Veselji adds to Spartans' sinking feeling

Hamrun Spartans 0
Valletta 1

Hamrun Spartans' season ended as it started. A 1-0 defeat to their once bitter antagonists Valletta, the same team that had inflicted the first in a procession of losses last August which accelerated Hamrun's slide towards Division One, brought to a disappointing end the Spartans' latest sojourn among the elite of Maltese football yesterday.

A desperately mediocre contest was decided by a 68th minute Nenad Veselji headed goal that left the Spartans as the only team in the Premier League not to have won a single game in the outgoing season.

The only positive feature of the Spartans' outing yesterday was Mauro Brincat's nomination as the MIA Player of the Match.

It says all about the extent to which the standards of these two illustrious clubs have fallen that their last league cameo for the season attracted a very sparse crowd.

The season for Valletta and Hamrun had virtually lost all its significance in their last direct encounter before yesterday.

A 3-0 win for the Citizens in their third Relegation Pool appearance secured their top-flight status and killed off any possibility of a last-gasp Houdini Act by the Spartans who were mathematically demoted to Division One.

Given the paltry interest in yesterday's encounter, one expected wholesale changes in the starting formations of Valletta and Hamrun but although there was a clutch of young players on each side, the reshuffle was not as drastic as many might have expected before the match.

Stefan Sultana, the Hamrun player-coach, virtually kept faith with the players who were beaten 2-0 by Balzan Youths last week.

Valletta's team was a blend of youth and experience as the likes of Milen Penchev, Ivan Zammit, Massimo Grima and Nenad Veselji were joined by a host of young and other fringe players such as goalkeeper Ranier Farrugia, Kurt Zammit and Clayton Caruana.

A dull first-half in which both teams toiled uselessly to establish a foothold in the match yielded few tangible openings. A volley by Sultana ended wide after eight minutes.

The same amount of time remained before the end of the first half when a good Spartans move set up Brincat but his pulverizing drive brought a one-handed save from Farrugia.

One hoped that the half-time talk by the two coaches would prompt the players to give it a better shot in the second half.

Valletta's Kurt Zammit curled a shot that sailed wide but it was the young Spartans players who seemed hungrier to force a breakthrough.

On three different occasions, the Spartans profited from the slack defending of their opponents to create good scoring chances but David Galea had a powerful drive beaten away by Farrugia whereas Sultana and Brincat unleashed two grounders that just missed the target.

Heeding the alarm signals, Valletta moved in earnest to redirect the pressure on their opponents. It did not take them long to seize the lead.

The electronic scoreboard showed 68 minutes of the game played when Hamrun goalkeeper Roderick Camilleri effected an excellent flying save to keep put Penchev's goalbound header but his defensive allies failed to clear the danger, Zammit floated the ball back in the goalmouth and Veselji was on the right spot to score with a header.

Valletta's breakthrough blemished the Spartans' earlier optimism and Veselji twice threatened to double his team's advantage but his first attempt, a scrambled shot, flashed wide, and his second was blocked by Camilleri.

The Spartans' late rally subjected Valletta to some pressure but the Citizens held sway to ensure a fine build-up to their FA Trophy semi-final.

Hamrun S.: R. Camilleri-7, A. Attard-6, D. Galea-6, J. Magri Overend-6, J. Debattista-5 ('82 S. Meilaq), E. Briffa-5, K. Borg-5, R. Bajada-6, R. Fenech-6 ('79 D.A. Cucciardi), M. Brincat-7, S. Sultana-6.

Valletta: R. Farrugia-6, K. Farrugia-6, J. Bondin-5, K. Zammit-7, M. Grima-5, Ivan Zammit-5, N. Stajic-5 ('78 A. Galea), M. Penchev-5, C. Caruana-6 ('64 M. Barbara), N. Veselji-6, Ian Zammit-6 ('56 K. Magro).

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

Scorer: Veselji 68.

Yellow Card: E. Briffa.

MIA Player of the Match: Mauro Brincat (Hamrun S.).