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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 APRIL 2015 35 Sport FOOTBALL Valletta consolidate second place with fine win over Birkirkara Pieta win do or die clash with Zebbug Valletta .................... 2 Birkirkara ................. 1 EDWARD FALZON VALLETTA were back to winning ways but needed a late Hamza Barry goal to overcome Birkirkara 2-1 at the National Stadium. Valletta went in front in their first attempt at goal on 16 minutes when off a corner kick taken by Nafti, Steve Borg reached to the ball ahead of keeper Justin Haber for the ball to finish in the back of the net. Valletta looked the fresher of the two as they pressed high their opponents with the stripes often forced to make mistakes leading to loss of possession. On 26 minutes Roderick Briffa sent a perfect chip in the direc- tion of Abdelkarim Nafti whose attempted lob over the oncoming Haber finished just wide. Seven minutes later, Valletta al- most caught Birkirkara napping when in a fast break involving some quick passing, Nafti put El- ford Alliyu clear but the English striker was stopped in time by a fine tackle from Zerafa. Birkirkara's first attempt at goal came on 36 minutes but Rafael Ledesma's low shot failed to trou- ble Vella. A minute from half-time Birkirkara appealed for a penalt y when Camenzuli appeared to be fouled in the area by Dimech. However, Adrian Azzopardi al- lowed play to continue, indicating Dimech 's challenge did not make contact with Camenzuli and in- stead awarded the Stripes an indi- rect free-kick from inside the area for dangerous play. From the ensuing free-kick, Ledesma's effort f lew high and wide. Paul Zammit, the Birkirkara coach, tried to install some much need grit and firepower on the re- start as he withdrew Camenzuli to make space for Liliu. Valletta continued to dominate the proceedings and on 48 min- utes Barry sent a ball towards Nafti on the edge of the area and the Tunisian quickly released Ba- jada whose low shot was blocked by Haber. Birkirkara were back in the con- test when on 53 minutes from a corner kick action Vella fumbled the ball in an attempt to block Ledesma's cross and in came Ryan Scicluna who bundled the ball into the net. The Lilly Whites remained the brighter side and on 73 minutes Barry was again denied by Haber. Thirteen minutes from time Valletta protested for a penalt y when Nafti fell following an aerial challenge by Mazzetti Latini but the referee was untoward. Valletta scored the winner ten minutes from time in an attempt to anticipate an opponent; Zack Brincat headed the ball towards an unmarked Hamza Barry who had no trouble beating Justin Haber from close range. Valletta; Vella, Caruana, Borg , Camilleri, Fenech, Barry, Brif fa (Pulis 92'), Elford-Alliyu (Cremo- na 72'), Bajada (Azzopardi 63'), Nafti, Dimech Birkirkara; Haber, Ledesma, Vu- kanac, Mazzetti, Zerafa, Herrera, Fenech, Muscat (Zammit 83'), Muscat, Camenzuli (Morais 46'), Scicluna (Bissi 75' Referee: Adrian Azzopardi Yellow Cards: Dimech, Camilleri, Nafti, Z . Muscat, Borg BOV Man of the Match: Hamza Barry Pieta Hotspurs .......... 3 Zebbug Rangers......... 1 EDWARD FALZON PIETÀ Hotspurs gave themselves a lifeline in the fight to avoid the drop when they swept aside a con- demned bottom side Żebbuġ Rang- ers 3-1 at the National Stadium. After a balanced opening 20 min- utes it was Pietà who surged ahead on 25 minutes when Ricardo Costa picked out Kyle Cesare at the far post and promising midfielder hit a thunderous drive into the back of the net. The Hotspurs remained in con- trol of the game but for all their possession they rarely created any scoring opportunities. Instead, it was Żebbuġ who man- aged to draw level a minute from the break when Paltemio Bar- betti's througball released Luke Montebello and the loaned Val- letta striker hit the ball past David Cassar. The goal gave the Rangers a much needed boost and a minute later Mauricio Britto almost grabbed a second but his shot drove high. After the break, Pietà were again pushing forward and on 48 min- utes Claudio Frances ran past two defenders but his def lected shot finished just over. On 56 minutes it was again Luke Montebello who threatened the Pieta rear guard through an effort from outside the area which was kept by Cassar. On 68 minutes it was Frances for Pieta who tried his luck with a long range effort which ended high. On 75 minutes Costa showed great footwork but was upended by Barbetti on the edge of the area. From the resultant free-kick, Frances hit a scorching low drive that f lew into the bottom corner of the net. Pietà all but wrapped up the points ten minutes from time when from a Frances corner-kick, Leonardo Fortunato nodded the ball into the path of Gabriel who volleyed the ball home from close in. Pieta; Cassar, Attard, Dos San- tos, Costa (Bartolo 90'), Pisani, Anonam, Cesare (Agius 80'), Da Silva (Pace Cocks 90'), Newucha, Frances, Micallef Zebbug; Farrugia, Reano, Bartolo, Paris (Ciantar 83'), Borg, Barbetti, Muchardi, Britto, Yussuf (Monti 55'), Montebello, Camilleri Referee: Ian McNabb Yellow Cards: Paris (Z), Gabriel (P) Scorers: Cesare 25' (P), Montebello 44' (Z), Frances 76' (P), Gabriel 81' (P) BOV Man of the Match: Claudio Frances Watford seal return to Premier League WATFORD marked their return to the English Top f light after being relegat- ed in the 2006-2007 sea- son following their 2-0 win over Brighton Watford were promoted to the Premier League yesterday after they won 2-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion, Middlesbrough lost 4-3 at Fulham and Norwich Cit y drew 1-1 at Rotherham in the Cham- pionship. Watford have 88 points with one match remain- ing, four ahead of Bourne- mouth and third-placed Boro, who also have one game left. Norwich are a point further back in fourth. Second-placed Bourne- mouth play Bolton Wan- derers tomorrow Mon- day and could still finish top of the table with two games left. The top two teams are automatically promoted to the top f light and the next four enter play- offs for the last Premier League place. Watford celebrate with the fans after the final whistle at Brighton Barca outclass local rivals NEYMAR and Lionel Messi were on target as Barcelona eased their way to a 2-0 win at local rivals Espanyol to increase their grip on top spot in the Primera Division. Brazilian Neymar struck af- ter 16 minutes put Barcelona on their way to victory and then Messi scored from a tight angle nine minutes later to double the visitors' lead. The only negative for Luis En- rique's side was Jordi Alba get- ting sent off in the second half for earning two successive bookings, but the league leaders continued playing as if it was they who had an extra man, and could have ex- tended their lead. Espanyol defender Hector Moreno was then also sent off in injury time to complete a miser- able afternoon for the hosts. Atletico Madrid comfort- ably beat Elche 3-0 at home to resume normal service after be- ing eliminated from the Cham- pions League by Real Madrid in midweek. The visitors came through the first half unscathed but fell be- hind to Antoine Griezmann's header on 55 minutes, and Raul Garcia doubled the lead before the Frenchman pounced again, scoring a double for a third con- secutive Primera Division game. The win sees Atletico tighten their grip on third spot, while Elche remain in 14th place, six points above the relegation zone. Victor Casadesus scored the only goal as strugglers Levante claimed a valuable 1-0 win at Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Pe- rez. Casadesus broke the deadlock in the 35th minute and Lucas Al- caraz's side held on to claim three valuable points in their quest to avoid relegation. Levante started the day just one point clear of the bottom three, but the win over 13th-placed Getafe boosted them above Eibar and into 15th place. Athletic Bilbao remain in the hunt for a place in next season's Europa League competition after they won 1-0 at bottom side Cor- doba on Friday. Midfielder Benat earned Ath- letic all three points in fine style when he exquisitely curled home from the edge of the area early in the second half. The victory moves Ernesto Val- verde's side level on points with seventh-placed Malaga, who oc- cupy the final Europa League play-off place. Cordoba have failed to win any of their last 15 league games and are eight points adrift of safety with five matches remaining. Barcelona scorer Lionel Messi is congratulated by Luis Suarez