Under-17's Team suffer dramatic defeat

by Ayrton Galea - 21st January 2015

Birkirkara FC Under-17's Team were unlucky to leave the Mgarr Grounds with empty hands on Sunday afternoon, when two goals in stoppage time saw the Stripes conceding a 2-1 defeat to Mqabba FC.

The Stripes seemed to be heading to a narrow victory, but two goals in stoppage time earned Mqabba a dramatic victory, with their winning goal coming from a penalty just before the full-time whistle.

For the Stripes, this was the first defeat in four matches and they are now in the fifth place, two points under the same Mqabba. However, the Stripes have a game in hand.

The First Half

The Stripes opened well and they quickly threatened twice. On the third minute, a direct corner kick by Ryan Muscat was deflected by the Mqabba goalkeeper into safety and another shot by Muscat ended wide two minutes later.

Birkirkara were denied from surging ahead on the eleventh minute when Jacob Magri had a fierce strike from outside the box scratching past the upright, while nine minutes later a shot by Neil Micallef was parried by the goalkeeper.

The Stripes had a golden opportunity to open their scoring account on the twenty-third minute, when off a perfect Ryan Muscat's corner, Maximilian Borg saw his header from ideal position ending wide.

However, Birkirkara took the lead four minutes from half time. Ryan Muscat won a penalty after he was held by an Mqabba defender. Maximilian Borg Bartolo scored from the 11 meters spot.

The Second Half

Mqabba came out strongly and after six minutes, the Birkirkara goalkeeper Fabian Aquilina turned a shot from outside the box into a corner kick. From the resulting corner, the Birkirkara goalkeeper made an excellent save to block a powerful shot.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Neil Micallef sent a reminder of his fierce strikes when his shot brought the best out of the reflexes of the Mqabba goalkeeper, who he denied the Birkirkara player with a brilliant save to turn the ball into a corner kick.

The Stripes should have put their minds at rest, when Sergio Conti saw his shot ending wide in a one versus one situation against the Mqabba goalkeeper.

Birkirkara paid the sourest price for all the goal-scoring chances lost, as Mqabba equalised on the eightieth minute. A free-kick was not held by Fabian Aquilina, and from the rebound, Mqabba levelled matters.

The Stripes ended playing with ten players when Ryan Muscat was sent off after the referee adjudicated that he retaliated against an opponent.

Six minutes into stoppage time, Mqabba scored the winning goal, when Fabian Aquilina did not manage to control the ball inside the area, and committed a foul on the Mqabba's striker who managed to take the ball. The penalty kick was converted to give Mqabba a dramatic victory.

BIRKIRKARA: Fabien Aquilina, Fabien Lufi, Nigel Bugeja, Jacob Magri, Zachary Cassar, Maximilian Borg, Jordan Sciberras, Shaun Xuereb, Gianluca Zammit, Ryan Muscat, Neil Micallef.

Red Cards: 82' Ryan Muscat.

Scorers: 36' Maximilian Borg.

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