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MATCH REPORT
Għajnsielem F.C. edged Kerċem
Ajax 2-1 in a tricky encounter
that even at this juncture of
the season could have
compromised the Blacks’ title
aspirations. The numerous Blacks
supporters at the Gozo Stadium
had their eyes focused on
one-time nemesis, Alex Simoncic,
the transfer window signing from
Nadur Y. The new number 5 in
Għajnsielem’s Starting XI,
unfazed by the extra attention,
did what he probably expected to
do: he led the Blacks to
victory.
Part of the Serbian midfielder’s
repertoire will only be in
display in the coming outings,
when the forwards and the
supporting midfielders get used
to his superior vision and
passing range. The team will
only benefit from his leadership
when he feels comfortable enough
in the Club to fully assert
himself. Everyone in the Blacks’
camp, however, expected Simoncic
to demonstrate his dead ball
expertise from day one. And
Simoncic did just that. He shot
the Blacks into the lead with a
goal direct from an angled
free-kick to the left of Donald
Gauci. He nearly scored from
long range again direct from a
free-kick but the ball just
cleared the Kerċem bar. In the
second half, two mirror images
of these two set pieces brought
good saves out of the Kerċem
goalkeeper.
Simoncic also takes charge of
most corner-kicks, including all
the kicks taken from
Għajnsielem’s right. These
corner-kicks had a certain
menace to them and Għajnsielem
looked like they would convert
one of these as well, which of
course they did, when they
needed the goal most.
Għajnsielem’s narrow lead had
vanished twenty minutes into the
second half. Joseph Debrincat’s
delicate shot from distance
soared over Joseph Grech then
dipped behind him and into the
net as the Għajnsielem faithful
watched in disbelief. Three
minutes later Għajnsielem won a
corner-kick. Simoncic’s cross
was met by Rodrigo Cariaga who
beat Gauci with a glancing
header.
This match was not all about
Simoncic, but before we move on,
there is one other intangible
that the Serbian packed in his
bag and brought with him to the
Club. This is the extra gear.
Għajnsielem dominated the first
half and were good value for
their lead. They conceded the
initiative to their opponents in
the opening stages of the second
half. Għajnsielem were never
seriously threatened by Kerċem
and seemed content to control
proceedings rather than go on an
all-out offensive, commit men
forward in a bid to close the
match. Debrincat’s equalizer was
the cue for Simoncic to use the
extra gear. Within two minutes
of Kerċem’s goal Simoncic
exchanged passes with Thiago dos
Santos and just like that the
Brazilian was clear through
face-to-face with Gauci. His
shot thundered back into play
off the Kerċem crossbar. One
minute later, it was Joseph Attard’s turn to go one-on-one
with the Kerċem goalkeeper. Attard gave Gauci too much time
and the latter sped off his line
to block Attard’s shot. Attard
kept the ball in play. He set up
Cariaga just inside the Kerċem
penalty area and the
Argentinean’s shot was blocked
to the corner which produced the
winning goal. Għajnsielem forced
the issue and until they
obtained what they wanted they
did not relent. These are the
new Blacks. Simoncic has made a
sudden impact.
With their one goal lead
restored, Għajnsielem dropped
down a gear and they were nearly
made to pay when Kerċem struck
the post to the left of Grech in
the 28th minute of
the second half. The Blacks
survived this scare. Although
Għajnsielem’s lead was not in
serious jeopardy, Kerċem,
playing in blue shirts instead
of their traditional horizontal
green and white hoops, enjoyed
territorial supremacy. This did
not sit well with the
supporters, most of whom were on
the edge of the new blue seats
installed on the Għajnsielem
side of the Gozo Stadium,
shaking in fear of a nasty
surprise, such as a late Kerċem
goal. Until Simoncic and company
pull the chestnuts out of the
fire with some late match
heroics the Għajnsielem
supporters cannot be blamed for
clamouring for more goals and
bigger leads.
The relief in the stands at the
end of the match was palpable.
Għajnsielem had negotiated their
way past this fixture and can
look forward to the two matches
that close the second round with
the knowledge that they will
have their full squad available
for selection. Coach Alex
Spiteri had three important
elements in his squad missing
for this one: Franklee Galea and
Kenneth Mercieca were serving
their one-match ban and Glenn
Cefai was out of the country.
David Debattista took Cefai’s
spot in central defence, where
he partnered the veteran Martin
Cremona, himself a serious doubt
before the match due to a knock.
The shoo-in for G.F.A. most
promising player and serious
contender for G.F.A. footballer
of the year, Ferdinand Apap, was
as usual the stopper’s safety
net. All three defenders played
very well. Having said that
their job became easier when
one-time Black, Marcos Aurelio
Ribeiro, left the match injured
in the first half. Furthermore,
the Blacks’ defence has failed
for the 10th time in
as many league matches to keep a
clean-sheet. This is a worrying
statistic for a Club dreaming of
finishing the season high up
there in the standings.
Brian Meilak and Simoncic were
Għajnsielem’s central
midfielders. Stefan Azzopardi
played wide right in place of
Meilak. Joseph Buttigieg played
wide left. The 3-4-3 (or
3-4-2-1) setup left Għajnsielem’s flanks dangerously
exposed and Kerċem might have
had more joy in this clash had
they ganged up on Azzopardi or
Buttigieg, both of whom had
large swathes of Gozo Stadium to
patrol on their own.
Joseph Attard joined Cariaga,
now wearing number 10, behind
dos Santos. Although every
single Black played well in this
match, and all can look back
proudly on some fine personal
moments, the attack was not as
explosive as it has been in some
of Għajnsielem’s recent matches.
Dos Santos in particular seemed
subdued and he failed to reward
the supporters with that piece
of magic he seems to conjure in
every outing. Credit must go to
Kerċem’s defence who operated on
the premise that if you want to
stop the Blacks, you had to stop
dos Santos. They were determined
to foil Għajnsielem’s top
scorer, and they succeeded, only
to be undone by Simoncic and his
set pieces.
The Blacks’ set-up was
adventurous enough and led to a
first half that saw Għajnsielem
manufacture three clear goal
scoring opportunities in
addition to the danger that came
with the Simoncic set plays
referred to above. Dos Santos
should have done better all
alone in front of Gauci, Cariaga
nearly scored on another
occasion and Attard hit the
Kerċem woodwork. Joseph Grech
saved his team when a Kerċem
forward was sent through.
Għajnsielem’s best moments came
in the first half. They produced
very little in the second half.
Meilak and Simoncic tried to
break the monotony with efforts
from outside the penalty area.
Their well-taken shots missed
high. In terms of cleverly
constructed manoeuvres one had
to look towards Għajnsielem’s
right side. Cariaga worked his
way to the bye-line in the tenth
minute but Attard failed to
connect with his low, hard
cross. In injury time, Simoncic
switched play to Robert Grima
who had come on for Azzopardi in
the 71st minute.
Grima then served Cariaga down
the right channel. Cariaga
invited dos Santos to keep his
4-game scoring streak alive. The
Brazilian’s shot was blocked.
Moments later the referee blew
the final whistle and sent the
Blacks momentarily into a
first-place tie with Victoria
Hotspurs.
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