Valletta come from behind to beat Sliema
Valletta came from behind to beat Sliema 3-1 in a match which came mainly to life in the second half.
Mark Scerri gave Sliema an unlikely lead, but City fought back and soon were in command with two quick goals from Velasco before Calistus scored the third to secure the three points.
The three points enabled Valletta to remain four points behind leaders Balzan, but the gap could increase to five today if Hibs win their match against Hamrun.
In the first half, Valletta enjoyed the lion’s share of the play, but only on one occasion did they test goalie Sarao as they failed to create any clearcut opportunities to break the deadlock.
On the other hand, it was evident that Sliema’s main concentration was at the back, but in their counterattacks, they lacked conviction even if both Denni Dos Santos and Jean Paul Farrugia tried hard to penetrate the City defence.
At the end of the first 45 minutes, the goalless scoreline corresponded perfectly with what went happened on the field of play.
The second half, however, was completely different. Before the goals arrived - three of them in the space of four minutes – we saw excellent saves by the two goalies apart from some good football, especially from Valletta who certainly deserved their victory.
Sliema were the first to create a scoring opportunity with Dos Santos setting JP Farrugia in the area, but the latter’s shot on the turn went wide.
In the 19th minute, from a dos Santos freekick, it was Jonathan Pearson who headed over the bar.
Valletta’s reply arrived on the 24th minute. From a Cremona cross from the right, first Velasco and then Calistus both had shots blocked by Sliema defenders.
In the 35th minute, Sliema were awarded a freekick 20 metres out, but Dos Santos kicked the ball wildly over the bar.
Moments later, at the other end, it was Claudio Pani who had a hard shot going over.
In the 39th minute, Aquilina had his shot from the edge of the area providentially blocked by the diving Steve Borg.
Two minutes later, Aguirre had a good effort being turned to corner with difficulty by Sliema goalie Sarao.
On 50 minutes, it was Llewelyn Cremona who missed a good chance for Valletta, lifting the ball well over the bar.
Valletta continued with their pressing and Rowen Muscat was unlucky when he had a 25-metre shot hitting the upright with Sarao beaten all ends up.
On 62 minutes, Sliema went close through JP Farrugia whose low shot was excellently saved by the diving Bartkus. Immediately after, Sliema goalie Sarao turned protagonist with a reflex save off a Malano close range header following an Aguirre cross.
In the next minute Sliema took a dramatic lead when Mark Scerri received the ball from a bad clearance and beat Bartkus.
Immediately afterwards, at the other end, it was 1-1 as Velasco concluded a melee in front of the Sliema goal with the ball crossing the line before a Sliema defender cleared it.
And the drama was not over yet as in the 67th minute Valletta went into the driving seat.
From a Rowen Muscat perfect cross, it was again Velasco who beat Sarao with a glorious header.
In the 71st minute, City goalie Bartkus dived sideways to save a Farrugia freekick. But on 77 minutes, it was Valletta who again went very close with a Luke Montebello header following a Velasco cross.
Valletta made sure of the three points when Calistus received a good ball on the right and advanced unhindered to beat Sarao for the third time.