Birkirkara return to winning ways in style
by Ayrton Galea - 23rd October 2011
Birkirkara returned to winning ways in style as yesterday evening they registered a 4-0 comfortable win over Hamrun Spartans.
It was clear to notice the motivation of the Birkirkara players to return to winning ways especially in the first half when it was completely a one sided affair, with Hamrun only trying to counter attack.
In the second half Hamrun opened better and they held the initiative for the first twenty minutes but after Birkirkara scored the second goal and Hamrun had a player sent off there was no doubt where the three points where going.
Definitely that this win was very important for two important factors: Birkirkara now share the fourth place with Qormi and it was a boost for the player's morale to gain more confidence.
Once again the defence department was solid and strong which neutralised every attack by Hamrun. This was the second clean sheet of the season after registering the first one in the first match of the Premier League when Birkirkara defeated Qormi with a 2-0 score.
There were several players who performed a good match but one should mention the determined performance of the Under 21 International striker Terence Vella who had a brilliant performance and it was no wonder that he was awarded the BOV player of the match.
Mr. Paul Zammit started with the same line up against Valletta, where he had no problems of injuries, while for Hamrun five important players were missing.
The First Half
The first half saw Birkirkara dominating from the first whistle as they were eager to close the game as soon as possible after they took an early lead. It was not an easy task, but if Birkirkara took all the chances that they created in the first half, the match would have been over in this first half.
0' - Referee Chris Lautier blew the starting whistle.
2' - Gareth Sciberras fouled.
4' - A cross by Terence Vella from the left was met by Trevor, but his effort was deflected into a corner kick.
6' - A dangerous cross by Terence Vella towards Moises Avila Perez was too long to reach and ended in a goal kick for Hamrun.
8' - Rodrigo Pereira fouled.
9' - Birkirkara took the lead! Terence Vella was floored inside the box and Referee Chris Lautier had no option than ordering the penalty. From the eleven meters, Trevor made no mistake.
12' - Paul Fenech served Trevor Cilia who crossed in the box but his cross was parried by goalkeeper Omar Borg.
13' - Trevor Cilia fouled Omar Borg.
15' - Andrew Decesare fouled. From the freekick, a well taken effort ended wide for Hamrun.
18' - Dragan Perisic was fouled.
19' - Gareth handled the ball and Hamrun were given the freekick. However, when the freekick was taken, Dragan Perisic was fouled and Birkirkara were awarded the freekick.
22' - Trevor Cilia was caught in an offside position.
23' - Rodrigo Pereira was fouled.
26' - Moises Avila Perez was fouled. From the freekick, Rodrigo's effort ended in a goal kick
28' - Dragan Perisic fouled.
30' - In an isolated attack for Hamrun, a cross from the left, Luis Fernando Da hit wide.
32' - Birkirkara had a good opportunity to double the lead, when a good action by Moises Avila Perez and Trevor Cilia and the latter sent an inviting cross which Terence Vella hit wide from a close range.
32' - A cross from the left, Anderson Mendes Riberio hit wide.
33' - Joseph Zerafa was fouled.
35' - Terence Vella tried his luck with a long distance shot which ended wide.
36' - Gareth Sciberras fouled.
37' - Terence Vella fouled.
39' - Terence Vella fouled.
40' - Paul Fenech fouled.
40' - Andrew Decesare was fouled.
41' - Birkirkara had another good opportunity with a powerful long distance shot by Joseph Zerafa with Omar Borg saving with difficulty and deflecting the ball into a corner kick.
42' - Moises Avila Perez was fouled.
44' - A good cross from the right was met by Trevor's first time effort which was turned into a corner kick.
45' - Two minutes of extra time were shown.
45+1' - Moises Avila Perez was in an offside position.
The Second Half
Hamrun opened this half better and they had an edge over Birkirkara in the early stages but as said earlier after Birkirkara scored the second goal and Hamrun had a player sent off there was no doubt that Birkirkara were going to pick these three precious points.
45' - In the first substitution for Birkirkara, Andrew Decesare was replaced with Angus Buhagiar.45' - Referee Chris Lautier signalled the start of the second half.
46' - Hamrun were awarded a corner. A short corner was followed by a fine cross which Anderson Mendes Riberio failed to hit and ended in a goal kick.
47' - Terence Vella was fouled.
50' - A perfect through ball towards Gaetan Spiteri, Jorge Mora came out to the rescue and put the ball into a throw in.
51' - Rowen Muscat fouled.
52' - Paul Fenech fouled and was shown the yellow card.
53' - Hamrun had a powerful diagonal low shot ending wide.
54' - Paul Fenech was fouled.
55' - A shot by Paul Fenech was blocked and the assistant referee found three Birkirkara players in an offside position.
58' - Joseph Zerafa was fouled.
59' - Paul Fenech fouled.
60' - Hamrun Spartans were caught in an offside position.
61' - Angus Buhagiar was fouled.
62' - Terence Vella had a long distance shot ending wide.
63' - Angus Buhagiar fouled after a late tackle and was shown the yellow card.
65' - Paul Fenech fouled.
68' - Birkirkara made them two when a low cross by Terence Vella the ball reached Angus Buhagiar who slammed the ball home.
69' - Rodrigo Pereira fouled.
71' - Hamrun Spartans made all the three substitutions as first, injured Omar Borg was replaced by the Under 19 goalkeeper, Andrea Cassar, Luis Fernando Silva was replaced by Carlos Eduardo Toneto Porcari and Rupert Mangion was replaced by Glenn Azzopardi.
73' - Angus Buhagiar was fouled.
75' - Hamrun were reduced to ten men when Carlo Polli collected the second yellow card and therefore he was sent off.
76' - Joseph Zerafa fouled.
76' - Alan Tabone replaced Rowen Muscat in the second substitution for Birkirkara.
81' - Moises Avila Perez's effort ended wide.
82' - Dragan Perisic fouled.
83' - Hamrun were in an offside position.
84' - Trevor Cilia serves Terence Vella whose shot was deflected by Moises Avila Perez and ended wide.
85' - In the last substitution for Birkirkara Leighton Grech replaced Terence Vella.
85' - Birkirkara almost scored their third goal when Moises Avila Perez's effort went past the goalkeeper but it was short cleared by the defender, and from the rebound Trevor Cilia's effort hit the post and the final shot from Terence Vella was blocked and cleared.
87' - In another good action, and an opportunity to increase the lead, saw Trevor Cilia's perfect cross towards Angus Buhagiar who failed to hit the ball well and the action ended in a goal kick.
88' - Angus Buhagiar fouled.
90' - Four minutes of extra time were shown.
90+1' - Birkirkara made them three! A swift counter attack, an inviting pass towards Moises who advanced in the box, left the ball for Leighton Grech who slotted the ball home and scored his first goal in the Premier League with our Club.
90+2' - Gareth Sciberras fouled.
90+3' - Birkirkara increased their lead to four goals! A perfect pass from Gareth Sciberras towards Leighton Grech who advanced and his shot was temporarily saved by Andrea Cassar who failed to catch the ball and Leighton Grech slotted the ball in an empty net.
90+4' - Referee Chris Lautier blows the full time whistle.
Line Ups:
Birkirkara: Jorge Mora, Andrew Decesare (45' Angus Buhagiar), Rodrigo Pereira, Dragan Perisic, Joseph Zerafa, Paul Fenech, Rowen Muscat (77' Alan Tabone), Gareth Sciberras, Terence Vella (85' Leighton Grech), Trevor Cilia, Moises Avila Perez
Hamrun Spartans: Omar Borg (73' Andrea Cassar), Nikica Gacesa, Rupert Mangion (73' Glenn Azzopardi), Anderson Mendes Riberio, Lee James Agius, Kevin Sammut, Matthew Gauci, Carlo Polli, Gaetan Spiteri, Luis Fernando Silva (73' Carlos Eduardo Toneto Porlari), David Camilleri
Scorers: 9' - Trevor Cilia, 68' - Angus Buhagiar, 90+1' - Leighton Grech, 90+3' - Leighton Grech
Yellow Cards: Angus Buhagiar, Paul Fenech (Birkirkara), Nikica Gacesa, Anderson Mendes Riberio, Carlo Polli, Luis Fernando Silva (Hamrun Spartans)
Red Cards: Carlo Polli (Hamrun Spartans)
Man of the match: Terence Vella (Birkirkara)
comments powered by Disqus
