Balzan grab much-needed win
Balzan condemned Valletta to their first Premier League defeat of the season, beating them with goals from Alex Alves and Uros Ljubomirac, after Valletta had taken an early lead through Santiago Malano.
This much-needed win lifts Balzan into fifth place, on equal points with Sliema Wanderers and Senglea Athletic while Valletta stay one place and two points above them.
It was a lacklustre Valletta display that saw them also concede the first goals after four previous clean sheets.
The real problem for Valletta was a lack of creativity, something really evident yesterday in the absence of both Michael Mifsud and Claudio Pani. Their replacements, Matteo Piciollo and Jean Borg, failed to remedy that. Balzan were always technically better.
There were other times when Valletta were grateful to Bonello’s goalkeeping. In fact this was a more imposing Balzan performance than that which drew with Hamrun Spartans the previous week.
Balzan went into this match with only one win from their opening four league matches, as they keep struggling for consistency. Yesterday they were handicapped by key absences of the suspended Paul Fenech and Bojan Kaljevic. Alfred Effiong and Alex Alves shared attacking responsibilities.
Balzan creaked under Valletta’s first real threat after only five minutes. Keeper Janjusevic repelled Saleh’s low drive, but as the ball fell to Santiago Malano on the edge of the area, he scored with another low strike.
It was precisely the start Balzan coach Micovic would have dreaded. But both sides’ early pace and tempo, always promised to be an exciting encounter.
The goal failed to repress Balzan’s determination as they began to make hay on the flanks and Valletta looked unable to deal with their opponents’ wide play. The deliveries of Carlos Mendes continued to cause Valletta some worries before Balzan restored equilibrium on 21 minutes. Effiong played a short pass to Alex Alves, who darted inside the Valletta area through the middle and beat Valletta keeper Bonello for the first time this season.
Saleh and Piciollo both thrumming dangerously, combined slickly to create Valletta’s chances.
But the Citizens lacked enough creativity and keeper Janjusevic performed tidily rather than heroically. Saleh shot Zerafa’s cross over and it remained tied up at halftime.
Balzan continued to play their part well after the interval. They found their attacking groove on 55 minutes. Alves lobbed his cross from the byeline over keeper Bonello and when Borg headed it out, Alves sent a cut-back cross to Uros Ljubomirac to hit low beyond the keeper’s reach.
Valletta put in Denni Dos Santos for Malano, and later Kyran Nwoko took Camilleri’s place as they probed for an equaliser, albeit with little conviction.
Although less thrilling, the outcome remained unknowable.
Balzan almost put the match to bed ten minutes from time. Effiong was blocked inside the Valletta area by Bonello, the ball rolled loose to Mendes, whose effort was again footed out by the Valletta shot-stopper. But as Valletta remained mostly sluggish, Balzan held out to a deserved win.