TARXIEN RAINBOWS 1

Andreijic 75

SLIEMA WANDERERS 2

Zappa 43

Sow 84

Substitute Seydou Sow came off the bench to propel Sliema Wanderers to their first league win of the 2019-20 season when they edged past bottom-placed Tarxien Rainbows in low-key encounter at the Centenary Stadium.

It looked as though that Sliema were set for another frustrating night after Tarxien forward Aleksa Andreijic had cancelled out Claudia Zappa’s spectacular opener with only 15 minutes to play.

But Senegalese striker Sow had other plans as he produced a fine individual effort with six minutes to go to grab a vital winner that earned the Wanderers their first win after two draws and two defeats in their opening four outings.

Tarxien coach Marko Glumac made four changes to his starting formation Brandon Muscat, Miguel Ciantar, Aleksa Andreijic and Destin Mambouana were back in the fray at the expense of Marco Botta, Gary Camilleri, Stiva Shaba and Marko Stanojevic.

Claudio Zappa was rewarded for his debut goal for the Wanderers against Gudja last week with a starting

berth as he replaced Seydou Sow who had to settle with a place on the bench. Edmund Agius and John Mintoff were preferred to the suspended Mark Scerri and Antonio Stelitano.

Sliema were quick on the accelerator and after seven minutes Juri Cisotti picked Stanimir Miloskovic in space and the Serbian fired over from an inviting position.

Mosta responded on 15 minutes when Misael Miranda Gomez played in Jairo Tenorio but the Colombian was denied by the onrushing Jake Galea.

The match continued to be played on slow rhythm with scoring chances few and far between as neither side were showing any real flair when pushing forward.

Michele Sansone went on a surging run on 26 minutes that took him past two opponents but his low shot was bloked by Rudy Briffa.

Ten minutes from the break, Sliema coach Alfonso Greco was forced to make a first change and Claudio Pani pulled out injured and was replaced by Peter Xuereb.

The goal cried for a moment of genius to lift everyone present and that was provided by Zappa.

The former Juventus Primavera player bamboozled his marker on the edge of the area before hit a fierce curling strike that flew into the top of the net.

With a goal to the good, the Wanderers took the pitch in the second half looking for a second goal to kill off their opponents as the Rainbows were showing little signs of a revival.

To this end, Greco withdrew Jean Paul Farrugia and Zappa and roped in Seydou Sow and Cleo in a bid to add more pace and power to his team’s forward line.

Sow did have the ball into the Tarxien net when he connected to Edmund Agius’s cross but the ‘goal’ was annulled as the Senegalese forward was in an offside position.

Sliema looked in cruise control but their hopes of victory were jolted on 74 minutes.

Aleksa Andrejic picked possession on the edge of the area and the Serbian turned past his marker before hitting a low angled shot that had the better of Jake Galea.

But Tarxien’s hopes of a first point were dashed six minutes from time when Sow chested the ball down just outside the area and the Senegalese showed great skill to move past his marker and chip the ball over Briffa to seal the Wanderers’ first success of the season.

Juri Cisotti of Sliema Wanderers was named BOV Player of the Match.