Għajnsielem F.C.
played their second championship
phase match
against Xagħra United. Although,
the Blacks were at not their
very best form, they ran out
comfortable 6-1 winners. The
Blacks were in control of the
match from start to finish and
were never placed under any
pressure by their opponents.
Xagħra defended deep in their
zone, with their goalkeeper,
central defender Hili and their
central midfielder defending
valiantly in the face of waves
of Blacks attacks.
Jamie Vella, who had a bright
first half, opened the score
less than five minutes into the
match. His low diagonal shot
from outside the penalty area
gave the Xagħra keeper no
chance. The Blacks' striker was
the protagonist early. He took a
Damon Hili pass and shot towards
the top righthand corner of the
Xagħra goal but the Blues'
goalkeeper turned the ball
behind for a corner. Then Vella
directed a shot towards the
other side, but missed wide.
Following this opening direct
barrage, the Blacks started to
spread the ball wide, especially
to Christian Dingli and Alberto
Xuereb, their left-sided
players. Xuereb did not take
long to make an impact. He
dribbled down the left and
crossed hard into the goalmouth.
The ball never reached Vella but
it came off Hili and crossed the
line for Għajnsielem's second.
The Blacks kept insisting with
wing play, and Xuereb kept
pumping low hard crosses across
the penalty area but the Xagħra
defence managed to block all
these efforts. Hili tried to
punish Xagħra from outside when
he took hold of one rebound and
struck hard at goal but he too
saw his shot blocked by Hili.
On a rare Xagħra attack, Owen
Xuereb had to be alert to save a
shot from distance. Għajnsielem
scored their third direct from a
Damon Hili free-kick from well
outside the penalty area. Marco
Ciangura then lobbed high. Vella
nearly scored with a backheel
attempt that was tipped behind
by the Xagħra goalkeeper.
Alberto Xuereb volleyed one shot
high and then forced a save out
of the Xagħra goalkeeper with a
shot from close range but from a
narrow angle.
The Blacks relaxed momentarily
at the back and Xagħra surprised
with a quick break. Xuereb was
overwhelmed with a rising shot.
Shortly after, the referee blew
the half time whistle.
Għajnsielem started the second
half aggressively in a clear
attempt to dispell any thoughts
of a comeback that Xagħra may
have entertained. Jamie Vella's
shot missed the goal. Ciangura
threw himself at the ball but
failed to make contact. Then
Damon Hili took control of the
ball in midfield, dribbled
towards the left and scored with
a low diagonal shot. Adrian
Demanuele nearly scored with a
low shot but the ball went wide.
Alberto Xuereb then scored
Għajnsielem's fifth when he
deftly placed past the Xagħra
goalkeeper following an
excellent Ciangura lobbed pass.
Ciangura then played a one-two
with Vella, but the latter's
return pass pushed him wide of
goal and Ciangura's shot missed
the net.
At this point Alex Spiteri
triggered his substitutions. The
Blacks stayed in control and
Andrew Attard, who had another
solid game at the game, sealed
the 6-1 win with a thuderous
shot from distance.
(Photography
Mattheo Ciangura)
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