Għajnsielem
F.C. beat Kerċem Ajax three nil
in an evening match played at
the Sannat Ground. The three
points lift Għajnsielem to a
first place tie with Victoria
Hotspurs. The result means that
the Blacks' title challenge is
back on track. After two
dispiriting results,
Għajnsielem, led by player-coach
Alex Simoncic who earlier this
week took over from Alex
Spiteri, put on a dominant
display that saw the Blacks
return to winning ways and
complete the season sweep of
relegation troubled Kerċem Ajax.
Għajnsielem were forced into two
line-up changes from their last
outing. Franklee Galea was out
serving a one match ban and
David Debattista was out
injured. The Blacks lined up in
an orthodox 4-4-2 formation.
Brian Meilak, Martin Cremona,
Ferdinando Apap and captain
Joseph Buttigieg were the back
four. Stefan Azzopardi, Rodrigo
Cariaga, Simoncic and Kenneth
Mercieca were the four
midfielders. Thiago dos Santos
and Joseph Attard were the two
strikers. The direction of the
Blacks' little experiment was
evident from the start.
Għajnsielem sliced Kercem down
the left side with short quick
passes and the Blacks nearly
scored from Attard's cross from
the byline. The ensuing Kerċem
goalkick was preceded not by a
hectic search for one's man, but
an orderly positioning by the
Blacks into two banks of four
defenders. Kerċem's attempt to
get out of their zone and hurt
the Blacks foundered time and
again against one of these two
banks. And the match settled
into a sweet refrain of
possession gained by Għajnsielem
and counter-attack upon
counter-attack launched by the
Blacks.
Fear was conspicuous by its
absence. It is not quite clear
what was afoot here. It could
have been the realization that
evil cannot be warded off merely
by being shown the respect of
fear, or it could have been that
these players have genuinely
shed fear as an emotion when
playing football. The jury is
still out on that one. The third
round scheduling formula is
designed to ensure that the
challenge for the top two teams
gets harder and harder with
every game.
In the third minute dos Santos
exchanged passes with Attard but
was then brought down just
outside the penalty area.
Simoncic drilled the ball past
the wall but Donald Gauci
reacted well and kept it out.
The ball bounced towards
Azzopardi. The Blacks'
midfielder had little time to
coordinate and his shot bounced
harmlessly wide with Gauci
stranded. Għajnsielem kept
probing. Simonic delivered one
of his patented diagonal passes.
Mercieca lacked the confidence
to execute a quick finish. By
the time he had placed the ball
to his liking Kerċem had
recovered and his attempt was
blocked. Mercieca then emerged
groggy from a clash with Gauci.
But for the latter's courage the
Blacks would have forged ahead
at this point.
Simoncic, who was shutout in
terms of goals or assists
against Sannat, and who must
still be wondering how his
barrage of corner kicks in the
first half of that game did not
produce a goal, unleashed his
first viciously struck
corner-kick. Kerċem were lucky
to escape, one of their
defenders produced a powerful
header that nearly opened the
score for the Blacks. Kerċem's
reaction was a quick counter
down the right with a cross to
the far post that was cleared to
a corner by the Blacks. Here it
has to be said that Joseph Grech
was alert in Għajnsielem's goal
and never looked likely to be
surprised by Kerċem's
speculative long range efforts.
Għajnsielem poured forward and
produced a series of goal
attempts that still did not
produce a goal. Gauci saved from
dos Santos. Buttigieg shot wide.
Simoncic shot wide.
To those who live in fear of
impending doom, Għajnsielem's
bright but sterile start was a
bad omen, a sure sign that bad
things were about to happen to
them. To those who interpret
total domination for what it is,
a leading indicator of good
times, it was time to admire
what the Blacks were doing to
this wildly unpredictable team,
a team capable of humbling the
league leaders one week and
succumbing to a humiliating
defeat the next. Brian Meilak,
unshackled, author of a
reassuring performance, most of
his evening spent north of the
centre line, crossed towards
Mercieca. Għajnsielem's
left-sided midfielder should
have attacked Meilak's ball, one
would have thought, and quickly
atoned for his earlier miss. He
did not and sat back instead.
Gauci and his defenders botched
their assignments. Mercieca,
looking wiser all of a sudden,
collected the loose ball and
deposited it into an empty net.
A
neat build up down the right
involving Meilak and Azzopardi,
released dos Santos. His
measured cross found Mercieca in
a good position to double the
lead. Exhibit number one that
Mercieca is not a pure striker
is his impulse on this occasion
to play the ball back across
goal for a team-mate to grab all
the glory. He should have
twisted his upper body and
banged in a sure second. As it
turned out his invitation to
score was snubbed. No one was
ready to hammer the ball home
and the chance was lost.
Azzopardi, whose lack of match
fitness was at times apparent,
still put in an extremely useful
appearance. He was good at
keeping possession with simple
back passes to Meilak or layoffs
to the midfield general
Simoncic. He nicked an endless
series of balls the way of
Cariaga or the same Simoncic. He
never backed off from an aerial
duel despite his slight frame.
And he took one for the team,
when he was bundled
unceremoneously just outside
Kerċem's penalty area. Simoncic,
who is positively deadly
anywhere around the penalty
area, no matter how acute the
angle, made his team-mate's
sacrifice count. He shot hard
towards Gauci. Cariaga and Apap
timed their runs well. Cariaga
deflected the ball and Apap did
likewise, instinctively, and
Għajnsielem were two goals up.
Ironically, soon after, almost
from an identical position, Apap
rose and this time deliberately
headed past Gauci from a
Simoncic free-kick. The goal was
waved off for an off-side
infraction.
Għajnsielem continued to play
well all the way up to the
half-time whistle and after the
restart. Their relaxed style
lulled Kerċem to sleep and left
them in slumber for most of the
match. Even the Blacks'
supporters assisted to this
spectacle in eery silence,
occasionally clamouring,
ill-advisedly one might add, for
a yellow card. The Blacks' die
hards seemed to be holding their
breath or perhaps feigning
disinterest, lest their
breathing or their awakened
interest, would break the spell.
Notions such as he who misses
chances pays for it in the end
kept prodding at those in
attendance as Thiago dos Santos
and Joseph Attard failed time
and time again to score the
killer third goal. Simoncic then
forced Gauci into a good save.
Wouldn't you know it, Kerċem
then forced a turnover down
their left and penetrated inside
the Blacks' penalty area. The
pass from the byline was met by
a first time finish for what
should have been a brilliant
goal, but the ball smacked
against the wall wide of Joseph
Grech's right-hand post. Attard
broke away but lost possession
just outside Kerċem's penalty
area. He then saw Gauci rush off
his line to block courageously.
Cariaga, who had another
performance brimming with
quantity (especially in forcing
himself between opponent and
ball) and quality (neat one-twos
in heavily crowded areas), was
caught in possession a couple of
times in Għajnsielem's half and
in the process caused anxiety
all-around.
Għajnsielem earned a free-kick
just outside Kerċem's penalty
area, to the Blacks' right. Dos
Santos shaped up to have a go,
Ronaldo style, feet spread, at
an angle to goal. Simoncic ran
up, shot and drove the ball, low
and hard past Gauci. The
pressure, so carefully hidden by
the Blacks until this point, was
finally let off as the team
wildly celebrated the goal and
the three points. Charlon Tabone
came on for Azzopardi, and
unselfishly contributed to a
brilliant move produced by the
Blacks' midfield by passing
square towards Attard, but the
latter's shot was blocked. On
came Cefai for Cremona, and he
too wanted to join in the fun by
participating in an intricate
move on Għajnsielem's right.
Later Ferdinando Apap could only
clutch his head in despair as he
shot high following a spill by
Gauci.
Tougher challenges lie ahead,
starting with Xewkija Tigers
later this month, but this
result and performance bode
well.
