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MATCH REPORT
(click
here for As it happened)
Once again,
Għajnsielem F.C. left their
supporters on the edge of their
seats for the duration of an
entire match, on their way to a
narrow win. St. Laurence Spurs,
missing three regular players
due to suspension, did not offer
much resistance. As a result,
although the Blacks never ran
away from the Spurs on the
scoreboard, the players on the
field must have felt that it was
not necessary to go through all
the gears for these three
points.
The expulsion of
Jason Portelli two minutes
before half-time and Mark
Camilleri's first goal for the
Club two minutes later left
everyone stunned. One minute the
Blacks were comfortably
controlling the match with the
goal seemingly just round the
corner, the next they are trying
to come to terms with the loss
of their midfield maestro, the
next they are patting Camilleri
on the back for breaking the
deadlock. Portelli was sent off
for using foul language. It was
difficult to work out what
provoked the mild-mannered
Portelli, who until he saw red
and in the absence of Alex
Simoncic was in charge of
midfield. It must have been an
off the ball incident.
Up until that
moment. the Blacks were
controlling the match with
supreme comfort. That they were
not in front was partly due to
their wastefulness in front of
goal, and partly due to their
slow manoeuvre, a pace that gave
the Spurs the chance to close
the Blacks down as play shifted
from side to side.
Franklee Galea,
who was once again among the
best of the Blacks, should have
opened the score when he was
sent through by Portelli. Galea
did not believe that he could be
so alone and rushed his finish
feeling pressured. He made up
for this miss with his terrific
play down the right initially,
and in centerfield later in the
match.
Ferdinando Apap,
who started up front with
Camilleri, was never at ease in
this outing. Frustrated by the
lack of action, he lost
concentration and fluffed his
lines when he was put under the
spotlight. He failed to connect
decisively with crosses sent in
by Portelli, Galea and Camilleri.
Thiago dos Santos
played in the hole, in what
looked like a 4-3-1-2 formation,
at least until Portelli's
dismissal. This position gave
the Brazilian the freedom to
roam in search of possession and
to attack the Spurs' back four
with the ball at his feet. He
played well. There is no
question that dos Santos' return
to the Club has been a blessing.
He has now scored four goals in
his three outings.
Mark Camilleri,
like Apap, is a striker who
wants the ball all the time.
While Apap has time on his side,
Camilleri has experience (and
time he might want to add), so
unlike Apap, Camilleri is not
fazed when the supply lines are
dry. He improvises. He turned
provider to the same Apap, when
he delivered a delicious cross
on a plate for Apap to feast on,
but the youngster headed wide
from a good position. He
patiently waits. He waits for
the chances to come. And when
they come, he is ready, as he
was when he rose high to thunder
the ball past Samuel Micallef
from a free-kick taken by dos
Santos. This was a precious goal
because it lifted the Blacks'
spirits moments after the
deflating loss of Portelli.
In the second
half, everyone expected a
reaction from the Spurs. They
were a goal behind, so they did
not have anything to defend, and
they were a man-up, so they had
the numerical superiority to
make an offensive stand count.
This reaction never came.
Għajnsielem defended high,
Robert Grima (who shone with
some fine play in the first
half), David Debattista and
Joseph Buttigieg stepped back
and let the majestic Yannick
Ossok hog the limelight, with
his virtuoso defending. Ossok
felt in such command that in he
occasionally went into Roy of
the Rovers mode, charging up
field in support of the
forwards.
After missing
chances through Camillleri and
Apap, the Blacks scored their
second eight minutes from time.
This came from another
free-kick, this time taken by
Ossok. His probing cross found
dos Santos completely unmarked
at the far post and the
Brazilian firmly headed the ball
down and low past Micallef's
right hand and into the net.
Instead of
letting their supporters relax
and enjoy a stretch of play
without concern about the
destination of the three points
at stake, the Blacks contrived
to create some excitement by
giving up a cheap goal. With the
Blacks' midfield nowhere to be
seen, the Spurs played a through
ball to Matthew Francalanza.
Joseph Grech, who for the second
game running had very little to
do, perhaps eager to make a
contribution to this win,
charged off his line. When
Francalanza saw the goalkeeper
advancing he neatly lifted the
ball past him for the Spurs'
consolation goal.
The last moments
of the match went by
uneventfully. Alex Simoncic came
on for Camilleri in order to
steady the ship. Stefan
Azzopardi and Charlon Tabone had
already made their entrance
earlier. The points lifted the
Blacks to within a point of the
leaders Sannat Lions and kept
them four points clear of third
placed Nadur Youngsters.
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