For the third time this season,
Għajnsielem
F.C.'s progress in the league
has been interrupted by Xewkija
Tigers. The 0-2 defeat at the
hands of the Tigers sets the
Blacks back but does not
eliminate them from the title
race. Għajnsielem played well
for most of the match, and at
times played the best football
of the season. The problem was
that they failed to convert on
any one of the numerous chances
that they created. As soon as
Għajnsielem pushed more men
forward in search of a
breakthrough they looked
vulnerable at the back. A
Xewkija goal looked inevitable.
Eventually it arrived somewhat
fortuitously for the Tigers. A
harsh penalty was awarded
against the Blacks which Basil
Chibueze converted. Rodney Buttigieg
sealed the victory for his side
with a goal late in the match.
Għajnsielem started with the
same 4-4-2 formation and line-up
that played in the last outing
against Kerċem. In the first
half, the Blacks controlled
without difficulty Xewkija's
attacks. The Blacks played
entertaining football with ball
on the ground and
intricate multi-player
passing moves.
Xewkija countered with a
well-organized defence and
midfield, great determination on
the part of all their players
and robust play. Alert defending
by the Blacks in defence and
poor finishing by the Blacks in
attack kept the match scoreless
in the first half and in the
opening exchanges of the second
session. The match was clearly
headed towards a stalemate. This
did not sit well with the
Blacks. Kenneth Mercieca moved
further upfield to form a
three-pronged attack with Joseph
Attard and Thiago dos Santos. In
addition, Rodrigo Cariaga, who
at times sat too deep in
midfield during the first hour,
moved up to
play behind the strikers.
The field suddenly opened up and
one started to feel that
a goal was imminent.
Unfortunately, although both
teams became stretched, it was
Għajnsielem who looked the
weaker of the two sides without
the ball. Għajnsielem's
rearguard, without the cover of
four midfielders working in
coordination in front of it,
looked vulnerable and was
luckly to escape on more than
one occasion. This risky
strategy produced a number
of chances for the Blacks as
well but Għajnsielem's forwards
could not stick the ball in the
Xewkija net. After the goal,
Għajnsielem recovered their
composure and deserved an
equalizer before they conceded
the killer second goal.
Stefan Sultana, ex-Ħamrun
Spartans, came closest to
scoring for his team with a shot
that was blocked by Joseph Grech
five minutes into the match.
Għajnsielem replied with a
Cariaga cross that was headed
weakly towards goal by Attard.
In the 10th minute came the
incident that encapsulates
Għajnsielem's fortunes this
afternoon. An Alex Simoncic
free-kick was cleared short
towards Stefan Azzopardi who
lobbed it back inside the
Xewkija penalty area. Thiago dos
Santos controlled, swivelled and
shot hard towards goal. The ball
thundered off the cross bar
behind Xuereb and came back into
play. Attard was quickest to
react and instead of trying to
score from an impossible angle
he headed the ball back in front
of goal. Kenneth Mercieca was
first on the scene but he could
not force the ball past Xuereb
on one of his two attempts.
Għajnsielem continued to
threaten Xewkija creating one
half chance after the other. In
the 20th minute, Simoncic served
Mercieca down the left. He
dribbled towards the bye-line
and delivered a terrific cross.
The problem was that it was too
high for Dos Santos and there
was no Blacks player making a
late run to finish the move with
a strike on goal. Ten minutes
later, Għajnsielem again came
agonizingly close to opeining
the score. Mercieca passed the
ball to Attard who made progress
inside Xewkija's penalty area.
His low cross from the left was
let go by dos Santos. Cariaga
was fractionally late on the
ball and his shot was blocked by
a Xewkija defender.
In the 36th minute another
intricate move by the Blacks
should have been rewarded with a
goal. Simoncic passed to
Mercieca who played on to Joseph
Buttigieg. The captain passed
the ball to dos Santos who
wasted no time in sending Attard
through, alone on goal. The pass
was struck too hard so Attard's
options were limited as he bore
down on Xuereb. The only thing
he could do was strike the ball
first time with the tip of his
boot. The ball beat Xuereb, but
it skipped just wide of Xuereb's
right post. One minute before
half-time Mercieca was offered a
good opportunity by a dos Santos
cross behind Xewkija's defence
at the far post. Mercieca opted
for the spectacular finish and
watched his shot sail high over
Xewkija's goal.
The match had slowed down
considerably towards the end of
the first half. The typical fury
in Xewkija's opening exchanges
in their matches against
Għajnsielem had died down, and
this gave the Blacks a chance to
forge ahead, a chance that
Għajnsielem, as it turned out,
fatally failed to take. Five
minutes into the second half,
Franklee Galea came on for
Stefan Azzopardi, who had played
well in his second consecutive
start. At this point Għajnsielem
decided to go for it and the
first evidence of this change
was the appearance of alarming
gaps in the Blacks' defence.
Ferdinando Apap, Joseph
Buttigieg and Martin Cremona,
three of the Blacks' back four,
all survived dangerous
one-on-one with a Xewkija
forward, often the powerful
Rodney Buttigieg. Cefai beat
Għajnsielem's back line,
delivered a great cross from
Xewkija's left but the finish
from one of Xewkija's forwards
was not good and the ball went
high behind Grech.
In the 11th minute came
Għajnsielem's first good chance
of the second half. Cariaga
delivered a cross to the far
post. The ball drifted over
Xewkija's last defender, and
towards Attard who headed the
ball well but just wide of
Xuereb's far post. A minute
later Stefan Sultana, who
settled in nicely in Xewkija's
attack, released Buttigieg with
a through pass. The striker's
low drive beat Grech but came
off the foot of the post.
Għajnsielem reacted furiously
with a flurry of chances. The
ball often landed deep inside
Xewkija's penalty area but the
Blacks could not deliver a
decisive blow. Often Xewkija
managed to block the Blacks'
shots as was the case on a dos
Santos effort.
Then the Blacks earned a
free-kick just outside Xewkija's
penalty area. Everyone expected
Simoncic to strike the ball. Dos
Santos, for once, had his number
called and he did not
disappoint. His well-directed
effort brought the best out of
Xuereb who threw himself to his
right and turned the ball to a
corner. Midway through the
second session, Xewkija sensed
that their chance to win the
match had come. Christian Bugeja
went past Mercieca and Buttigieg
as if they were not there. He
sent a low ball across goal.
Grech could not get to it but he
somehow survived as Sultana's
shot cleared the bar. One minute
later Grech rescued the Blacks
after yet another breakdown,
this time down Għajnsielem's
right. The Blacks were
teetering, on the brink of
disaster. It was extremely
disappointing, however, that
they eventually succumbed to a
harsh penalty given against
Franklee Galea, who knew nothing
about the ball that may have
come off his arm as he rose to
challenge a Xewkija forward
inside the penalty area.
Mercieca had a chance to
equalize immediately for the
Blacks. Alex Simoncic found him
unmarked at the far post but the
Għajnsielem forward could not
keep the header down. Xuereb
then saved from Cariaga
following a Buttigieg cross.
Attard tried to break Xewkija
down with runs down the right.
Two cross shots in quick
sucession were blocked by Xuereb
and his defence. Brian
Meilak and Buttigieg, the two
full-backs were now practically
playing in midfield.
Buttigieg
played
another good ball towards
Cariaga. the Argentinean could
have gone for goal. He fooled
Xewkija's defenders by cutting
the ball back to dos Santos.
The
Brazilian, with the goal at his
mercy, shot hard. The ball kept
rising and went behind for a
goalkick, off the crossbar.
Buttigieg then cut inside and
unleashed a terrific drive
towards Xuereb. The experienced
goalkeeper had come off his line
to narrow down
the angle and
managed to
block
the shot with great difficulty.
The ball arched high behind him
but refused to bounce in. Attard
shot the rebound wide.
Għajnsielem's hopes expired
moments later when Sultana sent
Buttigieg away
on another breakaway.
This time Rodney Buttigieg's
finish was perfect.
The saddest part about games
such as this one, is
that the
final outcome obscures all that was
good about the
performance. Rather than despair
about this defeat, the Blacks
should focus on rectifying what
went wrong during that stretch
mid way
through the second half and hope
for better luck in front of goal
in their remaining matches.
