VALLETTA-2, TRE FIORI-1
Valletta sealed their passage to the second qualifying round of the Champions League after beating San Marino champions Tre Fiori 2-1 for a 5-1 aggregate win.
Buoyed by their 3-0 win in the away leg, Valletta were regarded as sure favourites to set up a second qualifying round meeting with Lithuanian side Ekranas but they had to step up their game after Tre Fiori took an early lead against the run of play.
Yet, fears of an upset quickly vanished as the Whites, who had been superior before Tre Fiori's goal, hit two second-half goals to secure a 2-1 win which would have been far more pronounced had Valletta not missed a hatful of scoring chances.
Valletta should have opened the scoring after one minute. Alfred Effiong slipped a through-pass to Denni who ran into the box but his diagonal grounder was pushed away by Tre Fiori goalkeeper Gianluca Cola who was preferred to Mauro Bertozzi yesterday.
Denni then crossed for Effiong but the Nigerian flicked wide.
The Citizens' sprightly start forced Tre Fiori to defend for most of the opening 10 minutes. Denni was proving a handful for the San Marino outfit. On one occasion, Denni outpaced a host of Tre Fiori defenders to reach a long ball but Cola came out to block the Brazilian's attempt.
Tre Fiori had struggled to make an impression in attack but in a rare forway, they gained a glimmer of hope in the shape of a penalty after Albanian referee Bardhyl Pashai punished Kenneth Scicluna for his challenge on Alessandro Giunta inside the box. Albanian midfielder Altin Lisi made no mistake from the spot to put Tre Fiori 1-0 up and 3-1 down on aggregate.
Tre Fiori's breakthrough was a reality check for Valletta who came into this match in high spirits after their 3-0 win in the first leg.
Denni created space for a shot just outside the box but his swervibg drive was wide. At the other end, Tre Fiori were dangerous when Lisi pounced on Edmond Agius's miscued headed clearance but the midfielder lifted his shot over the bar.
Nine minutes from half-time, Valletta should have made it one-all when Denni, latching onto a fine pass from Jamie Pace, sped into the box. After trading passes with Effiong, Denni came face to face with Cola but the latter managed to keep out the Brazilian's effort.
That was to be Denni's last contribution as the Brazilian succumbed to injury following an abrasive tackle. His place was taken by Ryan Fenech, a midfielder who can also play wide.
In the dying minutes of the first half, Cola did well to punch away Edmond Agius's right-wing cross and, moments later, Fenech overhit his cross after making a storming run down the left.
Early in the second half, Cola again denied the Citizens when pushing away Pace's long-range screamer.
Valletta gained a double boost 11 minutes into the second half as they won a penalty after Vendemini, who had already been booked in the first half, pushed the leaping Zammit off the ball inside the area. Pashai pointed to the spot and expelled the Tre Fiori defender before Zammit fired his shot past Cola to make it one-all on the night.
Barbosa, who had just come in for Zongo, almost scored with his first touch of the ball but his header from Zammit's cross was saved by Cola. The Brazilian was even closer minutes later as his firm header from Effiong's service came off the crossbar.
The Citizens were now in total command. Pace should have killed off Tre Fiori but hit wide in front of goal after receiving from Effiong.
Barbosa stabbed the ball home after getting on the end of Zammit's pass but the latter was in an offside position when he received the ball.
Eighteen minutes from the end, Barbosa went close again, this time with a well-hit shot that sailed just over the crossbar.
The Maltese champions continued to push forward. Cola took centre-stage again when fisting away Gilbert Agius's free-kick. From the resultant corner, Zammit's cross was headed backward by Pace but the ball came off the base of the far post.
Fenech then missed a glorious chance to seal Valletta's win when shooting high from an inviting position but Barbosa finally put the home team ahead, scoring from close range from Edmond Agius's cross.
More chances came Valletta's way. Kevin Sammut pulled clear on the right before crossing for Zammit whose flick ended wide while Barbosa fired over after receiving from Fenech.