Day 8 Valletta 5 Mosta 0
27/10/2018
The 5-0 scoreline might suggest that it was a plain-sailing win for Valletta.
Yet Mosta upped their game after the break but their fightback was cut short by three late gaols that added gloss to the Malta champions’ victory.
In their first real attack, Valletta put their noses in front.
Enmy Pena Beltre’s cross from the right flank drifted towards the centre of the box where Mario Fontanella lunged forward to anticipate his marker and directed the ball past Andreas Vella.
Mosta found themselves 2-0 down on the brink of half-time. Having retrieved possession in midfield, Mario Fontanella hit an excellent pass towards Miguel Alba who sped clear of the Mosta defenders and rifled past Vella.
Valletta’s struggles to infuse a semblance of flair and fluency into their play filled Mosta with renewed optimism after the break.
Yenz Cini denied the Blues a goal when saving Kei Hirose’s strong effort before Brincat’s venomous shot hit the post with Cini beaten.
Yet the damage had already been done for Mosta and in any case their repertoire of skills could not match those of their more seasoned opponents.
This showed in the final quarter of the match.
Fontanella burst inside the box to meet a through ball, but was downed by Kei Hirose. Matteo Picciolo made no mistake from the spot.
Three minutes later, Alba brought the house down when he netted after a solo run which had him ghosting past of couple of defenders before arrowing a shot over Vella.
Valletta continued playing the tune.
Six minutes from time, substitute Bogdan Gavrila went behind the Mosta’s defensive line to meet Fontanella’s service and hit the ball into the net.
Valletta’s Miguel Alba was voted as the BOV Player of the Match.
Source -timesofmalta.com
VALLETTA – Y. Cini, S. Borg, M. Piciollo (N. Pulis). R. Camilleri, I. Saleh, J. Borg, M. Alba, M. Fontanella, S. Malano, K. Nwoko (B. Gavrila), E. Pena Beltre (J. Caruana).
MOSTA. – A. Vella, A. De Cerchio (C. Camilleri), K. Hirose, M. Sammartino, D. Xuereb, M. Gomez Misael (K. Frendo), T. Farrugia, Z. Brincat, J. Cisotti, S. Falao Ndiaye (J. Brincat), F. Mazzavillani.
Yellow Cards: A. De Cerchio (M)
Scorers: 39′ M. Fontanella, 76′ M. Piciollo (P), 45′ 80′ M. Alba, 85′ B. Gavrila (V)
Man of Match: M. Alba (V)
Referee: I. Barbara
