The Ghajnsielem F.C. fought back from a two goal deficit against Xewkija Tigers but could not complete the comeback and had to settle for a draw. The 2-2 draw leaves the Blacks two points behind Victoria Hotspurs who also have a game in hand. This means that with a full round of matches still to play, Ghajnsielem’s hopes of going into the season finale against Hotspurs with a chance to overtake take depend on third parties.

The Blacks stated this match almost unchanged from their last outing, with Glenn Cefai starting in place of Martin Cremona. Xewkija, keen to gain valuable points that would take them further away from the relegation zone and emboldened by their impressive victory over the Blacks in the first round, made a good start to this match. Territorially, neither team dominated but Xewkija displayed greater conviction in their opponent’s half of the field. Their forwards shot on sight and kept Joseph Grech busy throughout the first half. The Blacks’ goalkeeper made several clean saves on insidious long range efforts by the Tigers. Ghajnsielem’s difficulties at the back were mostly evident in the number of corners they were forced to concede.

On one of these corners Grech seemed to be fouled by a Xewkija attacker, but no blood no foul, as far as the unsympathetic referee was concerned. From the second corner Xewkija scored. The kick was flighted past the second post, from where it was headed back across the face of goal to another Tiger forward who smashed the ball past Grech.

This goal, scored in the 21st minute of the match, brought bad memories for the Blacks and their supporters. How could a team that has so much trouble scoring against every other team in the division find it so easy to find the net against the Blacks? Two thirds of the way Xewkija has the weakest attack in the league, and almost half their goals have been scored against Ghajnsielem.

Encouragingly, the Blacks did not fall into a state of shock after conceding, as they had done earlier in the season. They reacted well and created a number of scoring opportunities. Kenneth Mercieca, ran on to an Alex Simoncic pass down the left and crossed towards Thiago dos Santos. The Brazilian shaped up for a powerful header. He was unlucky to see the ball cannon off a defender and away from danger.

Alex Simoncic saw one shot from open play blocked in clear view of the referee by a Xewkija defender inside the Tigers’ penalty area and a direct free-kick bounce harmlessly past Xuereb’s goal.

Rodrigo Cariaga, who had been held in check up to this point, then struck a low shot that Jonathan Xuereb was happy to see skid off the wet grass and past his right post.

The Argentinean then took advantage of a lucky bounce and sprinted clear down the right. He chipped the ball towards dos Santos. The Blacks’ striker may have had enough time to control the ball and shoot at goal. He opted for the spectacular. His volley was sweetly struck, and the effort would have been a candidate for goal of the season, had it gone in. The ball whistled wide of Xewkija’s goal.

This miss added to the anxiety being felt in the stands. Two minutes before the break more gloom descended on the Blacks as Ferdinando Apap was stripped of the ball after he attempted to control under pressure from a Tiger forward. The Xewkija striker went round Grech and deposited into the Blacks’ net.

Determined not to let history repeat itself, the Blacks surged forward immediately after the restart and earned a corner. Simoncic’s out-swerving line drive was met Cariaga for a fabulous goal. Soon after the referee blew the half-time whistle.

Eager to level matters at the earliest, Ghajnsielem put together the finest move of the match from the second half kick-off. Brian Meilak ran unchallenged down the right and cut the ball across goal. Xuereb could not deal with it, neither could his team-mate guarding the far post. The ball bounced towards Simoncic. The Blacks’ number five was betrayed by the awkward bounce of the ball and with Xuereb’s goal gaping the ball cleared the crossbar to Simoncic’s dismay.

Ghajnsielem kept pounding away, often in uninspired fashion, hoping that the greasy surface would produce an opening. Xewkija defended well and sought to hurt the Blacks with their fast breaks. In the 60th minute Joseph Attard came on for Glenn Cefai. Buttigieg took Cefai’s place in defence.

The Blacks were awarded a free-kick just outside Xewkija’s penalty area. Simoncic’s shot was blocked by the wall, as was the effort from the rebound. The ball broke towards Meilak, who crossed diagonally towards Xewkia’s second post. Mercieca controlled the ball well and pass across goal towards dos Santos, who easily redirected the ball into the net. Ghajnsielem’s celebrations were cut short by the assistant referee, who flagged the goal off for offside.

There was nothing anyone could do about an Alex Simoncic corner kick taken in the 81st minute. The ball bent viciously round the first post, past Xuereb via a Xewkija defender and into the net. Simoncic tried hard to score his third goal direct from free-kick from as many matches only two minutes later. But Xuereb pulled off a fantastic save, diving to his right. Simoncic then shot from open play, but he slipped in the process and the ball went high over the bar. Deep into injury time, Simoncic again brought a difficult save out of Xuereb from yet another free-kick. All would have been in vain, however, the assistant referee had already flagged for offside. The referee’s final whistle meant that Ghajnsielem could do no better than a 2-2 draw, a result which seems to pave the way for Victoria H. to go on and claim a record breaking eleventh championship.

The match brought to an end Ghajnsielem’s second round commitments. The 4-2-0 record (which will be equalled by Hotspurs with a win against Kercem Ajax) is evidence of the great strides made by Alex Spiteri’s team in such a short period of time. The Blacks must keep the momentum going in the third round and continue to show progress by combining confident performances with good results.

30 Joseph Grech, 3 Ferdinando Apap, 4 David Debattista, 5 Alex Simoncic, 6 Joseph Buttigieg (c), 7 Brian Meilak, 8 Kenneth Mercieca, 10 Rodrigo Cariaga, 18 Thiago dos Santos, 19 Glenn Cefai (9 Joseph Attard), 20 Franklee Galea.