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MATCH REPORT
Għajnsielem took on the joint
league leaders Xewkija Tigers
without midfielder Alex Simoncic
who will leave the Club to
rejoin Nadur Youngsters. Facing
low expectations from their
supporters and playing with less
pressure the Blacks put on one
of their best opening half
performances of the season. The
team played within a 5-3-2
structure with Jonathan Grech
added as the fifth defender and
Charlon Tabone coming on in
place of Simoncic in midfield.
Joseph Attard started on the
bench, being the player
sacrificed in this more prudent
setup.
The Tigers started without Elton
Vella who was on the bench. They
still had enough quality on the
field to create two or three
crisp scoring opportunities.
Erratic finishing, good
goalkeeping from Joseph Grech
and heroic defending from
captain David Debattista kept
the Tigers from scoring. On
their part Għajnsielem enjoyed
less possession but still
managed to create two terrific
opportunities both from the feet
of Manuel Cordina but on each
occasion Roberto Petriaggi all
alone in front of Joseph Grima
failed to score.
The
second half would have been more
of the same were it not for a
rash tackle on Rodney Buttigieg
that resulted in a Xewkija
penalty kick, which was
converted by Chris Camilleri.
The Tigers' second goal deep in
injury time, the fruit of Mark
Camilleri's persistence and
Għajnsielem's careless
defending, made it look like a
comfortable victory for the
frontrunners, but it was not
especially given the fact that
the Tigers played most of the
second half a man short due to
the dismissal of John Camilleri
The
first chance of the match fell
at the feet of Rodney Buttigieg.
He was set up by a pass from
Franklee Galea who was making
his first career appearance
against his old club. Galea had
a good match in the Xewkija
midfield, similar to the many
appearances he had for the
Blacks in the past, providing
balance with his positioning,
quantity with his running and
quality with his passing.
Buttigieg thundered the ball
high over Joseph Grech's goal.
Għajnsielem's reply came in the
form of a Roberto Rivellino
Petriaggi shot that also went
high after a short clearance
from the Tigers. Grech tipped
over the bar a Chris Camilleri
shot. This quiet, balanced start
to the match was surprising
given the low morale of the
Blacks and the position in the
standings of Xewkija. Jaws would
have dropped in astonishment had
Petriaggi not failed twice to
convert on two clean breakaway
opportunities provided by two
inch perfect Cordina through
passes. But Petriaggi's efforts
were disappointing and one felt
that Għajnsielem had missed
their glorious opportunity to
trouble Xewkija in this match.
The
near misses brought the Tigers
to life and John Camilleri
glanced a header just wide from
a Manuel Xerri corner.
Għajnsielem were gifted another
opportunity when Joseph Grima
was judged to have still been
ball in hand on one of his
clearances as the momentum took
him outside of the penalty area
but Petriaggi slammed the ball
into the Xewkija wall. Grech
continued to excel in the
Blacks' goal when he blocked
John Camilleri's shot from close
range. Grech should have done
better with another clearance
just before half time, instead
he pushed the ball towards
Buttigieg who volleyed the ball
past Grech. The experienced
captain David Debattista,
however, had covered his
goalkeeper's rush and cleared
the ball off the goal line.
Elton Vella came on for John
Vella to start the second half.
Although Xewkija had more of the
play they did not put the Blacks
under undue pressure. The break
through came when Buttigieg
swivelled past Robert Grima and
was brought down near the goal
line just inside the penalty
area. Chris Camilleri scored
from the penalty spot. To the
Blacks' credit heads did not
drop as they had done in some of
their worst outings this season.
They soon received a boost when
John Camilleri was sent off
after being shown two yellow
cards. Joseph Attard came on for
Jonathan Grech, who, one has to
say, had a very encouraging
outing in defence, full of
courage, strong and timely in
his interventions. Attard's
entrance meant that the Blacks
were now in a 4-3-3 shape and
clearly looking to save the
match.
Jason Portelli, upon whom fell
the creative responsibilities in
the absence of Simoncic, swung a
corner towards Tabone who headed
the ball invitingly across goal
but there was no one there to
re-direct the ball into the net.
Portelli, now also the free-kick
taker from all areas of the
pitch, had at his feet the
Blacks' last realistic chance to
save the match. But his shot
from a free-kick in a central
position just outside the
Xewkija penalty area went wide.
Joseph Buttigieg, marking his
return from injury came on for
Tabone but his introduction came
too late to influence the
outcome. The Tigers' 93rd minute
goal was cruel on the Blacks
especially given the manner in
which it came about.
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