Ten-man Under-19's Team lose to Pembroke

by Ayrton Galea - 17th January 2015

Birkirkara FC Under-19's Team difficulties this season were evident once again on Thursday evening. In yet another match where they were forced to play with ten men for an hour, they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Pembroke Athleta.

Leon Zammit was sent off for a late-tackle in the first half, and Birkirkara's resiliencece was not enough to save something from the match. After falling two goals down, Jaccarini's strike only helped to narrow the margin.

The Stripes opened well and they exchanged goal scoring chances with their opponents in the first twenty minutes of the game, but it was Pembroke who broke the dead-lock. Only moments after the Stripes seemed to be denied a clear penalty-kick, on the other side of the pitch, Pembroke took the lead from a corner kick that created havoc inside the box with the ball ending in the net.

Things got worse for Birkirkara just past the half-hour mark when Leon Zammit was sent off following a late tackle inside the box. Pembroke missed the penalty as Tabone's effort hit the foot of the post, but minutes later they scored again, to head to their dressing room with a two-goal lead.

The start of the second half saw the Stripes pushing hard to get back in the match and Beppe Jaccarini revived his team's hopes by heading home from a corner. However, their efforts fell short as despite pressing their opponents in their own half and having the lion's share of possession, Pembroke held strong. The match ended with a 2-1 result in favour of Pembroke.

BIRKIRKARA: Allisther Micallef, Aaron Montebello (Carl Abela), Beppe Jaccarini, Leon Muscat, Dylan Aquilina, Jonathan Licari, Andrea Curmi, Shawn Deguara (Jean Claude Grech), Russell Gatt De Raffaele, Jeremy Cassar (Clint Zammit), Kurt Zammit.

Yellow Cards: Russell Gatt De Raffaele, Andrea Curmi, Carl Abela.

Red Cards: Leon Muscat.

Scorer: Beppe Jaccarrini.

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