Birkirkara won another three points against Valletta in the fifth match of the Closing Round of the YoHealth Malta Premier. With this result, Birkirkara moved up to sixth place in the standings, just one point behind Valletta.
The first half was fairly balanced. In the 6th minute, Birkirkara’s Bayo Mben was shown a yellow card for a foul. Valletta came close in the 18th minute from a corner taken by captain Paiber, but after goalkeeper Grech punched the ball away, Azzopardi’s attempt ended high over the bar. Birkirkara responded with a promising attack in the 20th minute, though Mbende cleared Garzia’s low cross. In the 25th minute, Mben tried his luck from outside the area, narrowly missing the target. Valletta threatened again in the 29th minute when Aldama crossed towards Basher, but his shot flew over. Reid tested goalkeeper Aguero in the 33rd minute, but the Valletta keeper gathered comfortably. Aldama received Valletta’s first booking in the 36th minute. Valletta had another late chance before the break when Basher delivered a cross to Yankam, but Lopez cleared, and from the resulting corner Mbende’s effort struck a defender.
Early in the second half, Birkirkara missed a major opportunity to take the lead. In the 50th minute, captain Coppola failed to convert a penalty awarded after Borg handled Garzia’s shot inside the box. Birkirkara then picked up a series of bookings, with Dimech cautioned in the 54th minute and Morello in the 57th. Valletta nearly replied in the 61st minute when Paiber attempted a long-range strike that went just over. Ellul was booked for Valletta in the 64th minute.
Both teams made several substitutions as the match progressed. Valletta introduced Meijer for Basher in the 66th minute, while Birkirkara were forced to replace injured goalkeeper Grech with Martinez a minute later. In the 71st minute, Bayo Mben headed over from Acheampong’s delivery. A heated moment followed in the 74th minute, with Azzopardi and Acheampong both receiving yellow cards. Birkirkara then brought on Micallef and Vrcic, while Valletta replaced Paiber with Mendoza and later introduced Zammit for Messias.
The decisive moment arrived in the 86th minute. After Vrcic forced a save from Aguero, Birkirkara won a corner and Makoma rose highest to head in the winner, putting his side ahead. Reid received a late yellow card, and Birkirkara made a final substitution in stoppage time, with Fenech replacing him.
VALLETTA: AGUERO DOS SANTOS Adilson, ELLUL Mattias, BORG Steve, PAIBER Brandon Diego (C, 76’ MENDOZA USUGA Jackson), AZZOPARDI Jake (74’), YANKAM Yannick, BASHER Ahmed Adebayo (66’ MEIJER Stijn Valentijn), MBENDE Moïse Emmanuel, DE JESUS MESSIAS Yuri (81’ ZAMMIT Andrea), RADIĆ Sava, ALDAMA Thaylor.
BIRKIRKARA: GRECH Matthew (67’ MARTINEZ MARTINEZ Miguel Angel), LOPEZ GARRONE Francisco, MORELLO Manuel Ignacio, GARZIA Aleandro, REID Kemar (90+ FENECH Kaiden), DIMECH Shaun (75’ MICALLEF Neil), COPPOLA Alessandro, ACHEAMPONG Geoffrey Edwin, BISPO DOS SANTOS Ronivan, MAKOMA Donovan Stephane, BAYO MBEN Jacques Armand Thierry (75’ VRCIC Jere).
Scorers: 87′ S. Makoma (B)
Yellow Cards: M. Ellul (V), I. Morello, K. Reid, S. Dimech, E. Acheampong, T. Bayo Mben (B)
Referee: S. Petrovic
