Birkirkara FC 1 - 3 Valletta FC

by Ayrton Galea - 9th January 2011

Birkirkara suffered what many may consider an unfair defeat as yesterday evening the Citizens managed to come back from a goal down and beat 'The Stripes' with a 3-1 result.

As said earlier many may consider this defeat as an unfair one as the current champions gave a very strong performance, and if 'The Stripes' took all their chances, and luck was more on our side, the result would be very different.

Birkirkara were not in full strength, as Trevor Cilia, Simon Zahra and goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo were ruled out injured while Patrick Borg was left on the bench as he was still not in his best condition.

In the first half opportunities were lacking for both sides as Birkirkara and Valletta tried to control the game in the middle of the field. Birkirkara had a freekick which was taken by Shaun Bajada and it was not saved properly by Andrew Hogg. the ball seemed to end in the net but it was only a corner kick for 'The Stripes'. On the other end, Michael Fraser was tested from a freekick by Denni Rocha Dos Santos.

The first half ended in a goal-less draw.

What the supporters did not see in the first half, they saw in the second half as it was full of goals and excitement.

Only two minutes into the second half, Birkirkara opened the score. A cross shot from the right by Michael Galea, was met with a fine header by Nikola Vukanac and the ball seemed to go past the goal line but the assistant referee had a different opinion and Hogg managed to clear the ball. From the rebound, Michael Galea hit home with a powerful shot.

Six minutes later, in the 53rd minute it was Valletta's turn to score as a wall pass by Kevin Sammut found Denni Rocha Dos Santos unmarked with the latter advancing into the box and scoring from an extremely angled position.

Just three minutes after Valletta equalised, Birkirkara almost took the lead once again. A cross shot from the right by Emiliano Lattes was not properly cleared and from the rebound, Angus Buhagiar fired a powerful shot which hit the upright.

On the other side of the pitch, it was time for Valletta to nearly take the lead. A perfect cross by Terence Scerri found Gilbert Aguis unmarked with the latter failing to score in an almost empty net.

Valletta doubled on the 66th minute when Gilbert Aguis found Denni. The latter advanced into the box and with a perfect lob, Valletta took the lead for the first time in the match.

In the final minutes Birkirkara tried everything to somehow salvage a point. On the 82nd minute, Michal Galea's effort was turned into a corner kick, and from the same corner Angus Buhagiar's effort was somehow blocked by Andrew Hogg.

But the game was over for Birkirkara on the 94th minute. Angus Buhagiar seemed to win the ball in a duel against Terence Scerri but both fell into the box and the referee ordered a penalty for the Lilywhites. Terence Scerri made them 3-1 from the penalty kick.

With this loss, 'The Stripes' are fourth, thirteen points behind Valletta who are comfortably leading the table with ten points clear.

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