Qormi 0
Sliema Wanderers 2
Dronca 51 pen; Bondin 90 og
Sliema Wanderers showed remarkable composure and fighting spirit last night.
Having been jolted by the news that their goalkeeper Simon Agius had taken the club to court over bribery allegations, the Blues refused to be distracted by the hype surrounding this matter as they achieved a merited 2-0 win over Qormi in yesterday's decider for third place.
The prize for Sliema's gallant efforts is a berth in the Europa League and a fair degree of redemption after a generally disappointing season in which the Blues failed to live up to their billing as title contenders.
Not so can be said of Qormi whose abject performance in yesterday's decider undid all the good work of the past 10 months as the Yellow-Blacks spurned the chance to qualify for European football for the first time in their history.
Qormi went into this match with a perfect record of four wins over Sliema this season but they came unstuck when it mattered most.
Having taken a deserved lead early in the second half, Sliema had to endure a tense finale after Ryan Fenech was given his marching orders but they weathered Qormi's late pressure before sealing their passage to the Europa League with a scrappy goal in the dying minutes.
The pre-match mood in the Sliema clan can only have been darkened by the news that goalkeeper Agius had lodged a judicial protest against the club in which he claimed that some committee members and coach Mark Marlow had circulated slanderous allegations that he was corrupt.
Agius's headline-grabbing move compounded matters for Marlow who had to make do without his experienced goalkeeper for this delicate match.
Young Jeremy Alden was entrusted with the responsibility of guarding Sliema's goal. Agius was not the only notable absentee for Sliema as defender Josef Mifsud was ruled out by suspension. Brazilian midfielder Pedrinho and Julio Alcorse, the Argentine striker, were also out of the equation after both had their contract terminated by Sliema earlier this month.
Qormi coach Vince Carbonaro deployed Kenneth Spiteri in central defence as Steve Wellman was serving a one-match suspension. Roderick Sammut was preferred to Duncan Pisani in light of the latter's exertions with the Malta U-21 team in Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Ukraine.
Seven minutes from the start of the game had expired when Sliema's Failla unleashed a powerful rising drive that forced Matthew Farrugia, the Qormi goalkeeper, into a fine tipping save.
The ensuing corner was only partially cleared by the hesitant Qormi defenders as Lucian Dronca's attempt from inside the box was diverted into the path of Mintoff but his grounder lacked the power to trouble Farrugia.
Sliema were the brighter side in the initial stages.
On 16 minutes, Woods burst clear through the middle before passing to Mintoff who had all the time in the world to control the ball and turn before picking out Mifsud Triganza. The former Birkirkara forward was completely unmarked but his first-time effort flashed against the side-netting.
Outrun and outfought in midfield, Qormi were finding it hard to cope with Sliema's brisker movement. Their early travails were evident when Failla's vertical ball from his own half invited Woods to run forward as the Sliema striker outmuscled Ramon but out came Farrugia to defuse the impending danger.
Qormi's first glimmer of a chance almost produced an undeserved breakthrough when Alfred Effiong escaped the attentions of the Sliema defenders to reach a diagonal ball but Alden stood his ground and dispossessed the Nigerian striker with a well-timed block.
Scoring chances were at a premium in the remainder of the first half but soon after the restart, Sliema threatened to move ahead. Woods released Mifsud Triganza but the latter rifled wide from an inviting position.
Sliema's hopes soared when Ramon's nudge on Woods inside the box prompted referee Alan Mario Sant to point to the spot. Lucian Dronca stepped up for the penalty and his angled shot sailed past the diving Farrugia.
Carbonaro tried to inject some much-needed pace and inspiration into his team's midfield by introducing Ryan Deguara and Stefan Giglio for Keith Fenech and the ineffective Matthew Bartolo.
The sight of Failla clutching his hamstring moved Marlow into making his substitution with veteran Noel Turner coming on for the Malta winger.
The Blues went close to doubling their lead when Turner exchanged passes with Woods before setting up Mifsud Triganza who fended off Jonathan Bondin but Farrugia intercepted the Sliema striker.
Marlow had to make his second change to replace Woods who was carried away on a stretcher after his leg gave way as he was running towards the Qormi goal.
With 18 minutes left, Qormi almost drew level when Joseph Farrugia's corner sparked confusion in the Sliema box and Massimo Grima's close-range header grazed the crossbar.
Carbonaro was also compelled to make his third and last substitution, replacing the limping Sammut with Steve Meilak.
Qormi received a boost when, with only 11 minutes left, Sliema midfielder Fenech was shown a straight red card for use of abusive language.
Seven minutes from time, a prolonged Qormi raid saw Farrugia dink the ball to Deguara who was unmarked in the inside-right channel but the winger's swerving effort drifted wide.
The level of expectancy among the Qormi fans rose by a few notches when Ian Azzopardi conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position for impeding Camilo's run but Grima curled his shot wide.
As the game drifted into stoppage time, Grima was foiled by Clifford Gatt Baldacchino as Qormi pressed hard for an equaliser.
It was Sliema who applied the killer punch though. In an isolated raid, Mifsud Triganza darted past Bondin and delivered a cross-shot that was partially blocked by Ramon but the ball appeared to come off Bondin as it bounced over the line and into the net.
Qormi
M. Farrugia, J. Bondin, K. Spiteri ('78 S. Meilak), Ramon, R. Sammut, M. Bartolo ('56 S. Giglio), J. Farrugia, M. Grima, K. Fenech ('56 R. Deguara), A. Effiong, Camilo.
Sliema Wanderers
J. Alden, A. Muscat, I. Azzopardi, R. Fenech, M. Scerri, J.P. Mifsud Triganza, C. Gatt Baldacchino, I. Woods ('71 A. Mercieca), L. Dronca, J. Mintoff ('90 L. Martinelli), C. Failla ('61 N. Turner).
Referee: Alan Mario Sant.
Yellow cards: Failla; Fenech; Spiteri; Alden; Mifsud Triganza; Azzopardi.
Red card: Fenech (S) 79.