Stripes held by Qormi
by Ayrton Galea - 7th October 2013
Champions Birkirkara have been struggling to find consistency at this initial phase of the league, and this was shown yet again on Saturday evening as they lost another two precious points when they were held by Qormi in a 1-1 score.
Shola Shodiya's strike just past the hour-mark seemed to rescue the Stripes from a frustrating evening but the Stripes' lead lasted just seven minutes before resilient Qormi were quick to equalize to deservingly leave the National Stadium with one point to show for their excellent performance which frustrated the Maltese Champions.
Last weekend the Stripes received credits for the brilliant attitude how they bounced back with a fine victory over Valletta following their first league defeat. However, yesterday evening, the Stripes were unable to keep with the expectation as their performance was a different, decreased one from last weekend. Erratic passes and short of ideas, especially in front of goal, denied the Stripes from penetrating.
Following this disappointing draw, the Stripes have now fell seven points behind leaders Hibernians who registered a controversial 2-0 victory to make them eight from eight in their brilliant start of the Premier League.
Birkirkara's Head Coach Mr. Paul Zammit's belief in the saying of, ‘never change a winning team' was proven in his first-eleven selection as no changes were featured in the first XI from the last match victory against Valletta. Once again, the Stripes went out with the 4-3-3 formation with the three foreign forwards namely Shola Shodiya, Frank Temile and Jhonnattann Benites composed the attacking department. Matheus Bissi was back following a one-match suspension, while Edward Herrera returned from a slight injury.
On the other hand, Qormi were rewarded for their perfect tactical position showed throughout the whole match. Coach Mr. Tommaso Volpi fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jorge Pereira Da Silva was their only striker, supported by Leighton Grech and Alfred Effiong on the wings. The latter was amongst Qormi's most dangerous players on the day as he had an electrifying performance by being a continuous torment on the left wing.
The First Half
Have went out eagerly to surge ahead early in the match, the Stripes settled down quickly and they drove forwards towards goal in the opening stages of the match.
Just after one minute, the Stripes went close. Jhonnattann Benites delivered a dangerous direct corner kick on the first post which was turned into safety off the goal-line by a defender. From the resulting corner kick, Paul Fenech sent a cross-shot which was failed to hit by Rowen Muscat.
Shola Shodiya produced some fine foot-work on the fourth minute as he drifted on the left wing before delivering a powerful low-cross which was turned into a corner kick.
The Stripes continued to enjoy their clear edge over their opponents in the early stages. On the seventh minute, Paul Fenech had a shot blocked from inside the box, and off the rebound, Jhonnattann Benites' shot fired over the bar.
On the thirteenth minute, Paul Fenech seemed to be brought inside the box, but referee Kevin Azzopardi turned the Stripes' penalty-shout down and waved play on.
Frank Temile sent a cross in direction of Shola Shodiya who on the edge of the box saw his inside-shot flying totally over on the eighteenth minute. Just minute later, Gareth Sciberras served Paul Fenech who saw his weak-shot parried by goalkeeper Matthew Farrugia.
The Stripes' aggressive opening began to fade out as soon Qormi settled down and they were playing a brilliant tactical match. The Yellow-Blacks, who were defending in numbers, were opting for the counter-attack game mostly biased on Alfred Effiong and it was the latter that almost put them in the lead on the 21 minutes.
Duncan Pisani delivered an excellent cross in the path of Alfred Effiong, who anticipated Zach Muscat, advanced and saw his fine-curling shot turned into a corner kick thanks to an excellent save by Justin Haber.
The match has now turned into a balanced affair, as both sides failed to produce any scoring opportunity. The Stripes were still in control of the match, as they had most of the possession but Qormi's excellent tactical discipline continued to be the protagonist factor in the match by cancelling out the Stripes' attacks that saw the latter struggling to penetrate.
Struggling Stripes continued to search for the opener, and on the thirty-three minute, Jhonnattann Benites tried his luck with a shot from outside the box which failed to worry goalkeeper Farrugia as Benites' strike ended wide.
Two minutes from half-time, the Stripes threatened with a dangerous opportunity which almost surged them ahead. Frank Temile and Shola Shodiya exchanged possession before Shodiya delivered an excellent cross which Temile headed over from an ideal position.
The first half ended in a goal-less draw, as Birkirkara's superiority who enjoyed most of the possession failed to be converted into scoring opportunities who were denied by the solid Qormi's rear-guard.
The Second Half
On the start of the second half, Mr. Paul Zammit effected his first substitution. Ryan Camenzuli was withdrawn as he was replaced with Edward Herrera who took the right-back position. Joseph Zerafa was shuffled for the left-back position while Zach Muscat took a central-back role.
Herrera's inclusion quickly sparkle the Stripes, as on the 52 minute, the wing-back produced a fine run on the right wing before delivering an excellent cross but Nigerian Frank Temile failed to hit, with the ball being parried by goalkeeper Farrugia.
Having seen sides of improvement by his team, Mr. Paul Zammit effected his second substitution on the hour-mark as Demba Toure replaced Gareth Sciberras to be the Stripes' fifth foreigner on the pitch.
The inclusion of Demba Toure seemed to leave the wished impact on the pitch, less than a minute after being introduced, the Stripes finally penetrated successfully. Frank Temile made an excellent solo-action before serving Shola Shodiya outside the box with the Nigerian's first-timer shot fired home.
One might thought that the opening goal for the Stripes could wave the way for them to pick up the three precious points. However, Qormi had a different opinion. They showed great resilience not to throw the towel and they were rewarded just after seven minutes they fall behind.
Leanardo Gabrieli sent a dangerous cross-shot which Haber struggled to parry and off the rebound, Ricardo Innoccenti found no difficulty to slot the ball home.
Two goals in just seven minutes might give the impression that the match would finally come to life after quite a disappointing seventy minutes. However, the pattern of the match was unchanged with Birkirkara's urge increasing as they had only two minutes to pick-up the precious three points.
The Stripes created an excellent opportunity as the threatened the regain the lead on the 72 minutes. Shodiya delivered a cross inside the box in path of Demba Toure who directed a header in direction of Jhonnattann Benites but the Brazilian winger saw his effort blocked in style by goalkeeper Matthew Farrugia.
With the Birkirkara supporters heading towards the exit gates, Mr. Zammit played his last-chance card as he included Terence Vella off Frank Temile. However, Qormi's defence remained strong and the full-time whistle by referee Kevin Azzopardi saw the Stripes dropping another two points while Qormi clinched an important point for their morale who bounced back after depressing three consecutive defeats.
Birkirkara: Justin Haber, Zach Muscat, Alejandro Mendoza, Joseph Zerafa, Ryan Camenzuli (46' Edward Herrera), Rowen Muscat, Gareth Sciberras (60' Demba Toure), Paul Fenech, Frank Temile (84' Terence Vella), Shola Shodiya, Jhonnattann Benites.
Qormi: Matthew Farrugia, Alfred Effiong, Giuseppe Bellucci, Leighton Grech, Roderick Bajada, Jorge Pereira (90' Dylan Pirotta), Owen Bugeja, Duncan Pisani, Jonathan Bondin, Ricardo Innocenti, Leonardo Gabrieli (73' Gianluca Nucera).
Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.
Assistant Referees: Duncan Sultana, Sammy Attard.
Additional Referees: Alan Mario Sant, Sandro Spiteri.
Fourth Official: Christopher Francalanza.
Yellow Cards: Ryan Camenzuli, Alejandro Mendoza, Zach Muscat, Paul Fenech, Gareth Sciberras, Jhonnattann Benites (Birkirkara), Matthew Farrugia, Giuseppe Bellucci (Qormi).
Scorers: 61' Shola Shodiya (Birkirkara), 68' Ricardo Innocenti (Qormi).
BOV Player of the Match: Paul Fenech (Birkirkara).
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