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MATCH REPORT
Friendly matches between Gozitan
and Maltese clubs have been held
in Gozo for decades. These
friendly matches provided the
Gozitan football public with an
opportunity to enjoy a higher
quality of football than that
normally seen in match-ups
involving local clubs. Our Club
was always at the forefront and
never shied away from facing
better equipped Maltese clubs.
Invariably, Għajnsielem gave a
good account of themselves as
happened in this friendly match
against Ħamrun Spartans in the
early seventies.
All the traditional powerhouses
of Maltese football such as
Valletta, Sliema, Floriana and
Birkirkara played against the
Blacks in the latter's heyday,
however, it is this encounter
with Ħamrun Spartans that has
lived longest in the memory of
Blacks fans. The reason for this
is plain for all to see.
Għajnsielem has developed a
special bond with this famous
Maltese club due to the
friendships that were forged
during the time when three of
our best players were
contemporaneously playing for
our Club and the Spartans. These
players are none other than
Loreto Galea, Vince Cutajar and
Nikol Cutajar. Although at the
time our Club was not completely
pleased with this state of
affairs, club relations were
excellent. Indeed, in the
1973/74 and 74/75 season, Alfred
Azzopardi of Ħamrun was lent to
our Club and he collected
several appearances for
Għajnsielem. A significant base
of support for the Spartans was
cultivated in Għajnsielem, and
many a Spartan still keeps track
of how the Blacks are doing.
The friendly against Ħamrun
lifted the morale of the Blacks
who at the time were reeling
from the G.F.A. Cup elimination
debacle (replay loss to Nadur),
a mediocre start to the league
campaign and the loss of Karmnu
Cutajar and Raymond Buttigieg to
emigration. The doubt that had
crept in as a result of these
setbacks regarding the
sustainability of the trophy
winning drive were washed away
by a wave of enthusiasm
generated by this high profile
friendly, with all the pageantry
that came with it. The Blacks
finally played like, well, the
Blacks the football public had
come to know. The team put on a
generous, technically valid
display against solid
opposition.
Any concerns that Għajnsielem
would play with an inferiority
complex were dispelled
immediately, when after just two
minutes,
Pawlu
Debono shot just wide. Ħamrun
were a little out of sync in the
early exchanges, perhaps missing
the Galea-Cutajar partnership.
Indeed, their first serious
threat on Francis Cauchi's goal
did not come until the twentieth
minute. Vincent Cutajar and Toni
Cauchi saw their efforts going
wide as well. Then play was for
some periods confined to
midfield until a Nikol Cutajar
blast was well saved by the
Spartans' Mallia. In the second
half, Ħamrun made several
substitutions that initially
gave them the upper hand. It was
here that Cauchi distinguished
himself with several fine
interventions. Guest player
Attard shot wide after a nice
interchange between Galea and
Cutajar. Mallia saved again from
Cauchi. In the 25th minute
Mallia was finally beaten,
however, Vincent Cutajar's shot
rang off the far post and was
cleared by the stunned Spartans
defense. The Blacks never
surrendered their territorial
advantage and so brought home a
prestigious 0-0 result against a
Spartans team that had taken the
MFA first division by storm.
The performance and the score
confirmed our Club’s belief that
its rightful place was in the
top division of the M.F.A.
Indeed, the Club has
periodically harboured the
desire to apply for membership
in the M.F.A. particularly
during phases of organizational
chaos in the G.F.A. So far no
concrete steps have ever been
taken to take the Club towards
this path, no evaluation has
been made of the legal and
administrative hurdles that
would have to be overcome, and
no cost-benefit analysis has
been made of the logistical and
financial burdens that would
have to be assumed. However, the
notion tends to creep to the
surface in those times when the
Club feels hard done by a G.F.A.
run by explicitly partisan
officials, as was the case in
the nineties.
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