The
Blacks went into this match
against Xewkija Tigers without
Brenden Spiteri and Glen Cutajar,
both suspended and the injured
Tyler Grech. They started with a
4-1-4-1 formation. Luke
Buttigieg played in goal.
Antonio Xuereb amd Bernard
Sammut were the right and left
backs. Daniel Camilleri returned
to the team in central defence
where he was partnered by
Lorenzo Tabone. Adrian Cordina
lined up in front of defence for
extra cover to a defence that
had leaked goals in its opening
four matches. Carl Scicluna kept
his position in central
midfield. He had a new partner,
Luke Meilak, who was withddrawn
from his position as striker to
add quality to the Blacks in
this department. Dario Mallia
played wide right in midfield,
while Carmel Vella started wide
left. Rodlyn Azzopardi was the
surprise selection as lone
striker.
The
Blacks were put immediately
under pressure when a Xewkija
clearance caught Għajnsielem's
defence flat-footed and a
Xewkija forward nearly scored
were it not for the timely
intervention of Għajnsielem
goalkeeper Luke Buttigieg. This
was a warning for the Blacks,
which, unfortunately, went
unheeded. Less than a minute
later, a similar ball once again
beat the Blacks' rearguard. This
time, however, Xewkija forward,
Luke Buttigieg and ball arrived
at the same time, at a poin just
outside the Blacks' penalty
area. The referee judged that
Buttigieg had fouled the Xewkija
player in the collision. In
addition to awarding Xewkija a
free-kick just outside the
penalty area, he sent Buttigieg
off, presumably as the last man,
denying the opponent a clear
chance to score. Carmel Vella,
reluctantly, understandably,
took over goalkeeping duties.
His past experience as a
goalkeeper singled him out for
this move. His familiarity with
the role showed on a number of
occasions.
The
referee harshly judged that an
Għajnsielem clearance was an
intentional back pass to the
goalkeeper who had handled the
ball. The Blacks, however,
somehow survived the indirect
free-kick taken from well inside
their penalty area. The ball was
shot high over Vella's goal. In
the meantime, Sammut, who was
playing despite the fact that he
was under the weather, was
withdrawn in favour of Manuel
Buttigieg who took over at left
full-back.
Vella was finally beaten in the
30th minute. The goal came from
a long range effort, after the
Blacks failed to clear the ball
properly. In time added on,
disaster struck again. Another
through ball, similar to the one
that led to Buttigieg's
dismissal, beat the Blacks'
defence. Vella mistimed his
challenge and floored the
Xewkija forward. This led to a
free-kick to Xewkija and a red
card to Vella. Daniel Camilleri,
with no previous experience in
goal whatsoever, volunteered to
put on the goalkeeping gloves.
Xewkija shot the free-kick over
the bar and immediately
thereafter the referee blew the
half-time whistle.
The
Blacks, now playing nine against
eleven and with a totally green
goalkeeper, were reshaped as
follows: Cordina dropped back to
central defence in Camilleri's
place; the 3-man midfield was
drawn tighter together; and Luke
Meilak was pushed as the lone
striker. Despite these moves,
Xewkija made their numerical
advantage count with a quick
goal soon after the restart.
This second goal brought a
certain degree of
complacency within the Xewkija
ranks. Għajnsielem sensed this
and quite remarkably pushed
forward in search of goals. In
the 8th minute Carl Scicluna
reduced the arrears after he
broke clear of the Xewkija
defence and shot past the
goalkeeper and into the net.
Adrian Vella came on for the
exhausted Rodlyn Azzopardi.
Għajnsielem's ambition surprised
Xewkija. They failed to regain
immediate control of the match
and in the 10th minute they
conceded a penalty. Luke Meilak
converted from the penalty spot.
This was an incredible turn of
events given that the Blacks
were two men short. Gradually
Xewkija started to dictate
proceedings. Despite the nervous
presence of Camilleri in goal,
however, the Tigers could not
muster a proper shot on target.
The Blacks survived the
onslaught. Here it should be
noted that the likes of Cordina,
the captain Scicluna and team
top scorer Meilak played their
best football of the season.
They held on to the ball, and on
several occasions eluded a
number of Xewkija player trying
to dispossess them. The Blacks,
woefully short of match fitness
produced their most energetic
outing of the season. Amazingly,
they made the effort count when
they took the lead in the 23rd
minute. Luke Meilak evaded his
markers and beat the Xewkija
goalkeeper from a narrow angle.
Xewkija were shocked by this
turn of events. They threw
everything forward and
eventually equalized following a
corner that was not dealt with
properly by the Blacks' defence.
Daniel Camilleri risked getting
sent off for what surely would
have been an inglorious record
of three goalkeepers sent off in
one match when he brusquely
dealt with a Xewkija forward,
who was about to strike at goal.
The referee overlooked the
incident and Camilleri escaped
punishment. Then with the Blacks
three men short, as Scicluna was
receiving treatment beyond the
right touchline, Xewkija scored
what proved to be the winner
following a breakaway.
The
Tigers, wary of the Blacks'
counter-attacking threat, tried
desperately to close the match
but Camilleri and their own
wastefulness kept the score at
3-4. The Blacks, with their
energy reserves totally drained,
failed to mount another serious
attack and Xewkija escaped
further embarrassment. The
Blacks left the field with their
heads held high, but the losing
streak continued unabated.
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