Birkirkara halt Valletta

by Ayrton Galea - 18th March 2012

A dramatic equaliser six minutes from the end enabled Birkirkara to hold Valletta to a draw, in an entertaining match played yesterday afternoon.

It could be considered a fair result, as it was a match of two halves. In the first half Birkirkara were the best team on the field with Valletta taking control in the second half.

After a goal-less first half, the second half produced more action. Valletta took the lead on the 69th minute, and they seemed to be heading towards an important victory but the never-give-up attitude of Birkirkara was when they were awarded a penalty which was converted by Moises Avila Perez.

This draw was more beneficial for Birkirkara who are now alone in the third place, one point ahead of Floriana who conceded a 2-0 defeat to Hibernians. On the other hand, for Valletta this draw denied them the sole leadership as they are now level points with Hibernians.

It was a fine performance by Birkirkara, and one could say that all the players had a good match. However it was Moises Avila Perez who had been on the pitch for only four minutes who left his mark when he notched the deserved equaliser.

The First Half

As already said, Birkirkara were the best team on the field in the first half as they created the more goal scoring chances.

Birkirkara created the first dangerous opportunity on the 7th minute, when Jorge Santos Silva's cross found Paul Fenech inside the box, who lobbed over Andrew Hogg but the ball was cleared into a corner-kick by Ian Azzopardi.

A fine cross by Shola Shodiya on the 12th minute, was too long for Ryan Scicluna.

On the 18th minute, in the first opportunity for Valletta, a diagonal shot by Oussain Zongo ended over.

On the 20th minute the Birkirkara supporters had the illusion of a goal. A low shot by Paul Fenech was deflected in what seemed to be the behind the Valletta goalkeeper, but in fact it ended into a corner by mere inches.

A low weak shot by Jorge Santos Silva ended wide on the 22nd minute.

Joseph Zerafa made a fine clearance following a fast attack by Valletta on the 26th minute. On the other side of the pitch, on the 27th minute, from a freekick by Shaun Bajada the ball was headed over by Shodiya.

On the 38th minute, a header for Valletta ended wide following a free-kick near the corner kick flag.

A fine free-kick by Shaun Bajada in the direction of Shodiya was punched away by Andrew Hogg on the 43rd minute.

In the last action of the first half, a direct powerful corner-kic by Shaun Bajada was turned into another corner.

The Second Half

The Second Half saw the Citizens taking more control of the match but matters were sill not easy for them as Birkirkara's defence was in top form. After Valletta opened the score, they seemed to be heading for another victory but Moises Avila Perez had other thoughts as he converted a penalty to grab a point for Birkirkara.

The Valletta's Head Coach, Mr. Jesmond Zerafa, introduced Nigerian striker Alfred Effiong who came on to replace Aleksandrs Cekulajevs, with the aim of having a faster forward line.

Valletta almost went ahead just two minutes in the second half when Denni Rocha Dos Santos beat the offside trap and his powerful shot was denied by the upright with the ball ending in Gauci's hands from the rebound.

Following a good solo run by Shola Shodiya on the 50th minute, his effort ended wide. Valletta replied with a diagonal shot ending wide on the 54th minute.

Veteran midfielder Gilbert Agius replaced Roderick Bajada in the second substitution for the Lillywhites on the 56th minute.

Another long distance shot by Shola Shodiya on the 58th minute ended wide.

Following a fast breakthrough for Valletta, Nikola Vukanac committed a foul and collected a yellow card. From the following free-kick on the 63rd minute, William Barbrosa's effort ended over.

Denni Rocha Dos Santos was unlucky again on the 68th minute when following a perfect pass by Effiong, he chipped over goalkeeper Reuben Gauci but Rodrigo Pereira cleared the danger off the goal-line.

The Citizens deservedly went ahead on the 70th minute when Denni Rocha Dos Santos beat Gauci with a powerful shot inside the box.

Mr. Paul Zammit effected two substitutions and went all in for the equaliser as first he included Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza instead of Ryan Scicluna on the 75th minute and then, on the 81st minute, Moises Avila Perez took the place of Jorge Santos Silva.

The last substitution for Valletta saw Oussain Zongo being replaced with defender Saidou Mady Panandetiguiri.

Six minutes from the end, Birkirkara were awarded a penalty when following a one-two with Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, Shola Shodiya was pushed down in the box by Steve Borg. From the eleven metres, Moises Avila Perez shot the ball to one side with Andrew Hogg going to the the other side, to level matters for Birkirkara.

>To make things worse for 'The Citizens', they ended up playing the last minutes with one player less, as substitute Alfred Effiong was sent off after hitting Nikola Vukanac on the 87th minute.

Mr. Paul Zammit then used the third substitution as he preferred to include a midfielder and defend the result, when he introduced Rowen Muscat instead of Shola Shodiya on the 88th minute.

There were no further dangerous actions and the referee's full time whistle found the Birkirkara supporters applauding their players for their determination while the Valletta supporters disappointed for having lost their sole leadership.

Valletta's scorer Denni Rocha Dos Santos was named the BOV player of the match.

BIRKIRKARA: Reuben Gauci, Rodrigo Pereira, Nikola Vukanac, Jorge Santos Silva (81' Moises Avila Perez), Shaun Bajada, Ryan Scicluna (75' Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza), Paul Fenech, Angus Buhagiar, Gareth Sciberras, Joseph Zerafa, Shola Shodiya (88' Rowen Muscat).

VALLETTA: Andrew Hogg, Jonathan Caruana, Steve Borg, Aleksandrs Cekulajevs (45' Alfred Effiong), Ian Azzopardi, Roderick Briffa, Edmond Agius, Ousseni Zongo (83' Saidou Mady Panandetiguiri), Denni Rocha dos Santos, William Barbosa, Roderick Bajada (56' Gilbert Agius).

Scorers: 69' Denni Rocha Dos Santos (Valletta), 84' Moises Avila Perez (Birkrikara)

Yellow Cards: Joseph Zerafa, Nikola Vukanac, Moises Avila Perez, Rodrigo Pereira (Birkirkara), Roderick Bajada, Steve Borg (Valletta)

Red Cards: Alfred Effiong (Valletta)

Man of the macth: Denni Rocha Dos Santos (Valletta)

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