Sliema Wanderers beat Valletta to boost Top 6 aspirations

Sliema Wanderers gave their hopes of a Top 6 finish a significant boost as they battled past Valletta 1-0 at the Tony Bezzina Stadium.

It was a clinical performance from the Wanderers, who, after soaking up the pressure in the first half, kept their cool and went on to clinch the winner in their first attempt on target.

From then on, the Blues managed to maintain their lead, to secure three important points that lifts them to seventh place on 12 points, level with the same Valletta and well in the hunt for a Top 6 berth.

The first half was devoid of scoring opportunities with the only efforts on goal coming from Valletta.

For Valletta it was a disappointing defeat as despite enjoying the majority of possession they lacked any cutting edge upfront to suffer a major blow to their Top 6 hopes.

On 25 minutes, Emmanuel Mbende connected to Yannick Yankam’s corner but his dipping header was tipped over by Sliema goalkeeper Rashed Al Tumi.

The Citizens had an even better chance eight minutes later when Ahmed Adebayo sped clear but when entering the penalty box, he took too much time to conclude and was closed down, much to the frustration of the unmarked Thaylor Aldama.

On the restart, the game came to life when Sliema took the lead on 54 minutes when in a prolonged attack, Fernandinho managed to push the ball into the path of Mohammed Awad who hit a low angled drive that rolled into the bottom corner of the net.

Valletta tried to step up a gear and coach Thane Micallef roped in Diogo Tavares and Andrea Zammit, but were still struggling to create clear-cut chances.

In stoppage time, Valletta had a huge chance to pull level when substitute Andrea Zammit lobbed the ball into the path of the unmarked Aldama, but the winger, incredibly, attempted an overhead kick from two metres out and fired over to the dismay of the City fans.