Floriana and Valletta cancel each other in goalless stalemate

Floriana and Valletta gave life to a fascinating derby that failed to produce a winner as the two neighbouring rivals cancelled each other in a goalless draw.

Valletta and Floriana produced some exciting duels this season but last night’s clash at the Tony Bezzina Stadium failed to reach a high level of entertainment as the game turned out to be a drab affair with scoring chances few and far between.

In reality, it was Valletta who showed more attacking intent but failed to make the most of the few chances that came their way.

On the other hand, Floriana looked more interested on avoiding defeat as they rarely threatened Valletta goalkeeper Adilson Maringa.

The final stalemate left Floriana level with Gżira United as joint leaders with 10 points, one ahead of Hibernians and two clear of Valletta and Floriana.

The first half was devoid of scoring opportunities as both sets of players looked to affected by the importance of this fixture and were clearly feeling the responsibility to help their team get a positive result.

The match was played at a high intensity and the level of nervousness was transpired around the 20-minute mark when Floriana defender Iago Mendonca and Valletta forward Ahem Adebayo clashed in an off-the-ball incident, sparking a little melee with referee Fyodor Zammit opting to book both players.

Floriana’s best chance of the half fell into the feet of Zach Scerri who teed up by Grech on the edge of the area but his shot finished just over.

On the other hand, Sava Radic had Valletta’s best opportunity. The Serbian was found by the hard-working Thaylor Aldama but the City defender fired over from a few metres out.

In the second half, Valletta tried to step up a gear and on 55 minutes Shaft Brewer hit a firm drive from the edge of the area that was well saved by Floriana goalkeeper Gabriele Cioletti.

Five minutes later, Valletta were awarded a central free-kick but Brandon Paiber’s shot finished over the bar.

The best chance of the match for Valletta came on 70 minutes when in a swift break, Jake Azzopardi played Messias in space and the Brazilian’s shot was blocked in two attempts by Cioletti.