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, Ghajnsielem gave a good account of themselves as happened in this friendly match against Hamrun 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 Hamrun Spartans that has lived longest in the memory of Blacks fans. The reason for this is plain for all to see. Ghajnsielem 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 Hamrun was lent to our Club and he collected several appearances for Ghajnsielem. A significant base of support for the Spartans was cultivated in Ghajnsielem, and many a Spartan still keeps track of how the Blacks are doing.

The friendly against Hamrun 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 footballing public had come to know. The team put on a generous, technically valid display against solid opposition. 

Any concerns that Ghajnsielem would play with an inferiority complex were dispelled immediately, when after just two minutes, Paul Debono shot just wide. Hamrun 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, Hamrun 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.