenders and chipped the ball over Borg.
Birkirkara might have regained their lead when Mifsud Triganza found himself clear in the box. Akanji came out to try and palm the ball away but the Birkirkara forward was quick to pounce on the goalkeeper's half-clearance. His second attempt had the better of Akanji but it lacked power and Brian Said was on hand to clear.
Three minutes from half-time, coach Azzopardi was banished to the stands by referee Joe Attard for persistent protests.
Early in the second half, Akanji saved a volley by Tabone from the edge of the box. Borg, the Birkirkara goalkeeper, did likewise on a long-range strike by Mark Scerri. After a balanced start, Birkirkara gradually began to ask more questions of the Sliema defence.
Lanky defender Ronnie Hartvig headed just wide from a Tabone corner 17 minutes into the second half. Bartolo then came on for the ineffective Andre Rocha Da Silva for Sliema while Buttigieg brought on Martin Anastasi for the tiring Bajada.
Midway through the second half, Borg denied Barbara a second goal when he parried the Sliema striker's rising shot from just inside the box.
With 17 minutes left, Buttigieg sought to inject fresh impetus into his team's faltering attack by introducing Antoine Zahra and Michael Galea for Tabone and Mifsud Triganza respectively.
Moments later, a free-kick by Ivan Woods ended wide as Sliema showed signs of coming to life late on. Seven minutes from time, Mallia delivered an excellent cross from the right, Sylla's diving header was blocked and from the rebound, Zahra blasted wide and high, much to the frustration of the Birkirkara faithful.
Birkirkara's disappointment turned into dejection two minutes later as Barbara, who had been mercilessly taunted by the Stripes fans yesterday, powered his way through to retrieve a raking pass from Muscat, skipped past Borg and sent the ball low into the net.
Birkirkara: O. Borg-6, T. Paris-5.5, P. Fenech-5, J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5 ('73 M. Galea), A. Tabone-6 ('73 A. Zahra), R. Hartvig-6, S. Bajada-6 ('65 M. Anastasi-6), J. Zerafa-6, D.A. Sylla-6.5, G. Mallia-6.5, E. Yanchev-6.
Sliema: M. Akanji-6, A. Muscat-6.5, I. Azzopardi-5.5, B. Said-6, N. Turner-5.5 ('81 J. Vella), M. Scerri-5.5 ('75 S. Pace), A. Rocha Da Silva-4 ('63 M. Bartolo-6), R. Bajada-5.5, I. Woods-5, I. Ciantar-5.5, E. Barbara-7.5.
Referee: Joe Attard. SCORERS: Sylla 3; Barbara 38, 86.
Yellow cards: Hartvig; Woods.
BoV Player of the match: Etienne Barbara (Sliema).