Matchday 29: Valletta 1 Naxxar L. 1

Naxxar Lions snatched a late equaliser, earning a point after Valletta were reduced to ten men in the second half.

Valletta created the first opportunity in the 4th minute when Aldama received the ball on the edge of the box, but his tame effort was comfortably saved by Debono.

Naxxar responded in the 14th minute with a well-worked move. Mbende drove into the area and struck from a tight angle, sending his effort just wide.

In the 21st minute, Valletta came close after Guehi miscontrolled in midfield, allowing a Valletta player to intercept and deliver a cross into the box. Zammit met it with a low shot, but Debono reacted well to deny him.

Valletta took the lead in the 24th minute when Tavares made an impressive solo run, beating two defenders before finishing low past Debono.

Just before halftime, Aldama tried his luck again, but his effort drifted slightly wide.

In the 63rd minute, Valletta were reduced to ten men after a VAR review. Aldama’s challenge on Joao Vitor Cardoso was initially punished with a yellow card, but the referee upgraded it to a red.

Naxxar pushed forward, and in the 87th minute Montero attempted a long-range shot, which went wide.

Their persistence paid off in the 90th minute when Valletta failed to clear the ball, which rebounded off the crossbar and fell to Neil Pace Cocks, who fired home from close range to make it 1-1.

Moments later, Basher advanced and struck from distance, but his shot narrowly missed the target.

Deep into stoppage time, Naxxar nearly won it when Farias unleashed a dangerous effort that struck the post.

VALLETTA: Adilson Aguero, Andrea Zammit (Adebayo Basher), Brandon Paiber, (Shaft Brewer), Jake Azzopardi, Diogo Tavares, Yannick Yankam (Jackson Mendoza), Emmanuel Mbende, Neil Micallef, Yuri Messias (Mattias Ellul), Sava Radic, Thaylor Aldama

NAXXAR L.: Matthias Debono, Theo Kruger, Goncalves De Campos, Neil Pace Cocks, Edson Farias, Daniel Letherby (Shaun Bugeja), Gabriel Costa Goncalves, Christian Nganmini (Yeangel Montero), Vinicus De Jesus, Amiel Guehi, Joao Moura Cardoso

Referee: D. Casha

Yellow Cards: E. Mbende (V), N. Pace Cocks.

Red Cards: T. Aldama (V)

Man of the Match: D. Tavares (V)