Flashpoint... Valletta’s Roderick Briffa is sent flying by this tackle from Thomas Paris who was shown a straight red card. Photo: Paul Zammit CutajarŻebbuġ Rangers 0
Valletta 2
Barry 20 pen; Nafti 54;
Taking on Valletta, even these days, was always going to be a daunting challenge for the modest Żebbuġ Rangers let alone if they had to play them with 10 men for 65 minutes.
With their goal just breached moments earlier through a penalty, midfielder Thomas Paris received his marching orders for a hard tackle on Roderick Briffa but to their credit the Rangers showed defiance.
Despite dominating large swathes of possession, the champions were devoid of flair and bite as they laboured to break Żebbuġ’s stubborn resistance.
A second goal from Abdelkarim Nafti settled City’s nerves but it was Żebbuġ who deserved the laurels for their plucky show.
The only consolation for the low-key Whites was that they managed to win three straight games for the first time this season to consolidate third spot in the table.
Unsurprisingly, Żebbuġ coach Alfonso Greco stuck with the same formation that achieved a creditable draw in the derby against Qormi.
Mauricio Britto was the focal point of Żebbuġ’s attack with the versatile Carlo Monti the link between midfield and the forward line in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
Valletta’s starting formation was always going to be interesting after Ivan Zammit was promoted to first-team coach but the Gilbert Agius-Zammit tandem decided to field the same team as in the 2-0 win over Balzan.
Lateef Elford-Alliyu and Raphael Kooh Sohna were given the onus to make the most of the supply of passes from midfielders Briffa and Ryan Fenech in a straightforward 4-4-2 formation.
Nafti figured wide on the left and Hamza Barry took up a midfield position on the right but moved into the central zone going forward.
The Rangers were the livelier side in the opening exchanges. A fine one-two between Matias Muchardi and Monti, very active on the left early on, saw the latter powering his way into the area but his shot was pushed away by Nicky Vella after 19 minutes.
But, a minute later, Valletta forced a breakthrough. A mazy Kooh-Sohna run into the area was stopped by a clumsy challenge from Muchardi.
Assistant referee Luke Portelli was quick to signal the infringement and referee Andrè Arciola ordered a penalty which was converted by Barry.
Żebbuġ’s early optimism looked to have been tainted on 25 minutes when Paris was shown a straight red card after going in on Briffa with a raised foot in central midfield, much to the disappointment of the Rangers players and fans who felt that the former Birkirkara player’s foul was not a red-card offence.
Nine minutes from half-time, Valletta had to make their first substitution as Kooh Sohna was unable to continue after pulling his hamstring. He was replaced by Alex Barbosa Terra who took over the Cameroonian’s striking duties.
In spite of their numerical superiority, Valletta rarely looked like exploiting their advantage for the remainder of the first half.
In their only significant attack before the break, Fenech released Elford-Alliyu on the right of the penalty area but the Englishman’s rising shot flew high.
Zammit re-appeared on the bench a few minutes after the play had restarted but whatever the Valletta coach said to his players during half-time, it worked wonders as they came out for the second half determined to up their game.
On 52 minutes, Terra did well to float a dangerous cross into the penalty area but Briffa’s header finished wide of the far post.
Gaining in confidence, Valletta extended their lead two minutes later as Elford-Alliyu supplied an inviting ball to Nafti who accelerated into the box before chipping the ball over onrushing keeper Fabricio Rapchan Morales.
Terra then saw his dipping effort being deflected away for a corner.
Żebbuġ emerged from their slumber past the hour mark when Monti rifled wide.
On 75 minutes, Vella made a fine save to stop Matthew Bartolo’s point-blank shot.
In the final minutes, Valletta controlled without exerting pressure on the Żebbuġ rearguard to take home all the points.
Żebbuġ Rangers
F.R. Morales-6, J. Borg-6, Y. Camilleri-6, J.D. Serrano-6, M. Gauci-5.5, M. Muchardi-6, T. Paris, C. Gauci-5.5 (69 M. Farrugia-5), M. Bartolo-6, M. Britto-5 (61 J. Nwoba-4), C. Monti-6.5 (85 M. Ciantar).
Valletta
N. Vella-6, J. Caruana-5.5, I. Azzopardi-6, S. Borg-5.5 (60 L. Dimech-5), R. Camilleri-5.5, R. Fenech-5.5, L. Elford-Alliyu-6, R. Kooh Sohna-5 (36 A. Terra-6), R. Briffa-6.5, H. Barry-7 (72 L. Montebello), A. Nafti-6.
Referee: Andre Arciola.
Yellow cards: Kooh-Sohna; Borg; Muchardi.
Red card: Paris (Z) 25. Attendance 695.
BOV player of the match: Hamza Barry (Valletta).