Referee: E.R. Zammit

Scorers: 15' G. Mallia, 35' C. Oretan, 76' I. Zammit, 87' G. Agius.

Yellow Cards: J. Holland, E. Do Nascimento, C. Ciantar, R. Oba, B. Said, S. Sullivan, D. Carabott,
D. theuma

Red Card: 66' D. Carabott
 

Match report:
A roar of approval pierced the Ta' Qali air yesterday afternoon as Valetta were crowned team of the century by  virtue of two late goals from Ivan Zammit and Gilbert Agius which earned them a 3-1 victory over arch-rivals Floriana in the Centenary Cup final.

Amidst talk of FIFA century awards and Malta FA centenary controversies, Valletta left no doubts about their merits as winners of this knock-out competition as they outplayed Floriana in this eagerly-awaited final, played in front of a sizeable crowd at Ta' Qali.

The fact that two of the most successful clubs in Maltese football were vying for this much coveted trophy, marking the centenary of the Malta FA, only served to heighten expectations among the supporters of those sporting rivals.

Floriana had reason to be upbeat in their chances of adding the Centenary Cup to their impressive array of silverware on the strength of their recent results, including a 4-1 defeat of Birkirkara in the semi-finals.

By stark contrast, Valletta's uninspiring displays of late and news that Sunday's league victory over Naxxar is in jeopardy, reduced Valletta's chances of lifting the cup in the eyes of critics and fans alike.

But all that was forgotten yesterday as the Citizens overcame a difficult start and the second-half dismissal of David Carabott to crown a decade of succes by winning the Centenary Cup.

While Valletta cemented their place in the history of Maltese football, the roller-coaster career of their midfielder Ivan Zammit, until a few months ago a Birkirkara player, took another twist.

Indeed, the diminutive midfielder lived up to his reputation as a player who steals the showon significant occassions as he came off the bench to steer his team to an important victory.

Although Valletta were the more adventurous side straight from the outset, the early exchanges provided little or no evidence at all that the Citizens would eventually cruise to an emphatic win.

After 15 minutes of arid play Floriana seized the lead against the run of play, Congolese midfielder Rufin Oba made heavyway on the left, slipped the ball to George Mallia who took a couple of steps before unleashing a powerful shot from long distance which had the better of Sean Sullivan.

Sullivan and Jonathan Holland then became the first players to earn a booking after the Floriana midfielder sent the Valletta goalkeeper tumbling to the ground as he tried to chase a lost ball. Sullivan went to confront Holland and bothe players were cautioned for their misdemeanors.

Valletta's response to Mallia's stunning opener was restricted to a couple of speculative crosses which failed to unnerve the Floriana defence.

At the other end, the Citizens' reshaped defence, which had kamil Dvorak operating as left-back in the absence of the suspended Jeffrey Chetcuti, and the industrious Daniel Theuma deployed as anchor-man to counter the threaat posed by Oba, betrayed signs of uneasiness at the start but settled down nicely as the game progressed.

The Citizens made their territorial supremacy count 10 minutes from the interval. CSKA Sofia-bound Stefan Giglio retrieved posession just outside the Floriana box and released Theuma with a crisp pass. As the Floriana defenders screamed for offside, Theuma surged foward before squaring the ball towards the unmarked Chris Oretan who stabbed the ball home.

Two minutes after the restart, Gilbert Agius was presented with a golden opportunity to put his team ahead. Mraz sent him clear but Agius opted to wait for support rather than having a pot at goal with the Floriana defenders given plenty of time to regroup and clear the danger.



On 54 minutes, a Giglio scorcher was spilled by Haber but Oretan was a second too late to steer the ball home.

A minute later, Krassimir Manolov and Karim Bencherifa, the coaches of Valletta and Floriana respectively, along with the assistant referees raced to the centre of the pitch to quell a skirmish between the two set of players after an incident involving Oba and Carabott neat the half-way line. Both players were shown the yellow card.

Sixteen minutes into the second half, Holland's chip was palmed away for a corner by Sullivan. Moments later, Sullivan was again forced into a difficult save to turn away another dangerous Holland free-kick.

Manolov then effected his first substitution, hauling off skipper Laferla in lieu of Zammit, a move intended to add more flair to Valletta's midfield. Carabott compunded his embarrassment on 66 minutes as he was sent off for a second booking for a foul on Holland. His sending off forced Manolov into some re-adjustments as the defensive-minded Floriana were now expected to bring some urgency to their game. But that never happened.

A swift interchange between Agius and Zammit paved the way for the latter to attempt a shot at goal but his effort trickled wide. Zammit redeemed himself 14 minutes from time as he volleyed home a Bonnici corner conceded by Haber on an Agius effort.

An adverse situation for Floriana was greeted with a double substitution from Bencherifa who threw into the fray Albert Busuttil and the nippy Antoine Zahra for Mario Caruana and Claude Mattocks respectively.

But it proved to no avail as Valletta applied the killer touch three minutes from the end. Zammit turned provider as he spotted Agius lurking near the edge of Floriana box. The City striker evaded Gango-Rtsa, swivelled before he whipped in a dipping shot past Haber and into the far corner of the net. A gem of a goal from the darling of City Fans.

The referee's final whistle triggered massive celebrations at the Valletta end. This reached a climax when Agius and Laferla hoisted the gleaming Centenary Cup. Valletta's mission was accomplished...the team of the decade had turned team of the century!

(Courtesy of The Times of Malta)