U/15 champions in
dramatic fashion
(Thursday, 3rd May 2012)
Għajnsielem F.C. won
the Under/15 league championship in dramatic fashion
this afternoon
at the Xagħra Ground following their 2-2 draw
against the team that has been chasing them all
season long, Oratory Youths. The Blacks, who at one
point had an eight point lead over the Youths,
dropped six points following drawn matches in 3 of
their last seven matches, including two ties in
championship pool games. So instead of a
formality this season-ending fixture became a
virtual decider for the championship. Għajnsielem,
who were rampant during the early part of the
season, had the uneasy feeling that the Youths were
about to inflict upon them, what the Blacks had done
to the same team at Under/14 level last season.
Two second half goals scored by the
Youths overturned Għajnsielem's 1-0 first half lead.
With time running out the Blacks looked set to fall
for the first time this season. Għajnsielem merely
needed to avoid defeat in this fixture thanks to
their two-point lead over the Youths. When their
captain Damon Hili missed from an ideal position
following a pass by Jamie Vella, the Blacks' fate
seemed sealed. It would have been a hard pill for
the Blacks to swallow. The Youths were a
well-organized team, and in their captain Stefan
Cassar have one of the top two players in this
category and a sure star of tomorrow at senior
level, but the Blacks had this thing wrapped up
months ago. They even led Nadur Youngsters 5-1
midway through the second half in a championship
pool match, only to settle for a 5-5 draw, a result
that played a huge part in the Youths' comeback in
the title race.
Even in this decisive encounter, the
Blacks were the better of two very nervous team in
the first half and deserved their one goal lead.
Damon Hili saw two headers struck the crossbar prior
to Attard's opener. After Għajnsielem gave up the
equalizer Vella just missed the net on a breakaway
when he was sent clear by Hili. The same Hili then
missed from a position from which he usually scores
in the Blacks' frantic reaction after the Youths had
taken the lead. The Youths' go-ahead goal was a soft
one conceded by an otherwise excellent Owen Xuereb.
As the final minutes ticked away one had to feel for
Xuereb, Hili and Vella who must have felt some
responsibility for this astonishing collapse. It
would have been a hard way for this 16-match long
league campaign to end. But that is how it was going
to end.
To these boys' credit, however, even
on this afternoon when very little seemed to go
right for them, they did not give up. They took
chances. They kept Hili, Vella, Alberto Xuereb and
Attard upfield and left it to Owen Xuereb to keep
them within touching distance with assistance from
the excellent Marco Ciangura, Christian Dingli and
Adrian Demanuele. The Youths sensed they were near
the finishing line and to be honest one felt that
they would score the killer third goal. But they did
not. And their decision to leave Hili unattended
would prove fatal. The warning from his near miss
went unheeded. Presented with a second chance for
glory Hili was never going to miss. He froze Cremona
then deposited the ball in the back of the net
following a typical mazy run through the Youths'
defence.
There was still some defending to do
as the referee let the game carry on for three or
four more minutes. But the Blacks held on to finish
the league season undefeated at 13-3-0 and champions
of the Under/15. After the final whistle, President
Alvin Grech presented the runners-up trophy to
Youths' captain Stefan Cassar, champions' medals to
the Blacks and the championship trophy to Damon Hili.
The huge Għajnsielem crowd that
witnessed this tense contest with twists and a
dramatic ending poured onto the field to celebrate
with the Blacks and to congratulate all the players,
including those that did not take part in this
match, and the most successful youth team coach in
Club history, Alex Spiteri. Għajnsielem's coach had
the courage to change the system for the last two
vital matches of the season and reaped the rewards
with an emphatic win and terrific performance in the
cup semi-final against Nadur, and a result combined
with a nervous, even disappointing performance
against the Youths this afternoon.
In the big scheme of things this cup
and medals may not matter much, but to the boys
involved, their families and their coach perhaps
they do matter. So the Blacks went on to celebrate
in their own now familiar style at J.F. de Chambray
Street. What definitely matters, however, is that
for the second season in a row these young Blacks
have played a series of close competitive matches
and came through them unscathed. They asked no
quarter and gave no quarter. A great learning
experience in their development as persons, athletes
and footballers.
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