The 'Stripes' beat the 'Yellows'

by Matthaeus Grasso - 13th February 2010

After a minute of silence shown in memory of Mrs.Zammit, the mother of Birkirkara FC coach Mr.Paul Zammit, who passed away last night, the 'Stripes' gave the crowd present at the Ta' Qali National Stadium a show of determined and attacking football, as our side beat title hopefuls Qormi by two goals to nil.

Straight from the kick-off, Birkirkara seemed to be the team which wanted to get all three points the most, as time and time again, Qormi's defence was being put under constant pressure.

After twenty-two minutes, Paul Fenech served captain Michael Galea, with the latter crossing the ball towards youngster Karl Pulo who headed the ball in.

With the Birkirkara Ultras opting not to decorate the North Stand and not to chant during the match, as a sign of respect towards the club's coach, there wasn't the same sort of hype that normally takes place at the stadium whenever our team scores.

Barely a minute later, Shaun Bajada found an unmarked man in Trevor Cilia who ran a couple of yards before trying a mini-lob above the Qormi keeper, with the latter doing enough to parry the ball away and save his goal from a quick fire double.

Qormi's reply was hasty, as a shot by Alfred Effiong was parried away well into a corner by Spanish goalkeeper Jorge Mora, who had another solid match.

Both teams went in for the break with the 'Stripes' leading 1-0 and looking confident of an important win.

In the second half, Qormi's defence continued to struggle, as fine plays by Birkirkara's attacking department were causing havoc time and time again.

Twenty minutes after the restart, a typical mix-up in their defensive department, resulted in Trevor Cilia taking control of a loose ball before affecting a low powerful shot past Matthew Farrugia, to keep adding to Qormi's wounds.

Fifteen minutes from the end, the Birkirkara supporters held their nerves as Massimo Grima was about to affect a direct freekick from just outside the penalty area, however, his shot was too weak as it hit the wall before cruising away from the danger area.

Twelve minutes later, a similar freekick to the previous one was awarded for Qormi, this time it was Camillo's turn to take the kick, with the ball lurking just wide from Mora's right post.

The full-time whistle found our supporters celebrating another crucial victory which ensures that our team starts the Championship Pool from pole position, possibly with fierce rivals Valletta, who are expected to clinch all three points, as on Monday they face relegation threatened Dingli Swallows.

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