Valletta kept the pace with leaders Birkirkara when they eased past Qormi 4-0 at the National Stadium.

The Citizens struggled to impose their play for much of the first half with their only real scoring opportunity coming after 13 minutes when in a swift break, Abdelkerim Nafti picked Aziz Corr Nyang who headed straight into the hands of Qormi goalkeeper Matthew Farrugia.

However, things changed dramatically on the restart with Valletta scoring three times in the opening 15 minutes.

The stalemate was broken two minutes into the second half when when Steve Borg’s long throw-in reached Luke Dimech whose backheader released Briffa who stabbed the ball past Farrugia.

Two minutes later it was 2-0

Nyang picked Denni inside the area and the Brazilian striker showed great footwork to move past his marker and unleash a powerful drive that flew into the far corner.

Valletta wrapped up the points on 57 minutes when Nafti retrieved possession on the edge of the area and the Tunisian midfielder hit a fierce first-time shot that had the better of Farrugia.

Four minutes from time Nafti put his final signature to his man-of-the-match performance when he unleashed a powerful drive from the edge of the area that flew past Farrugia for a final 4-0 scoreline.