Birkirkara defeated by Valletta

by Ayrton Galea - 30th September 2017

Birkirkara FC suffered the third defeat in six matches of the BOV Premier League, when yesterday evening they conceded a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Valletta FC.

Valletta deserved all three points as they were superior for long stretches of the match, with the Stripes were left struggling to cope with the Citizens. For the Stripes, this defeat continues their difficult start.

The First Half

Valletta surged ahead on the eleventh minute. A cross by Claudio Pani failed to be cleared by the Birkirkara defender and Michael Mifsud burst home with a powerful shot to give the Citizens a perfect start.

Birkirkara almost got the score level just two minutes later. A cross from the right wasn't held by Henry Bonello but Jake Grech's shot was cleared off the goal-line, with the Valletta goalkeeper beaten.

However, the Citizens remained in command and they doubled their lead just past the half-hour mark. A corner kick by Raed Ibrahim Saleh found the all unmarked Kyrian Nwoko who headed home past goalkeeper Philip Schranz.

The Second Half

The Stripes tried to pile-up the pressure in the opening moments of the second half. Although they enjoyed possession, they failed to have any shots on goal as the Valletta defence remained in top-form to cancel Birkirkara's rare attacks.

With Birkirkara putting numbers upfront to get back in the match, it was Valletta who made them three on the hour-mark. In a fast counter attack, Saleh sent through substitute Denni Dos Santos through and the latter had a routine task of placing the ball past goalkeeper Schranz.

The Stripes had desperate scoring attempts by Bruno Andrade and Luke Montebello, but both ended well over as the score remained unchanged with Valletta earning a comfortable victory against a disappointing Birkirkara side.

BIRKIRKARA Philip Schranz, Matthew Guillaumier (61′ Edward Herrera), Ryan Camenzuli (61′ Alexander Nilsson), Mislav Andelkovic, Jake Grech, Martin Klein, Landry Mulemo, Nikola Vukanac, Cain Attard (75′ Ernest N'for), Luke Montebello, Bruno Andrade.

VALLETTA: Henry Bonello, Steve Borg, Joseph Zerafa, Ryan Camilleri, Juan Cruz Gill, Michael Mifsud (46′ Denni Rocha dos Santos), Kyrian Nwoko, Santiago Malano, Raed Ibrahim Saleh, Claudio Pani (32′ Matteo Piciollo), Jean Borg (69′ Nicholas Pulis).

Referee: Mario Apap
Assistant Referees: Chris Francalanza, Peter Abela
Fourth Official: Glenn Tonna

Yellow Cards: Landry Mulemo, Ernest N'For (Birkirkara), Denni Dos Santos (Valletta).

Scorers: 11' Michael Mifsud, 31' Kyrian Nwoko, 60' Denni Rocha Dos Santos (Valletta).

BOV Player of the Match: Raed Ibrahim Saleh (Valletta).

comments powered by Disqus