Temile hands Stripes precious points

by Ayrton Galea - 16th December 2013

Birkirkara FC extended their winning streak to eight matches and maintained their sole leadership in the BOV Premier League. They earned a hard-fought victory, thanks to substitute Frank Temile, who scored the winning goal and handed Birkirkara a 2-1 victory over Mosta FC.

The Stripes were in for a testing evening as Mosta gave a solid performance, especially in the first half. The Stripes disappointed at some moments, with erratic passes and by struggling to penetrate.

On the other hand, following their brilliant start which saw them taking early lead, the Blues looked like they were taking something from this match. However, their lead was short-lived as the Stripes made an excellent reaction and equalised a minute later. Then they went on to score the winning goal twenty minutes from the end.

Mr. Paul Zammit, Birkirkara's Head Coach, kept trust in the 4-3-2-1 formation but he was forced to make one change from last Tuesday's outing as Ryan Scicluna was ruled-out due to being ill, and he was replaced by Daniel Zerafa who was drifted inside the heart of the midfield trio.

Besides Ryan Scicluna, the Stripes were without the services of Matheus Bissi who is still recovering from a quad muscle injury.

On the other hand, Mosta were boosted by the return of Tyrone Farrugia after serving a one match ban, but Mr. Danilo Doncic's side lacked Alex Cini injured, while Mark Brincat was suspended.

The First Half

The initial minutes of the match saw Mosta going out on adventurous note, and their high pressure was resulting into erratic passes by Birkirkara, who failed to settle in the first minutes.

The Blues threatened after just two minutes. Juri Messias made some fine footwork on the right, before sending an inviting cross from the right, with Manolito Micallef's effort ending wide.

From a corner kick from the right, Tyrone Farrugia for Mosta had a volley ending wide, just past the seventh minute mark.

Birkirkara remained unsettled as Mosta continued to be the most adventurous team in the match and they broke the deadlock past the thirteenth minute mark. Christian Martins delivered an excellent first-post free-kick which saw Lukas Durisika rising high to hit home with a powerful header.

However, Mosta enjoyed their lead for just one minute as Durisika's strike served to be a wake-up call for the Stripes and they were quick to level matters. Terence Vella found space on the left flank to send a second-post cross. Jhonnattann Benites all alone against Borg, hit past the helpless goalkeeper, with a fine volley with the ball hitting the ground before ending into the net.

Shocked by the quick leveller, Mosta began to concede possession. The Stripes were settling down and they were now producing the best ideas. Terence Vella tried his luck with a shot from outside the box on the nineteenth minute which was turned into a corner-kick.

Two minutes later, Jhonnattann Benites had a threatening free-kick ending over Omar Borg's post.

The Stripes continued to enjoy possession but they were struggling to penetrate Mosta's organised rearguard, who from their part tried to hit Birkirkara on the counter. However, most of the possession remained in the middle of the field as both teams failed to break away.

Benites had a surging run on thirty-seventh minute and he drifted inside the middle of the box, but his powerful strike was turned into a corner kick by Omar Borg.

Joseph Zerafa almost put his team in the lead, just three minutes before half time. He exchanged possession with Benites, before having his right-foot volley scratching past the post.

The half-time whistle found Birkirkara and Mosta with a goal each to show for their efforts.

The Second Half

Having seen his team struggling to penetrate, and outplayed in the midfield department, Mr. Paul Zammit effected his first change, as he withdrew Daniel Zerafa and included Gareth Sciberras.

Birkirkara went out in the second half more aggressive than in the first, but they could not find a way through, as Mosta, who were now defending in numbers, were showing great tactical organization.

Shola Shodiya drifted inside the box in the fifty-eight minute, and he made his way on the right side, but his flick ended wide.

Two minutes later, Paul Fenech had a powerful volley parried by Mosta's custodian, Omar Borg.

Mosta threatened for the first time in the second half on the sixty-sixth minute when Gianmarco Pioccini had a free-kick ending over Justin Haber's bar.

With the Stripes still not convincing in their play, Mr. Paul Zammit made his second change of the match, when he replaced Terence Vella with Frank Temile on the sixty-eighth minute.

Temile's inclusion could not have had a better impact. Hardly a minute after was included, the match had a decisive twist. The Nigerian player was the protagonist to complete Birkirkara's comeback and put them ahead for the first time in the match.

Temile made some fine footwork down the left flank before sending Benites through. Benites sent a low-cross in the direction of Temile who hit past the onrushing Borg.

Enjoying the lead for the first time in the match, the Stripes continued to on the offensive and Temile's skills continued to torment the Mosta's rear-guard. Just three minutes after they fell behind, Mosta's woes increased, by having Ishmael Grech sent-off for committing a last-man foul on Temile.

Mosta goalkeeper, Omar Borg, was the protagonist of keeping his team in the match when he made an excellent save, to block a powerful drive from distance by Shola Shodiya, on the seventy-third minute.

Birkirkara enjoyed their numerical advantage for just four minutes, as they also ended up playing with one player less, when Joseph Zerafa was shown his second yellow card.

Shodiya had a surging run before drifting inside the middle of the box and his ferocious drive was saved by Omar Borg with difficulty fifteen minutes from the end.

With just fifteen minutes to go, Mr. Paul Zammit sought a fresh pair of legs in his rear-guard. He withdrew Shola Shodiya and introduced Ryan Camenzuli in Birkirkara's last substitution.

Jhonnattann Benites almost sealed the issue for the Stripes ten minutes from the end. He showed fine skills to produce a lob, which left goalkeeper Borg staring as the ball scratched past the post.

Two minutes later, Benites was in action once again. He had a powerful low shot from inside the box hitting the side netting.

In the final stages of the match, Mosta went all out desperate to find the equalizer, but their reaction was too poor to worry the steady Birkirkara's rear-guard, who stood strong and kept the result in their favour to clinch another precious victory.

The full time whistle by Referee Malcolm Spiteri saw the Stripes keeping their sole leadership in the BOV Premier League before their highly anticipated match against Hibernians, this Sunday.

Birkirkara: Justin Haber, Edward Herrera, Alejandro Mendoza, Nikola Vukanac, Joseph Zerafa, Rowen Muscat, Daniel Zerafa (45' Gareth Sciberras), Paul Fenech, Shola Shodiya (75' Ryan Camenzuli), Jhonnattann Benites, Terence Vella (68' Frank Temile).

Mosta: Omar Borg, Kane Farrugia, Tyrone Farrugia, Ishmael Grech, Rodriguez Ekani, Ryan Grech, Lukas Duriska (72' Ricardo Silva Faria), Yuri Messias, Christian Martins, Mano Micallef (90' James Brincat), Gianmarco Piccioni.

Referee: Malcolm Spiteri.

Assistant Referees: Roberto Vella, Thomas Debono.

Additional Referees: Andre Arciola, Sandro Spiteri.

Fourth Official: Marco Borg.

Yellow Cards: Paul Fenech, Frank Temile (Birkirkara), Gianmarco Piccioni, Tyrone Farrugia (Mosta).

Red Cards: Joseph Zerafa (Birkirkara), Ishmael Grech (Mosta).

Scorers: 14' Jhonnattann Benites, 69' Frank Temile (Birkirkara), 13' Lukas Duriska (Mosta)

BOV Man of the Match: Jhonnattann Benites (Birkirkara).

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