Valletta Down San Gwann To Solidify Fifth Place

Three first-half goals were enough for Valletta to triumph over San Gwann and get some distance between them and the rest of the table in fifth place. Georgiana Mifsud opened the scoring with a long-range effort, before Laura Muscat and Marcelle de Oliveira Julio bagged goals to complete the victory.

Line-Ups

Valletta welcomed first-choice goalkeeper Andressa de Souza Ramos back from injury. Sabrin Blihi shifted into the centre-back role alongside Georgiana Mifsud and Gaia Antonelli. Miriana Conti, provided the width further afield alongside Eduarda Martins Souza who moved into midfield alongside captain Monique Sultana and Ylenia Grech. Laura Muscat returned to the starting eleven in support of Anna Aloisio and Marcelle de Oliveira Julio in attack.

Meanwhile, San Gwann’s Justyne Caruana started in goal. Captain Annabelle Rapa continued her stay in defence alongside Kirstie Vella and Martina Schembri. Chaimaa Tourki and Fatma Al Girbi started in the centre of the park. Rabab Mhalli returned to the starting eleven on the left flank, while Nilayza Attard stood on the right. Thresa Scicluna started up ahead alongside Shania Gheiti and Yasmin Attard.

Valletta Break The Deadlock

It was San Gwann who started the match on the front foot, earning a corner a few minutes into the match. However, the short routine between Rabab Mhalli and Chaimaa Tourki was intercepted. A few minutes later Shania Gheiti managed a shot but was off-target.

Valletta sprang into action with their first opportunity to get Marcelle de Oliveira Julio in a dangerous position but she was called back for offside. Miriana Conti’s attempt to play her behind the defence shortly after was read by the San Gwann back-line. Laura Muscat managed to release Anna Aloisio close to the ten minute mark but Justyne Caruana came out to collect.

San Gwann’s Chaimaa Tourki showed good work ethic to intercept a throw-in before launching a strike from distance. However, Andressa de Souza Ramos was untroubled.

Instead, it was Valletta who were more successful from distance. Georgiana Mifsud darted up the pitch and struck a long-range effort to break the deadlock around a quarter of an hour into the match. Valletta attempted to get a quick double as Mifsud found Laura Muscat who relayed it to Mirana Conti. However, Justyne Caruana made the cross hers.

Valletta Extend The Lead

The two sides had opportunities to threaten from free-kicks but Gaia Antonelli’s delivery toward the far-corner drifted out, while Fatma Al Girbi’s long range effort was also off-target. Valletta had another good opportunity to strike as Laura Muscat released Marcelle de Oliveira Julio behind the defence. However, Justyne Caruana made a brilliant stop to deny the Brazilian from placing a low shot into the corner.

Despite this, the two Valletta players combined in reverse to find the second goal of the afternoon. There was good build-up as Ylenia Grech passed into Laura Muscat. The number eight played into Marcelle de Oliveira Julio who returned the pass for Muscat to strike low into the net for the second. There was some commotion as San Gwann felt that Chaimaa Tourki had been injured in the lead-up to the goal.

The midfield battle continued with San Gwann attempting to get back into the match, while Valletta were unable to make the most of their free-kick opportunities. Guerra’s side looked to finish on a high with Laura Muscat and Marcelle de Oliveira Julio linking once more. The Brazilian delivered to Anna Aloisio but she was off-target with the finish.

However, Valletta did find the third just on the stroke of half-time as Eduarda Martins Souza cleared a ball high up the pitch which Marcelle de Oliveira Julio latched onto. She cut inside from the right wing before nestling the ball into the left corner of the net for the third.

Half-Time Score: Valletta 3 – 0 San Gwann

The Two Cancel Each Other Out

San Gwann’s Julian Camilleri made one change in the break, bringing on Andjela Kricak in replacement of Yasmine Attard. The Yellows came out with the resolve to deny Valletta any further opportunities while attempting to spring a comeback. Martina Schembri continued her work in defence to deny Marcelle de Oliveira Julio with an interception before hoofing up a clearance a few minutes later to deny the forward once more.

San Gwann won a corner in the early moments which they almost converted at the near post but were denied by Valletta who managed to maintain their clean sheet. Denis Guerra looked to his bench for the first time, as Megan La Rosa took to the pitch instead of Ylenia Grech. She slotted into the left-back role.

The hour mark saw a stream of bookings relayed to Martina Schembri, Thresa Scicluna and later to Monique Sultana as the contest continued to unravel. Thresa Scicluna and Shania Gheiti left the pitch shortly after directly replaced by Maria Ibrahim and Francesca Zarb. Meanwhile, the injury to Laura Muscat ended her afternoon and she was replaced by Suzanne Farrugia Sacco. By this point Denis Guerra’s side had shifted into a back-four with Megan La Rosa and Gaia Antonelli providing the width to Georgiana Mifsud and Sabrin Blihi.

Valletta managed to sneak Anna Aloisio into the box in the 68th minute who nicked a shot despite being tightly marked. However, Justyne Caruana was equal to the shot to deny her.

Both sides had opportunities to threaten from free-kicks but could not quite trouble the goalkeepers enough. Meanwhile, Andjela Kricak and Chaimaa Tourki started to link well as the number ten attempted to get behind the Valletta defence. As the final fifteen minutes approached Tourki played a delightful pass with the outside foot to get the Serbian behind once more. However, Valletta managed to recover the space and earn the goal-kick.

At the other end, Eduarda Martins Souza launched another ball for her compatriot Marcelle de Oliveira Julio to chase, but Justyne Caruana made herself big to deny the forward the opportunity to her tally. Anna Aloisio also got free on the left wing but was denied once more, before Marcelle de Oliveira Julio forced Caruana to parry a low shot for a corner.

San Gwann continued in their search for a consolation goal which saw the substitute Francesca Zarb display good composure to turn away from the Valletta defence and open up play. The side managed to win a corner. Chaimaa Tourki passed short to Fatma Al Girbi but Valletta read the danger before Eduarda Martins Souza launched into Suzanne Farrugia Sacco. However, her attempt to find Anna Aloisio was snuffed out by Kirstie Vella.

Julian Camilleri gave Annabelle Rapa an early rest as she was replaced by Aaliyah Fiteni who slotted in defence, while Kirstie Vella took the captain’s armband. Commotion continued after the officials called an offside against Valletta that was questionable to say the least.

The final minutes saw San Gwann’s Maria Ibrahim loop a cross into the box but Andressa de Souza Ramos claimed it to relieve the pressure. The Yellows had a final opportunity from a set-piece just outside the penalty box. Andjela Kricak struck but the wall did its job to take power off the strike before de Souza Ramos collected the pickings. At the other end, Marcelle de Oliveira Julio powered past San Gwann’s Martina Schembri but could not trouble Justyne Caruana with the shot.

Full-Time Score: Valletta 3 – 0 San Gwann

Next Matches

The matches end the first round commitments for the two sides and the win ensures that Valletta get some distance in fifth place. Guerra’s team will return on Thursday to open their second round commitments against Hibernians who currently find themselves temporarily in first place but await the mid-week encounter between Swieqi United and Birkirkara.

Meanwhile, San Gwann will return to the Mgarr Ground on Friday 10th November against the Greens who will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season, suffered against the defending champions Birkirkara.

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