Valletta Maintain Winning Form Against Lija Athletic

Sarah Vella Barberi’s goal was enough to hand Valletta another victory over Lija Athletic, to start the final round with their unbeaten streak intact. City’s defensive unit also earn their tenth clean sheet of the season.

Team Selections

Valletta’s Andressa de Souza Ramos started in goal behind the trio of Michela Bonello Ghio, Sabrin Blihi and Eduarda Martins Souza. Sarah Vella Barberi and Miriana Conti occupied the wings, while Monique Sultana and Francesca Bartolo started in midfield. Ylenia Grech started in the number ten position, behind the striker partnership of Laura Muscat and captain Anna Aloisio.

Meanwhile, Christiana Pisani continued her stay in goal for Lija Athletic. Jethron Azzopardi opted for a back-three with Ylenia Azzopardi slotting alongside the trusted defensive duo of Nell Zarb Cousin and Sarah Caruana. Mariah Schembri and Shakira Bugeja provided the width. Rachel Mifsud supported captain Simone Buttigieg in midfield, while Edera Marmara’ and Elisa Xuereb started on the flanks. Vanessa Honorio Carneiro was the lone attacker.

Valletta’s Secure Victory Through Vella Barberi Strike

The refereeing duty was rotated among the same trio that finished the match between San Gwann and Mtarfa. As expected, errors due to the lack of an experienced official continued to crop up throughout the match. The matter is addressed in a separate report.

The group leaders started with a high intensity and one-touch football in search of opening up Lija Athletic’s defence. Francesca Bartolo linked with Laura Muscat who roped in Miriana Conti. However, the shot was well saved from Christiana Pisani.

City threatened from an early corner kick, with Francesca Bartolo’s delivery hitting the crossbar. Christiana Pisani punched away a second delivery on the quarter hour mark, before a third corner kick was worked short to Sabrin Blihi, whose effort aimed toward the top right corner was just overhit.

Having withstood the first wave of attacks, Lija Athletic started to gain confidence, with Vanessa Honorio Carneiro holding up the ball well before releasing Edera Marmara’ behind. However, Lija Athletic’s number ten was reluctant to pull the trigger, ultimately closed down by Eduarda Martins Souza. The team in black worked the resulting throw-in to Simone Buttigieg, whose delivery was collected by Andressa de Souza Ramos.

Valletta started to pepper more shots on Lija Athletic’s goal, with Ylenia Grech’s effort being deflected kindly for Christiana Pisani to collect, before Sarah Vella Barberi released a bullet of a shot from the right wing. However, Pisani held the effort too.

Having been unable to find success from previous corner kick opportunities, City finally broke the deadlock in the 37th minute. Although Lija Athletic cleared the initial delivery from Francesca Bartolo, the ball was played straight into the path of Sarah Vella Barberi who fired a right boot, with the deflection taking the ball into the bottom right of the goal.

Valletta started the second-half brightly with Sarah Vella Barberi once again proving to be a real nuisance for Lija Athletic on the wing. City’s number eleven pinged a delivery into Miriana Conti who timed her run to the far post, but got underneath the header.

Lija Athletic’s Jethron Azzopardi opted to freshen up the attack, bringing on Katryna Grech in a swap with Elisa Xuereb, with Grech slotting on the right and Edera Marmara’ moving to the left wing.

Valletta continued searching for more, with Laura Muscat, Ylenia Grech and Francesca Bartolo all trying their luck, while Christiana Pisani made an expert diving save in the 57th minute to keep her team in it. At the other end, the battle between Vanessa Honorio Carneiro and Eduarda Martins Souza continued to develop before changes ensued pushing the latter into midfield.

In fact, Samira Bouzid came on for Rachel Mifsud for Lija Athletic in the 68th minute. Bouzid occupied the centre-back position, pushing Ylenia Azzopardi into midfield. Meanwhile there were two changes from Valletta, with Lisa Vella and Megan La Rosa coming on to slot on either flank of Sabrin Blihi. Ylenia Grech and Laura Muscat gave way, resulting in a shift in positions as Eduarda Martins Souza moved into midfield, Michela Bonello Ghio occupied the left wing, while Sarah Vella Barberi partnered Anna Aloisio in attack.

Having stood out on the afternoon, Sarah Vella Barberi came close to doubling the lead in the 76th minute firing a shot from the left side of the box, only to be denied by a goalmouth clearance by Mariah Schembri. Eduarda Martins Souza kept the attack alive with a delivery into the box, but Anna Aloisio’s effort was central enough for Christiana Pisani to collect. Sarah Vella Barberi also had a goal chalked off for offside in the 84th minute, which was a spectacular effort to find the far corner of the goal from the left wing.

Lija Athletic attempted to get an equaliser piling forward in the latter stages, urged on by their coach and their vocal supporters alike. Simone Buttigieg and Ylenia Azzopardi were hard at work in midfield, but Vanessa Honorio Carneiro was being kept quiet by the centre-back trio. Shakira Bugeja attempted to find the top right corner from a free-kick, but Andressa de Souza Ramos shifted well to make the save.

Valletta had one final opportunity to increase the tally late on as Eduarda Martins Souza picked out Michela Bonello Ghio with a cross from the byline. However, Valletta’s number five was denied the goal by Christiana Pisani as well.

Final Score: Valletta 1 – 0 Lija Athletic

Standings & Next Matches

Valletta take themselves to 39 points with two games to go, while continuing to fortify their goal difference. They will next face Mtarfa on Thursday 14th at the Victor Tedesco Stadium at 20:30. On the other hand, Lija Athletic will seek to close the gap to San Gwann in their direct confrontation on Saturday 16th at 14:00 at Mgarr Ground.

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