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MATCH REPORT
In
an attempt to cope with the void
left by the departed in defence,
Għajnsielem F.C.
started the
match with what seemed like a
five-man defensive line
made up of roles of bygone days,
libero, stoppers, wing-backs.
Initially, the defence looked
stable. Patrick Camilleri
provided the cover to Joseph
Buttigieg and David Debattista,
who were in man-marking roles.
Larry Buttigieg and Robert Grima
kept sentinel on the wings and
marked anyone Nadur wide
players. The extra defender,
however, has to come from
somewhere. With Manwel Cordina
playing up front supported
by Joseph Attard, and Roberto R.
Petriaggi who hovered between
midfield and attack, this meant
that Għajnsielem's
midfield was occupied by Jason
Portelli and Alex Simoncic, who
were easily outnumbered by Nadur
in that department. And it was
that equation that made Nadur's
opener so predictable.
Having said that, it was the
Blacks that produced the first
scoring opportunity when
Simoncic blasted a shot that was
turned on to the crossbar and
behind for a corner by Victor
Agius. Nadur replied with a
similar action from a free-kick,
the difference being that Joseph
Grech did not require the help
of the crossbar to keep the ball
out of the net. Then Nadur
struck, a perfect ball was
played from midfield over the
Blacks' defensive line and
into
the path of Josef Buttigieg, who
advanced towards Grech
unchallenged and then beat him
witha diagonal shot. In the
ensuing minutes Nadur dominated
and were unlucky not to double
their lead when Milos Stojanovic
struck the bar.
As
soon as Nadur paused for a
breather, however, Għajnsielem
struck. Jason Portelli latched
on to a loose ball just outside
the penalty area and let go an
unstoppable shot that beat Agius
in the Nadur goal. Nadur were
surprised by this turn of events
and although they continue to
control midfield they failed to
create any other scoring chances
for the rest of the half. Just
when it looked like the half
would end in a draw, a score
that would have been happily
taken by the Blacks, if offered,
Petriaggi struck. He made
progress inside the penalty
area, on Għajnsielem's right.
Predictably he tried to cut back
inside to have a better look at
goal. He managed to elude the
defender and instead of
unleashing the shot from an
angled position, he faked the
shot, floored Agius and then
calmly deposited past the last
Nadur defender and into the net.
This was a well-taken goal,
which one would have expected to
give the Blacks a psychological
lift with at least a
demoralising impact on Nadur of
an equal magnitude.
What
coach Frankie Muscat said in the
dressing room during the break
only he and his players know.
The Youngsters came out for the
second half with such
determination and aggression
that they did not let the Blacks
settle down at all, and the
equalizer looked inevitable
before it arrived. Stojanovic
shot past Grech from close range
in the third minute.In the tenth
minute Anthony Portelli put them
ahead, when he beat Grech with a
diagonal shot after he was found
with time and space on
Għajnsielem's blind side. Less
then ten minutes later Portelli
added some insurance when he
beat Grech after the latter had
courageously saved the Nadur
captain's first effort.
The
match was over as a contest and
Jason Portelli's goal deep into
injury time simply made the
score more respectable. Simoncic
had come close moments earlier
when he glanced a header wide
following a Joseph Buttigieg
cross. Some minutes before that
Anthony Portelli had missed his
hat-trick by centimetres when
once again he had managed to
blind side the Blacks, but this
time the shot struck one of
Grech's uprights. Five-two would
have been too harsh, but 4-3
does not tell the whole story of
this match. Nadur had control of
the match, they let it slip
momentarily and then snatched it
back from the fragile Blacks
with impressive authority and
then they simply let the clock
run down in the face of a team
that seemed devoid of ideas.
(Photos courtesy of
www.gfa.com.mt)
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