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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 AUGUST 2014 Sport 47 47 SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Valletta ......................... 0 Tarxein Rainbows .......... 0 VALLETTA have still to win a match this season after playing to a goalless draw against Tarxien Rainbows. Valletta dominated the majority of the match, but Tarxien's stubborn defence denied any clear chances for Valletta. Valletta immediately started on the attack three minutes into the match when Kooh-Sohna passed to Steve Borg who then had his shot go just wide. Seven minutes into the match, Tarxien protested for a penalty when it looked as Alvaro Rodrigues Silva was brought down inside the area, but the referee waved play on. Valletta had a great chance to take the lead in the 42nd minute when Kooh-Sohna passed to Montebello who then shot straight into the Tarx- ien goalkeeper. Valletta continued to dominate throughout the second half. On the 73rd minute, Valletta missed another great scoring opportunity when off a cross by Abdelkarim Nafti, Ian Zammit's shot was cleared off Tarxien's goal line by Ryan Sammut. Valletta's Shaun Bajada was voted BOV Player of the match. VALLETTA: Vella, Caruana, Az- zopardi (Zammit 66'), Borg, Fenech, Faria, Kooh Sohna ( Lateef Alliyu 82'), Montebello (Caruana 59'), Bajada, Nafti, Dimech TARXIEN RAINBOWS: Debono, Caruana, Bugeja, Rodrigues Silva (Barbosa Viana 58'), Caruana, Lima Silva (Farrugia 90'), Sammut, Cini, Tabone (Aboulezz 76'), Lopes Pereira, Santos Silva Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann Balzan and Naxxar share the spoils Naxxar Lions ............ 1 Balzan ..................... 1 BALZAN and Naxxar earned a point each after they played to a 1-1 draw. With Balzan play- ing almost the entire match with ten-men, Naxxar failed to take advantage of the extra man on the pitch. Balzan did not take long to go ahead as the first goal arrived af- ter just eight minutes of play. Off a cross by Justin Grioli, Gianmarco Piccioni headed the ball past goal- keeper Julian Azzopardi to give his team the early lead. The match turned for the worse for Balzan as they had a man sent off on the 27th minute. Goalkeep- er Christian Cassar brought Daren Falzon down inside the area. The referee sent the Balzan goal- keeper off and awarded a penalty to Naxxar. From the penalty spot Gilmar Cassar made no mistake to beat goalkeeper Steve Sultana to level matters. Naxxar started to show their dominance with the extra player and with seven minutes remaining in the first half, Emenike Mbachu came close to giving Naxxar the lead; but goalkeeper Steve Sultana kept the ball out of the net. Naxxar had another great chance to take the lead 11 minutes into the second half when another ef- fort by Emenike Mbachu was de- f lected into a corner by goalkeeper Steve Sultana. On the 20th minute, Mbachu was denied again from close range by Sultana. Naxxar continued to control the match, but fantastic goalkeeping by Steve Sultana kept the ball out of the net to leave Naxxar regret- ting their missed opportunities. NAXXAR LIONS: Julian Az- zopardi, Angus Buhagiar, Gilmar da Silva Ribeiro, Pablo Dof fo (69' Pape Gueye), Emmanuel Ibok Edet, Uchenna Mbachu Emenike, Daren Falzon, David Fenech, David Ale- jandro Reano, Andrew Scicluna, Terence Vella (70' Victor Bellia). Subs not used: Luke Pecore- lla, Duane Bonnici, Ryan Gilmour Cassar, Jurgen Debono, Mattia Del Negro. Coach: Winston Muscat BALZAN: Christian Cassar, Jus- tin Grioli, Steve Bezzina, Elkin Serrano, Edison Bilbao Zarate, Osa Ice-Cream Guobadia, Luke Sciberras, Lydon Micallef (28' Ste- ve Sultana gk), Oscar Dario Guer- rero (90+3' Michael Borg ), Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza (85' Mark Spiteri), Gianmarco Piccioni. Subs not used: Shaun Bugeja, Juan Carlos Corbolan, Ryan Darmanin, Gianfranco Micallef. Coach: Oliver Spiteri Referee: Sandro Spiteri Assistant Referees: William De- battista, Paul Apap Fourth Official: Alan Mario Sant Yellow Cards: Piccioni, Dof fo, Sciberras, Reano, Grioli, Fenech, Falzon Red Cards: 26' Christian Cassar Scorers: 8' Gianmarco Piccioni, 29' Gilmar da Silva Ribeiro pen (N) BOV Player of the Match: Gilmar da Silva Ribeiro Download the MaltaToday App now PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE BORG Tarxien deny Valletta victory Champions Valletta were denied victory by Tarxien