Under-17's held by Cottonera United

by Ayrton Galea - 12th January 2015

Birkirkara FC Under-17's Team registered the second consecutive draw and despite a very satisfactory performance they were held by Cottonera United in a 1-1 draw, with the latter dropping the first points of the season against the Stripes.

The Stripes, coming from a 1-1 draw against Kirkop United FC, once again gave a good account of themselves and they enjoyed an edge for long stretches during the match. However, they failed to convert their superiority into goals.

Thanks to this draw, the Stripes are third with five points from three matches, five points under the leaders Cottonera United.

The First Half

The Stripes were denied from the perfect start after just two minutes. A powerful shot by Neil Micallef from outside the area hit the upright, and from the rebound Gianluca Zammit's shot was well saved by Cottonera's goalkeeper.

Birkirkara continued to dictate matters in the opening stages, as their strong start was giving them an edge over their opponents. On the fifth minute, a shot by Ryan Muscat from outside the box ended wide.

Jacob Magri went close twice to put Birkirkara ahead, as they kept playing better football. On the eleventh minute, a thunderous strike scratched past the post and nine minutes later, the same player had another fierce shot from a free-kick ending wide.

Against the run of the play, it was Cottonera who almost broke the deadlock on the twenty-fifth minutes, but the Birkirkara goalkeeper, Fabian Aquilina showed great reflexes to deny the Cottonera striker, following a fast break-away.

With Cottonera improving in their match, the match turned into a very-balanced encounter and there was no notable action in the first half with both teams heading to their dressing room in a goal-less draw.

The Second Half

Unlike the first half, the Stripes struggled to find their feet in the opening minutes of the second forty minutes. Cottonera added to their woes when five minutes into the second half they scored from a direct free-kick.

However, this served as a wake-up call for the Stripes as they made an instant reaction and equalised just ten minutes later. Ryan Gauci won a free kick on the right side of the box and from the same free kick, Jordan Sciberras rose high to beat Cottonera's goalkeeper.

Boosted by levelling matters, the Stripes now regained their superiority and tried to turn the game around. Just past the hour mark, Neil Micallef's shot from outside the area was turned in a corner by Cottonera's goalkeeper.

The Stripes continued to push forward. On the sixty-seventh minute, Jacob Magri's shot from outside the area was saved by the Cottonera's custodian, and five minutes later Ryan Muscat's shot inside the area went close to the upright.

Birkirkara continued to throw everything forward, but Cottonera held strong at the back with the referee's full-time whistle seeing both sides take a point each.

BIRKIRKARA Fabian Aquilina, Fabien Lufi, Nigel Bugeja, Jacob Magri, Zachary Cassar, Max Borg Bartolo, Nigel Borg, Shaun Xuereb, Gianluca Zammit, Ryan Muscat, Neil Micallef.

Yellow Cards: Ryan Gauci.

Scorers: 55' Jordan Sciberras.

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