Stripes eclipse City in nine-goal thriller

Birkirkara 6
Valletta 3

An epic contest between two genuine heavyweights of Maltese football saw Birkirkara eclipsing rivals Valletta by six goals to three to make sure of finishing second in the Premier League.

Defeat for the Citizens yesterday meant that they kissed goodbye to their hopes of ending their positive season as runners-up but they did so with passion, even if Birkirkara's three-goal winning margin may portray a different picture.

While Valletta surrendered second place and potentially their prospects of participating in Europe next season in the last week of the season, Birkirkara have done exactly the opposite.

Languishing behind champions Sliema Wanderers, Valletta and, for a considerable time, also Hibernians, Birkirkara produced a blistering finish to the season to land the consolation of second spot and automatic qualification to the UEFA Cup, in the process salvaging some pride after their failure to wrest the league crown from Sliema.

Stephen Azzopardi's troops looked heading for a comfortable victory yesterday after surging into a two-goal lead inside the opening nine minutes but a typical resilient comeback from Valletta dragged them back into the reckoning in a breathtaking encounter.

For the best part of the second half, the Citizens seemed capable of turning the tables on their rivals but the tide turned irrevocably against them when Lucian Dronca converted a penalty 16 minutes from time to put Birkirkara 4-3 ahead.

The colourful choreography and fervour on the terraces reflected the significance of this match for Birkirkara and Valletta, the two best-supported teams in the Premier League.

Hardly a minute from the start of the game had gone by when the Stripes faithful rose in unison to cheer an early breakthrough by their team. Etienne Barbara won a corner when his dash into the box forced Jonathan Bondin into pushing the ball away for a corner.

William Camenzuli supplied a teasing cross from the left corner which eluded the entire City defence before reaching George Mallia who had the time to chest the ball before guiding a low shot past Miguel Montfort.

Shocked by Birkirkara's early flourish, Valletta toiled to stage a reaction but their afternoon seemed to have taken a turn for the worse when their opponents doubled their lead after nine minutes.

Barbara initiated the move on the right after Keith Fenech had been robbed off the ball by Mallia. The cross from the Birkirkara powerhouse had Kevin Cassar stretching himself to prevent the ball reaching Chucks Nwoko but the stocky midfielder was quick to retrieve possession and passed to the unmarked Haruna Doda who blasted a low shot past Montfort.

Valletta were clearly encountering problems dealing with Birkirkara's forays in those early stages. They were reduced into throwing heads and feet in the way to stop a series of Birkirkara attempts, namely from Mark Anthony Bonnici before Montfort pulled off a fine save to smother away a Lucian Dronca shot.

In no time, the City 'keeper had to make another desperate dive to his right to touch the ball away after an effort by Mallia took a deflection off Cassar.

Saviour Darmanin, the Birkirkara goalkeeper, was called to action on 21 minutes when he palmed away a Fenech centre from the right.

Three minutes later, Valletta resuscitated their erstwhile flailing hopes when Branko Nisevic headed the ball past Darmanin from a Milen Penchev free-kick.

Making the most of Nisevic's lifeline, the Citizens restored parity on 28 minutes. Agius' free-kick was headed away by Camenzuli but from the ensuing corner, the City skipper curled the ball towards the goalmouth with Mark Galea seemingly applying the decisive touch.

Valletta were ecstatic but in an opening 30 minutes of unrelenting drama, Birkirkara took only a minute to re-establish their lead. Rising above friend and foe to connect with Adrian Ciantar's free-kick, Doda guided a header past Montfort's stretched arms and into the far corner of the net.

Seven minutes from half-time, Valletta conjured a fine passing move to open up the spreadeagled Birkirkara defence but Penchev's drive whizzed past the far post.

Young forward Ian Zammit could have sent his team into the half-time break on level terms when Oretan's crossfield pass found him in space but the City player concluded tamely from the edge of the box.

Seconds later, referee Joe Attard signalled the end of an action-packed first half which definitely kept the sizeable crowd at the National Stadium on the edge of their seats.

J.J. Aquilina's half-time response to his team's difficulties in closing down Birkirkara's three-pronged attack of Doda, Nwoko and Barbara was to rope in the more defensive-minded Karl Bonnici for Renie Forace.

On 49 minutes, a headed attempt from Zammit was kept out by Darmanin as Valletta set about in earnest to cancel out the deficit.

A minute later, their early flurry reaped dividends when Agius whipped in another swerving corner from the left, Darmanin flapped at the ball and Nisevic was on hand to score.

Valletta's equaliser promoted Stephen Azzopardi to replace the fumbling Darmanin with Justin Haber on 53 minutes. More surprising was Azzopardi's decision to withdraw Camenzuli on 59 minutes in favour of Kenneth Scicluna.

Nisevic's goal coming so early in the second half had a destabilising effect on Birkirkara's performance. It was not Valletta's turn to seize the upperhand and turn the pressure on their opponents but Birkirkara were handed a chance to regain their confidence when they were awarded a penalty on 77 minutes.

Referee Attard judged that Cassar's challenge on the incoming Michael Galea just inside the box was illegal and from the 11-metre spot, Dronca despatched the ball past Montfort.

For the umpteenth time during this match, Valletta found themselves trailing but they refused to give up. A free-kick by Agius flew high and a rising effort from Zammit after another piercing move from his skipper, was saved by Haber.

However, their hopes of clawing themselves back into contention evaporated when Birkirkara surged 5-3 ahead. Nipping behind the City defence to pick up Galea's floating pass, Mallia fired an angled shot past Montfort with Barbara claiming the final touch as the ball hit the net.

Barbara rounded Birkirkara's perfect afternoon by scoring the team's sixth goal in stoppage time.

Birkirkara: S. Darmanin-4 ('53 J. Haber), M.A. Bonnici,-6 P. Monye-7, R. Sammut-6, W. Camenzuli-6 ('59 K. Scicluna-6), H. Doda-8, C. Nwoko-7 ('71 M. Galea), E. Barbara-7, L. Dronca-6, G. Mallia-7, A. Ciantar-6.

Valletta: M. Montfort-5, J. Bondin-7, K. Cassar-6, B. Nisevic-8, R. Forace-6 ('46 K. Bonnici), M. Galea-5 ('61 C. Camilleri), K. Fenech-6 ('71 A. Debono), M. Penchev-7, C. Oretan-6, I. Zammit-6, G. Agius-8.

Referee: Joe Attard.

Scorers: Mallia 1; Doda 9, 29; Nisevic 24, 50; Galea 28; Dronca 74 pen.; Barbara 84, 90.

Yellow Cards: Cassar; Scicluna.

Player Of The Match: Gilbert Agius (Valletta).