Valletta 1
Denni 10
Balzan 1
Pedrinho 12
Valletta are so unaccustomed to drop points that Balzan are entitled to cite their performance as the main reason why Mark Miller’s side stumbled for the second consecutive week.
The Citizens rarely played with the style and control that has established them as the most formidable side in the Premier League yesterday but that has to be attributed to the stubborn resistance offered by Balzan.
Ivan Zammit’s troops displayed a little more poise and Valletta had to endure spells when the Maroons threatened to wear their opponents down with some slick movement.
Pedrinho was prominently involved as he ably marshalled his team’s attacking moves, Jamie Pace played with similar composure while Stefan Giglio was a huge inspiration in the Balzan defence.
The Citizens yesterday struggled to impose themselves in the game as the likes of William Barbosa, Roderick Briffa and Ryan Fenech failed to supply the necessary flair to unlock their opponents defence.
Valletta’s starting line-up included only one change from last week’s low-key showing in the 1-1 draw with Rabat, Briffa filling the void left by the injured Steve Borg.
The inclusion of a midfielder for a defender necessitated some positional changes as Shaun Bajada was dropped to left-back.
The Lilywhites started in a 4-1-2-3 formation with Denni and Fenech playing either side of central striker Mifsud as Mark Miller opted to deploy William Barbosa as a holding midfielder.
Balzan’s Zammit was buoyed by the return of Mendy, Dylan Grima and Pace from suspension but was forced to make do without left-back Renie Forace and striker Elton who were ruled out by suspension.
Valletta tore out of the blocks and inside the first five minutes Mifsud profited from some sloppy defending by Balzan to burst clear but his angled drive was cleared off the line by Giglio.
But Valletta did not have to wait too long to seize the lead. Mendy scythed down Denni inside the right flank and Bajada’s ensuing delivery was met by the nippy Brazilian who headed into the net on 10 minutes.
Balzan’s riposte was immediate and they levelled matters two minutes later. Pedrinho surged into the box, rounded Manuel Bartolo before curling a precise flick into the far corner.
Valletta’s initial frenzy petered out as Balzan’s forward movement was giving the slow-moving Valletta defenders a torrid time and this was in abundant evidence on 25 minutes.
Briffa conceded a foul in a potentially menacing position after bringing down Mendy. Christian Caruana almost stunned Valletta when he headed just wide from Pedrinho’s free-kick.
There was a conspicuous rise in the intensity of the exchanges as the Citizens tried to push more men upfield.
On 38 minutes, Fredrick Tabone palmed away Gabriel’s strike and then, the Balzan keeper was again alert to keep out Briffa’s header.
Pedrinho set Valletta’s pulses racing a few moments later as Jonathan Caruana resorted to a foul to tame the Brazilian, conceding another free-kick in a key area. The Brazilian then sent his shot just over the bar.
Another fluent Balzan move then opened Valletta as Pace darted into the box from the right to connect to a pass from Martin Deanov but Bartolo, the Valletta goalkeeper, did well to block the effort.
Less than a minute into the second half, Deanov’s cross-cum-shot caused panic in the Valletta box but it found no takers.
On the hour mark, Miller brought in Edmond Agius in lieu of Kurt Magro as he retracted Briffa to the back four, allowing the Valletta skipper to push high up the flank.
But Balzan remained undeterred as Zammit introduced Jacob Domenico Borg, switching to five-man defence in a bid to close all avenues to the Valletta forwards.
On 65 minutes, Denni threatened to steal the limelight for Valletta when he unleashed a powerful grounder that rattled the upright.
Valletta attacked incessantly in the closing minutes but Balzan refused to wilt. On 77 minutes, Tabone did well to block Gabriel’s effort.
In a nervy-finale, Gabriel almost snatched all points when Briffa’s cross-field pass out of defence was intercepted by the Brazilian striker who advanced towards goal but fired over much to the dismay of the City fans.
Valletta: M. Bartolo-6, Ricardo-5, K. Magro-5 (62 E. Agius-), W. Barbosa-4.5 (79 Leandro), R. Fenech-5, Gabriel-5.5, Denni-6.5, M. Mifsud-5, S. Bajada-4.5 (85 I.Zammit), R. Briffa-5, J. Caruana-5.
Balzan: F. Tabone-7.5, Y. Camilleri-7, S.Griglio-7.5, C. Micallef-6 (55 A. Agius-6), M. Mendy-7, D. Grima-6.5 B. Bondin-6, J.Pace-7.5, C. Caruana-6 (62 J. Borg), M. Deanov-7 (77 M. Licari), Pedrinho-8.5.
Referee Paul Caruana.
Yellow cards Mendy, Briffa, Bondin, Caruana, Ricardo.
BOV Player of the match Fredrick Tabone (Balzan).
Attendance 748.