Għajnsielem F.C. drew their 2010/11
league opener against S.K.
Victoria Wanderers 1-1.
The Blacks were shocked by an
early S.K. Victoria Wanderers
goal. Following the break,
however, Għajnsielem regained
some of their confidence and
following a sustained period of
pressure managed to score the
equalizing goal from the penalty
spot. The Blacks pushed hard for
the winner for the balance of
the second half but did not have
any clear cut scoring
opportunities. In the end a
point apiece is just about what
the two sides deserved: the
Wanderers dominated the first
half and the Blacks were the
better team in the second half.
This was Għajnsielem's first
match since the resignation of
Mr. Sammy Rapa from his position
as Club president and the
election of Mr. Mario Bugeja as
his successor in the
extraordinary general meeting
held on September 10. The match
also marked the debut of two of
the Club's three new signings.
Cameroonian defender Yannick
Ossok and American striker
Shelby Printemps started the
match in place of Daniel Sakic
and Alex Ribic. Free agent
signing, Jason Portelli, most
recently ex-reigning champions
Victoria Hotspurs watched the
match from the stands. He will
make his debut on Sunday against
Nadur Youngsters.
Ossok and Printemps left a good
impression. Ossok is a tall,
calm no-nonsense defender. He is
dominant in the air, quick on
the ground. He is a clean
tackler and is confident,
elegant and elusive in
possession. Ossok, like his
central defensive partner,
Ferdinando Apap, seems wasted
talent playing at the back. The
Blacks go through prolonged
periods of play during which the
ball is not treated with enough
care. At the feet of these two
it would be treated with care.
In any case, Ossok and Apap are
a formidable defensive pair and
one just can't see the Blacks
conceding from the centre of
their defence.
Except for the fact that
Għajnsielem already have
conceded one such goal. In the
fifth minute, Brian Meilak,
Għajnsielem's ex-captain now
with the Wanderers, delivered a
terrific cross from the right.
Ige Adesina controlled with his
chest, and brilliantly lifted
the ball over his marker before
shooting past the helpless
Joseph Grech. This was a goal of
sublime quality and the Blacks
should not be ashamed of being
at the receiving end of football
of this calibre. Yet the goal
demoralized the whole team. It
was as if the goal exposed them
to a vulnerability that they
thought they did not possess.
The fluency that they
demonstrated in the opening
exchanges disappeared, never to
reappear in the first half.
Several Blacks seemed hesitant
to control the ball and play it
on in a reasoned manner, lest
they be stripped of it by the
Wanderers' forwards.
S.K. Victoria Wanderers sensed
that they were vastly superior
to their opponents and sought to
go about business in a manner
that brings in sharper relief
the chasm in preparation, class
and organization between the two
sides. It was here that
Għajnsielem would need their
goalkeeper Joseph Grech the
most, and the Blacks' number one
did not let anyone down. The
experience that Grech has gained
playing regularly for
Għajnsielem, the confidence
shown in him by player-coach
Alex Simoncic, the maturity of
his approach to his career and
the committment to his team are
there for all to see. He bravely
threw himself at the feet of a
Wanderers' forward following a
dangerous cross from Grech's
right and a minute later sped
off his line to block Ige
Adesina's point blank shot.
Grech was never tested as
severely in this match again but
this is not to say that it was
the end of his day's work. He
spent the rest of the match
yelling instructions to his team
mates in front of him keeping
everyone on their toes. This was
truly inspirational from
Għajnsielem's young goalkeeper.
Speaking of young, Robert Grima
forced himself in the starting
XI for this match after starting
on the bench in the season
opener. For the first 15 to 20
minutes Grima nearly made
Simoncic regret his decision to
start him. Grima seemed out of
sorts attempting first time
acrobatic clearances, feeling
pressure where there was none.
Then, just as if someone had
flicked on a switch, the Blacks'
number four reverted to the form
that saw him collect nearly a
dozen appearances in his first
season with the senior team.
This would prove crucial for his
team because he played a big
part in Għajnsielem's goal in
the second half. Joseph
Buttigieg, not unlike some of
his predecessors with the
arm-band, is blessed with the
right attitude, aptitude and
ability to play wherever the
coach needs him to play on the
day. For this match he was
Għajnsielem's left-back.
Following Larry Buttigieg's
introduction, the captain would
move further upfield. Joseph was
not spectacular today, and he
was one of the Blacks who lost
their composure (as evidenced by
hasty clearances from the back)
following the Wanderers'
brilliant start. But like the
rest of the team he recovered
and took his turn tormenting his
opponents with probing crosses
from the left. Indeed, he and
Simoncic sought to show the
Blacks the way even during the
dismal opening session. In the
16th minute mark the two of them
combined to set up Stefan
Azzopardi but Buttigieg's ball
was slightly overhit and there
was nothing Azzopardi could do
about it.
Azzopardi kept his place in
Għajnsielem's four-man midfield.
He played on the right. Like the
rest of the team Azzopardi did
not cover himself in glory
during the first half, but
finished the match strongly.
Given that he is not blessed
with a winger's speed, Azzopardi
has to bring other qualities to
bear and his are tenacity and an
ability to keep the ball moving
around in midfield. Franklee
Galea, quite possibly the one
player who was not fazed by
developments early on in the
match, played his usual game. He
kept balance in midfield, which
is no mean feat with three
offensively minded companions,
and made his presence felt at
every opportunity. He was rarely
involved in attacking forays but
given the threat that the
Wanderers posed today, this was
very sensible on his part. He
gave way to Larry Buttigieg
fifteen minutes from time. But
by then his job was more than
done. S.K. Victoria W. had lost
the sharpness with which they
threatened to embarass the
Blacks early in the match.
Alex Simoncic had a frustrating
match. He played well. But that
does not seem sufficient, not
for a player of his calibre, not
for the player coach. Simoncic
appreciates that it is incumbent
upon him to dictate matters in
midfield. You could see him
trying to do just that winning
possession in his unique way,
buying time with his fine
touches in midfield warding off
one biting tackle after another,
then he looks up and sees Joseph
Attard II outnumbered up front
and newcomer Printemps not
exactly where you would want him
to be. Simoncic often had to lay
off to Buttigieg or Kenneth
Mercieca, instead of playing the
killer pass.
This Mercieca option was not
utilized sufficienctly in the
first half. Indeed the silky
skilled left-sided player seemed
the forgotten man during the
opening session. When Simoncic
brought him into play Mercieca
delivered a promising cross,
which Printemps failed to direct
towards goal. It is a mystery
why Mercieca was so anonymous in
the first half. He was
one-on-one against Brian Meilak.
Except for his assist on his
team's goal, Meilak was not an
attacking factor during this
match. Perhaps Mercieca and
Meilak cancelled each other out
and given what we know Meilak
can do as a two-way player more
credit to Mercieca for his
performance in the season
opener. This will not do for the
balance of the season, however,
because the non-existence of
Għajnsielem's transition game, a
phase in which Mercieca surely
has a role, meant that
Għajnsielem's primary attacking
threat, the American Shelby
Printemps, had to vacate his
position and drop into midfield
in search of possession.
Unless this is an innate
tendency. But there is no reason
to think that this is the case.
It seemed that every attempt at
goal that the Blacks made during
this match (with three notable
exceptions, the marvellous
second half Simoncic strike that
brought the best out of Franklin
Vella, Ossok's low drive at the
end of an impressive sixty metre
slalom run and, of course,
Attard's shot that was blocked
by the arm of an S.K. Victoria
defender, leading to the
penalty) bore the signature of
the American. He shot wide of
Vella' post early in the match,
headed weakly Grima's cross,
arrowed a diagonal shot just
wide, headed weakly following a
1-2 with Grima and a number of
efforts in the second half that
did not trouble Vella. Shelby's
true qualities will emerge as
the season unfolds. This was his
first outing in strange
surroundings, perhaps an
unfamiliar playing surface,
certainly mere acquaintances as
team mates and, arguably the
most attentive and tenacious
defenders as opponents. Indeed,
the Wanderers' marking was so
intense that they often forced
the American striker into
mistakes. Happily Shelby had the
last laugh. His penalty shot was
perfectly taken, keeper one way,
the ball the other way.
Printemps' name is on an
exclusive list of players who
have scored on their debut for
this glorious club.
Shelby's partner was Attard. The
veteran would be the first to
admit that he had a
disappointing first half. He
will not be far off from the
truth, however, if he claimed
that his performance in the
second half was a huge part of
the reason why the Blacks played
better in the second session.
There was more passion and
purpose in his play following
the restart. This rubbed off his
team mates and everyone started
to play better. When Robert
Grima's twenty second minute
cross broke towards Attard, who
was in the right place just
inside the penalty area, in a
central position, he looked set
to score, especially after he
made solid contact with the
ball. In desperation a Wanderer
defender blocked with his
outstretched arm and referee
Anton Zammit had no difficulty
signalling for the penalty,
which Printemps converted for
the definitive one all.
Although, he had to endure some
flak from the irascible local
supporters, the experienced
referee Zammit chose to call
this game English Premier League
style ("no blood, no foul"). If
he and his colleagues have the
stomach for the initial abuse,
and stick by this style of
refereeing from here on, the
local game will eventually
benefit from it. Zammit did not
even have to add time in the
first half, and may have felt
compelled to add three minutes
at the end of the 90 minutes
only due to the 30 seconds per
substitution convention. So play
will flow, robust but fair
challenges will flourish, and
diving will not be rewarded.
Well done Zammit!
Well done also to Għajnsielem's
three substitutes. Larry
Buttigieg, Kenny Hili and Joshua
Cassar jumped into the fray late
in the match and the team
benefitted from each player's
introduction. They were
energetic and energy was what
Simoncic needed from them. The
Blacks' expended tremendous
amounts of energy in their
attempt to save a match that
they typically lose early in the
season. So there was a dramatic
collapse in production
especially in the midfield
department late in the match. It
would have made perfect sense
had the Wanderers, whose
reputation as the fittest team
in the league preceded them,
beat the Blacks (they of Vodka
