Valletta won their first ever Futsal league title after stunning Hamrun Spartans 10-4 in the third and decisive game of this season’s Gatorade Elite play-off series.
Having bounced back from their first-game loss with a 7-6 victory in game two, the Citizens conjured up a tenacious performance to overcome their rivals as they showed nerves of steel to keep their opponents at bay. This match had to be played behind closed doors to prevent a re-occurrence of the violence that marred a match between the sides two weeks ago.
Valletta’s perfect start gave them an early six-goal lead. The Spartans re-grouped to narrow the deficit but before the interval, two quickfire goals gave the Lilywhites an 8-2 lead. With their title chances fizzling out, Hamrun tried to produce a reaction but were unable to summon the energy and resilience to battle back as Valletta increased their lead to secure the title.
Jovica Milijic stole the show with a vintage performance as he scored a fantastic hat-trick while Cristian Cuadros Silva, Mohammed Elamari and Dylan Musu netted a brace. Meanwhile Dejan Bizjak added another one for the Citizens. Hamrun’s consolation goals came from a Rodrigo’s brace, Andy Mangion and George Frendo.
After the match, Mark Borg, the president of the Futsal Malta Association, presented the league trophy to Xavier Saliba, the Valletta captain, amid the joyous celebrations of the winning team’s players and officials at the Corradino Pavillion.