Valletta and Hamrun Spartans produced an entertaining match in front of a very good crowd at the National Stadium, a match settled by two first half goals.
For both sides this was the second consecutive draw of the season, after Valletta's draw against Birkirkara and Hamrun's draw against Tarxien. Hamrun, fresh from their historic trip to Latvia, fielded a completely different side, with coach Modica making eight changes from the side that face RFS.
For Valletta another positive performance after their good show against Birkirkara on their return to the Premier League. The result can be considered a fair one as no deserved to leave the field empty handed. Hamrun had more possession of the ball but Valletta had the best chances.
Both sides had a cautious start with Valletta however more on the ball. On seven minutes Valletta's first attempt with a Messias drive from well outside the area deflected by Polito. Three minutes from a Paiber freekick, Savic's header went slightly out on the far post.
On twelve minutes Valletta took the lead with a great goal scored by Messias who received a short freekick from Paiber and fired home a beauty with the ball hitting the crossbar before finishing behind Bonello.
Hamrun made an immediate reaction with Hadzi's header beating the Valletta custodian but Steve Borg somehow managed to head away from the goal line. Hamrun now took the initiative with Valletta on the defensive.
However the Citizens were fast in their breaks with the Hamrun defence at sixes and sevens at times. On 34 minutes a Hadzi header went wide. Seconds later a Valletta defensive blunder with Steve Borg's pass towards Mendoza, who was robbed of the ball by Hadzi who easily slotted home from close range.
Valletta were now in apparent difficulty as Hamrun pushed for more. On 39 minutes Hadzi tried his luck from a distance but his hot was completely off target. Mendoza lost another ball in midfield and Mbong tested Adilson with a low central drive.
At the start of the second half Hamrun coach Modica made two changes. But Valletta were the better team in the opening stages but failed to create scoring opportunities in front of Bonello.
On 61 minutes a Coric freekick sailed over the bar and three minutes later an Attard from a distance was saved by the Valletta goalkeeper. On 65 minutes a Mendoza shot was saved by Bonello and on the other end a Letherby drive was blocked by Adilson.
Valletta finished the match on a high with an Aldama good run blocked by defender Ryan Camenzuli. Deep in stoppage time Hamrun goalkeeper Bonello saved the match for the Spartans when he blocked De Assis' close range effort.