Floriana 0
Valletta 4
Revenge is a dish best served cold. So it was for Valletta yesterday as the Citizens pulverised rivals Floriana to the tune of 4-0 and banished the painful memories of their opening-day 3-2 defeat against their neighbouring foes.
On a high after their 7-0 annihilation of champions Marsaxlokk, Valletta served further notice of their improved form as they made it three wins on the trot to go second in the standings, one point behind leaders Sliema and one ahead of Floriana.
Prior to yesterday's game, few if anyone would have envisaged a win by a four-goal margin for either of these two rivals, given that derbies are usually tight and tetchy affairs.
The open exchanges of yesterday's match were in keeping with expectations of a balanced encounter but Valletta gained a grip on the match from the moment Ian Zammit's drive put them ahead after 30 minutes.
Until then, Floriana had given as much as they got but thereafter, they were overwhelmed by the commitment and attacking prowess of their opponents, who sealed their victory with two quick goals early in the second half.
The only damper for Valletta yesterday was the sending-off suffered by Argentine striker Sebastian Monesterolo, an episode which briefly threatened to revive Floriana but this mishap only served to refocus the Citizens' minds, who added another goal by player-of-the-match Frank Temile who fomented their festive air among the jubilant City fans.
Valletta coach Paul Zammit unsurprisingly kept faith with the team that crushed Marsaxlokk 7-0 the previous week.
Danilo Doncic, the Floriana mentor, chose Julian Briffa as the replacement for injured Darko Krsteski. The absence of the experienced Serbian defender prompted Doncic to deploy Zoran Levnaic at centre-half where he was flanked by Briffa.
Up front, seasoned striker Adrian Mifsud, back in the starting team at the expense of Clifton Ciantar, formed a two-pronged attack with Christian Caruana.
Less than three minutes from the game had elapsed when Heiner Backhaus, Valletta's German midfielder, produced a menacing grounder which rolled just wide of the near post.
Floriana's response was immediate, Yala Bolasie delivering a good cross into the goalmouth where Adrian Mifsud turned sharply in an attempt to make contact with the ball. The Valletta defenders managed to dispossess Mifsud but the ball broke to Christian Caruana whose well-hit volley brought a fine save from Andrew Hogg in the City goal.
The Valletta goalkeeper was prominent again on 16 minutes when parrying a strong drive from Mauro Brincat.
At the other end, Valletta came close to breaking the stalemate but Temile's downward header from close range bounced inches wide of the near post following a set-piece cross from Stefan Giglio.
There was little between the two rivals in the opening exchanges but Valletta drew first blood seconds before the half-hour mark.
A swift interchange between Temile and Zammit on the edge of the penalty area opened up the Floriana defence as the latter darted forward through the middle before beating Simon Agius with an unstoppable drive.
Buoyed by their opener and the vocal backing of their fans, Valletta now drove forward with renewed purpose. The brisk movement of their attacking triumvirate, Monesterolo, Temile and Zammit, were a constant cause of concern for Floriana who, after a somewhat lively start, were finding it hard to provide adequate supply to their forward line.
On 42 minutes, Brincat sent in a teasing cross from a corner. Backhaus headed the ball away from goal but only as far as Bolasie whose first-time volley ended wide and high.
A misunderstanding between Valletta defender Josef Mifsud and goalkeeper Hogg almost gifted Floriana an opening. Wary of Trevor Cilia's overtures, the backtracking Mifsud elected to shepherd the ball as Hogg came out to intercept the danger but the latter's clearance came off his team-mate. Luckily for Valletta, the ball fell close to Mifsud who hooked it away to safety.
Valletta reached the half-time break 1-0 up but within four minutes of the start of the second half, the Citizens doubled their lead.
There was a mistake in the Floriana defence as Manolito Micallef appeared to surrender possession when challenged by the pesky Temile, the ball was diverted into the path of Monesterolo who blasted home from a central position.
Three minutes later, the score became 3-0 for Valletta. They were awarded a corner from the right, taken by David Camilleri, and Stefan Giglio's failed attempt to head the ball diverted the attention of the Floriana defence and in came defender Kenneth Scicluna to flick the ball home at the far post for his first goal in a Valletta shirt.
The City clan were overjoyed but as their concentration wavered, Floriana created a flurry of chances but were unlucky not to narrow the deficit.
Bolasie drove wide after receiving a low cross from Duncan Pisani and, moments later, a central shot by Cilia was fumbled by Hogg but fortunately for the Valletta keeper, the ball bounced off the pitch and over the bar.
From the ensuing corner, taken by Christian Caruana, Ryan Darmanin, who had just come on for the ineffective Mifsud, saw his header drop just wide of the far post.
A minute shy of the hour mark, Valletta's delight was slightly blemished by the sight of Monesterolo being shown a red card. The Argentine received a second booking after he tried to direct the ball towards goal with his hands.
Floriana drew fresh courage but their hopes of making a comeback ebbed away when Temile increased Valletta's lead to four goals.
Having just missed an inviting scoring chance when heading wide from point blank, Temile made amends when he concluded a City counter-attack by outpacing a posse of Floriana defenders before sending a low shot past Agius.
Floriana: S. Agius-4, D. Pisani-5, T. Cilia-5, C. Cassar-5.5, Y. Bolasie-5 ('70 M, Gauci-4), C. Caruana-4.5, M. Micallef-4 ('66 C, Ciantar-4), J. Briffa-4, Z. Levnaic-5, M. Brincat-6, A. Mifsud-4 ('55 R. Darmanin-5).
Valletta: A. Hogg-6, J. Grioli-6, K. Scicluna-6.5, J. Mifsud-6, S. Bezzina-6.5, D. Camilleri-7, S. Giglio-6 ('69 D. Falzon-5.5), F. Temile-7.5, I. Zammit-7 ('78 J, Bondin), H. Backhaus-7.5 ('82 C. Mattocks), S. Monesterolo.
Referee: Alan Mario Sant.
Scorers: Zammit 30; Monesterolo 49; Scicluna 52; Temile 67.
Yellow cards: Monesterolo; Temile; Cassar.
Red card: Monesterolo 59.
BoV player of the match: Frank Temile (Valletta).