Valletta Earn Three Points Following Comeback Against Lija Athletic

Valletta secured their second win of the season, by coming back from a goal down to win by 3-1 against Lija Athletic. Leanne Micallef opened the scoring with a direct free-kick for Lija Athletic. Valletta secured a comeback victory thanks to Anna Aloisio’s brace, which was split by Ylenia Grech’s conversion from the spot, following a controversial decision from the match officials. Valletta also hit the post and had a goal ruled offside.

Line-Ups

Lija Athletic were without the first-choice goalkeeper Christiana Pisani through injury. Nell Zarb Cousin was preferred in her stead. She was protected by a back-four of Rachel Mifsud, Shakira Bugeja, Sarah Caruana and Mariah Schembri. Captain Simone Buttigieg occupied the midfield in the company of Edera Marmara’ and Leanne Micallef. Vanessa Honorio Carneiro spearheaded the attack, flanked by Elisa Xuereb to her left and Katryna Grech on the right.

Meanwhile, Denis Guerra stuck with new signing Andressa De Souza Ramos in goal. She was protected by a back three, with Eduarda Martins Souza sandwiched between Georgiana Mifsud and Gaia Antonelli. The centre of midfield was occupied by captain Monique Sultana, Ylenia Grech and Francesca Bartolo, while Miriana Conti and Suzanne Farrugia Sacco provided the width. Anna Aloisio continued to partner Marcelle De Oliveira Julio in attack.

Dream Start For Lija Athletic

Valletta settled into an early spell of possession and especially made early in-roads along the right wing, with the young Suzanne Farrugia Sacco linking well with the new signing Marcelle De Oliveira Julio. An early chance seemed to have developed when Georgiana Mifsud released Anna Aloisio, but her pass to find Miriana Conti was read by Nell Zarb Cousin who was quickly off her line.

Instead, it was Lija Athletic who broke the deadlock, by making the most of a free-kick. The decision for the foul from the referee drew criticism from Valletta, since the offender had managed to take some of the ball, but the official waived away her complaints.

Up stepped Leanne Micallef who struck from distance and sent the ball flying into the back of the net to give Lija Athletic the lead ten minutes in. Having said this, the goalkeeper will be disappointed not to have done better against the shot, considering the distance.

Valletta Find The Equaliser

Having gone a goal behind, Valletta ramped up the attacks even further. Ylenia Grech was released behind the defence just a couple of minutes later, but Nell Zarb Cousin came out to meet her and did enough to block the shot. Suzanne Farrugia Sacco also came close after striking from a Miriana Conti cross five minutes later, but she saw her effort sail just above the crossbar from the tight angle.

City kept up the attack and appeared to have struck gold when Francesca Bartolo picked out Marcelle Oliveira de Julio unmarked at the edge of the box from a corner. However, her shot was blocked by the Lija defence. The Brazilian also took charge of a free-kick from close range, after Georgiana Mifsud was brought down shortly after. However, she was off-target with the strike.

Valletta’s efforts came to fruition in the twenty fifth minute. Anna Aloisio rose in the six-yard box to meet Francesca Bartolo’s delivery from a corner and headed the ball straight into the back of the net to equal the scoreline. Having seen the set-piece work, Aloisio kept being the main target for the majority of the succeeding corners, but the team could not add to their tally that way.

A Controversial Penalty

Meanwhile, having seen their lead erased, Lija Athletic worked on winning the ball in midfield and using their pace on the counter, but the final pass seemed to elude them. At the other end, the defence was holding strong, with Nell Zarb Cousin doing her best in the makeshift role, while Sarah Caruana made an expert interception to deny Marcelle De Oliveira Julio from picking out two of her teammates in the box, who would have had a clear scoring opportunity.

However, the forty-second minute saw the referee point to the spot to the dismay of Lija Athletic, which led to Valletta taking the lead. Marcelle de Oliveira Julio had made headway along the left side of the box following which she fell to the ground following potential contact from the Lija defence. However, Valletta kept up the attack through Miriana Conti, whose cross was met by the Lija defence who hoofed up the clearance. Following this, the referee blew the whistle and awarded the penalty, presumably for the original foul on the Brazilian. However, having let play go on to that extent understandably drew confusion and dismay from the team in black. Ylenia Grech stepped up and found the bottom left corner with her strike to send her team in front.

Having drawn plenty of criticism from the start, things unravelled for the officials with a number of inconsistencies. Although the referees attempted to keep control of the match, dishing out a booking for dissent for kicking the ball away to one player from Valletta, while neglecting to do so for the same offence by a player from Lija Athletic, gives an example of how the inconsistencies could have added fuel to the fire.

Half-Time Score: Lija Athletic 1 – 2 Valletta

Valletta Extend Lead

Neither coaches made any changes at the break. Valletta came out with the clear intention to add to their tally and immediately earned themselves a corner. Though the Bartolo-Aloisio combination appeared to work, the ball was fed just behind Aloisio whose backtracking made it difficult to generate any power. Meanwhile, Ylenia Grech was picked out by Marcelle de Oliveira Julio at the edge of the box, but saw her low strike cleared by Zarb Cousin.

Despite having done well up to that point in the makeshift position, the goalkeeper’s inexperience led to Valletta’s third goal. Anna Aloisio struck powerfully from distance and although Zarb Cousin got a hand on it, she let it slip which led to it rolling back into the net.

Lija Athletic appeared to be onto something ten minutes into the half when the trio of Mariah Schembri, Simone Buttigieg and Leanne Micallef worked their way up the pitch, before Micallef released a forward pass into Vanessa Honorio Carneiro. However, the number nine was duly ruled offside.

Valletta came back in numbers with Georgiana Mifsud flashing a ball across the face of goal, but dismayed that no one attacked it at the far post. Soon after, Denis Guerra looked to his bench to freshen up the defence and midfield. Gaia Antonelli gave way to Michela Bonello Ghio. Meanwhile, Sarah Vella Barberi and Laura Muscat headed onto the pitch instead of Ylenia Grech and Monique Sultana, also in like for like swaps.

Valletta Hit Post & Have Goal Ruled Offside

City kept driving forward with shot after shot but Lija Athletic stood their ground to try to limit the gap to two. Half-hearted calls by Valletta for a penalty due to a handball by the Lija defence were dismissed in the sixty-fifth minute.

On the other hand, Valletta almost played themselves into trouble in the seventieth minute when the goalkeeper came out to meet the ball and handed it straight back to Lija. Although Leanne Micallef seized the opportunity of having the goalkeeper out of position with an attempted shot from distance, she could not quite back it up with the accuracy needed to add to her tally.

Lija had other opportunities to find another goal. Shortly after, Vanessa Honorio Carneiro managed to get behind the defence, but her attempt to lob the goalkeeper was just off target. Meanwhile, the striker also won a foul at the edge of the penalty box. However, Shakira Bugeja’s attempt lacked the dip needed to find the back of the net.

At the other end, Valletta showed good link-up play between the substitutes and had two major opportunities to extend the lead. Suzanne Farrugia Sacco came very close with a header from a corner but saw her effort clip the post and go out. A minute later, Georgiana Mifsud headed another corner delivery from a similar position, which the Lija defence put into the back of their own net. However, the goal was ruled out for offside because of a Valletta player having been in close proximity and in an irregular position, when the ball was struck into the own net.

Meanwhile, Jethron Azzopardi looked to his bench later in the match, giving some minutes to Haley Muscat, Amy Galea Gingell and Isabell Mazzitelli. The trio replaced, Elisa Xuereb, Edera Marmara and Vanessa Honorio Carneiro.

Final Score: Lija Athletic 1 – 3 Valletta

Next Matches

The game sees Valletta finish the first four matches with six points to their tally, while Lija Athletic will have work to do having gotten a point thus far. The Assikura Women’s League weekend kicked off yesterday with the match between Mgarr United and Mtarfa. It will culminate with the double header at Dingli Ground tonight, where Birkirkara return against San Gwann (18:00), followed by Swieqi United vs Hibernians (20:30).

The teams will then separate for the international break. The European Women’s National Teams will be competing in the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League. Following that, Valletta will return against Swieqi United on Friday 13th October at the Centenary Stadium (20:30). Lija Athletic play the following day against Mgarr United at Dingli Ground (17:30).

Lead Image: Lara Schembri

Stay up to date by following The Sporting Fan on social media: Instagram ~ Facebook ~ X