Sliema Wanderers 1 Rabat Ajax 0
Rabat’s gritty display looked to have put them on their way to earn another creditable draw against more-quoted opponents but they were pegged back by the panache of the Wanderers’ attacking line in the closing period as Luca Martinelli netted in the all-important goal 15 minutes from time to help Sliema return to winning ways.
The first noteworthy came Sliema’s way on 10 minutes. Ruggiero darted into the box after waltzing past Dylan Falzon to swerve his effort on the right with the ball looping tantalisingly off the Magpies crossbar.
Despite dominating possession, Sliema struggled to penetrate Rabat’s defence early on as the game fell into a lull largely because Vella’s troops were reading their attacking tactics.
Rabat did not defend en masse and tried hard to keep possession, at times managing to come out of their area confidently with the ball.
After 23 minutes, Carrillo Pendas swung in a dangerous free-kick into the area but found no takers.
Five minutes later, Sliema’s defence was unlocked by a neat three-man move, Caruana picked up the ball near the halfway line to exchange possession with Felice. The striker-turned-midfielder pinged the ball in the pace into which Wayne Borg intelligently run, but Luca Martinelli slid in to make a goal-saving block.
The complexion of the game remained unchanged, however, as Sliema retained the initiative. After 38 minutes, Ruggiero burst down the right and into the area before pulling the ball back to Woods, with Brincat making a last-gasp block just as the striker shaped to shoot.
Two minutes from the break, David Azzopardi was slightly advanced in respect to Rabat’s defensive line and his tactical error released Martinelli on the flank, Faccini tried to connect to the defender’s delivery with a back-heel flick but it was to no avail.
Five minutes into the second half, Ruggiero nearly punished some hesitant goalkeeping by Jonathan Azzopardi when he failed to be quick enough off his line to block the striker and then almost floored the Italian player before the Rabat rearguard finally cleared the danger.
Alfonso threw caution to the wind by reverting to a three-man defence and pushing more men upfield with the introduction of Miguel Ciantar.
The game opened up and Carillo Pendas’s point-blank shot drew a smart save from Glenn Zammit.
On the other end, Woods carved open the Rabat defence with a neat movement on the right flank before serving Ruggiero but the goalkeeper proved equal to task.
Woods’s high work-rate, coupled with his ability to shield and run with the ball, increased Sliema’s attacking threat as he dropped deeper into midfield. After 68 minutes, the overlapping Martinelli rifled his shot over the bar after receiving from Woods.
Martinelli’s forging runs down the right were causing problems to Rabat, giving David Azzopardi, Rabat’s weakest link, a torrid time. In fact, after 75 minutes, substitute Laudisi set up the advancing defender who close in on goal and planted a low shot past Azzopardi.
Having created a fair amount of scoring chances, Rabat had good cause to feel unlucky to have fallen behind but they tried to roll up their sleeves in a bid to redress the imbalance. Carillo Pendas’s free-kick was blocked into a corner as Patrick Borg’s long-range shot finished wide with Vella’s men ending the game in attacking mode.