Għajnsielem 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,
Għajnsielem’s hopes of going
into the season finale against
Hotspurs with a chance to
overtake them depend on third
parties.
The Blacks started 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.
Għajnsielem’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
Josmar Vella 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
Għajnsielem.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 Paul
Rapa. The latter lobbed the ball
over Grech and then 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 by Cariaga for a
fabulous goal. Soon after the
referee blew the half-time
whistle.
Eager to level matters at the
earliest, Għajnsielem 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. Għajnsielem
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.
Christian Bugeja came closest to
scoring when he broke through
alone on Grech. His shot,
however, hit the side netting.
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.
Għajnsielem’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
Basil Chibueze 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, when he
dove to his right and deflected
a Simoncic missile off the post
and away from danger. 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 Għajnsielem
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
Għajnsielem’s second round
commitments. The 4-2-0 record
(which will be equalled by
Hotspurs with a win against
Kerċem 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.
