A double-header in the Maltese BOV Premier League was on the agenda on 1/2/14, but it wasn't that which was envisaged by yours truly before heading off to the tiny Meditteranean country. All will be revealed..
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Saturday 1 February brought the promise of a double-header of matches in the BOV Premier League between Hibernians and Qormi, and Sliema Wanderers and Floriana, both of which were to take place at the Hibernians Stadium in Corradino. However, a tempest of almost Biblical proportions put paid to those plans, as torrential rain began overnight, and kept on coming - and kept on coming..and eventually waterlogged the grass pitch, ensuring that both games were called off.
So, a helter-skelter dash across the island of Malta to the Centenary Stadium, Ta'Qali, ensued, where Balzan Youths were to take on Tarxien Rainbows in the late kick-off, with Rabat Ajax, who had only won one game all season, and Vittoriosa Stars first up in the "battle of the basement." More than an hour and three buses after leaving Corradino, your (by now) rather bedraggled correspondent arrived at the stadium just in time to hear a roar from the small contingent of Stars supporters just before half-time, Marcelo Pereira putting their favourites 1:0 up with a header in the 43rd minute.
The second half began with the rain still teeming down and Rabat Ajax on the attack, and Mario Muscat in the Stars' goal did well to turn Diego Carrillo Pendas' free-kick around his right-hand post. Moments later, in the 54th minute, the Magpies almost took the lead when Joseph Caruana's shot, following a clearance from Pendas' corner, struck the outside of the Stars' right-hand post.
In a period when attacking play from both sides was scarce to say the least, a Vittoriosa foray ended with Oscar Guerrero's shot flashing across Pavel Velimirovic's goal. The Magpies kept coming, though, and a virtually unchallenged Adam Smeir, not long after coming on as a substitute, headed just wide from eight yards out and Pendas' deflected shot was well saved by Muscat.
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Ajax were on top at this stage, but their goalkeeper, Pavle Velimirovic, underemployed as he was, stayed alert and saved Gilbert Martin's effort on 84 minutes, and then, at the second attempt, held on to Ousmane Sidibe's header from just a few yards out.
As Rabat Ajax were pushing for an equaliser, their opponents were finding gaps in their defence, and Marcelo Pereira's shot was pushed behind by Velimirovic. In injury-time, Pereira should have put the result beyond doubt when put through for a one-on-one with the Montenegrin following a facile disposession of defender Ivan Carapic by one of three Stars' players, but Pereira's shot was blocked by Velimirovic's midriff and the ball went behind for a corner when it should have been lying in the back of the Rabat Ajax net.
Still, Vittoriosa Stars did enough in the first half to ensure that the points were heading in the direction of the famous Three Cities, and Birgù in particular, though it was tough on Rabat Ajax, who deserved a share of the spoils after a determined showing in the second-half and remained nine points adrift at the bottom of the table.
RABAT AJAX: Pavle VWLIMIROVIC, Shaun GAUCI, David AZZOPARDI, Ivan CARAPIC, Dylan FALZON (Wayne BORG), Joseph CARUANA, Jonathan BAJADA, Sorin Virgil OPROIESCU, Malcolm LICARI (Adam SMEIR), Ryan MICALLEF, Diego CARRILLA PENDAS
VITTORIOSA STARS: Mario MUSCAT, Ousmane SIDIBE, Samir ARAB, Oscar GUERRERO (Federico GUERRERO), Siraj ARAB (Karl SAMMUT), Clive BRINCAT, Gilbert MARTIN (Ryan MIFSUD), Marcelo PEREIRA, José Filipe AGUIAR, Francisco ARRIGADA MELLA, Luke VELLA CRITIEN
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The line-ups for the above game were not made available to your correspendent before or after the game in question, and the line-ups as listed above were taken from both The Malta Independent and the maltafootball.com website.
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Saturday 1 February brought the promise of a double-header of matches in the BOV Premier League between Hibernians and Qormi, and Sliema Wanderers and Floriana, both of which were to take place at the Hibernians Stadium in Corradino. However, a tempest of almost Biblical proportions put paid to those plans, as torrential rain began overnight, and kept on coming - and kept on coming..and eventually waterlogged the grass pitch, ensuring that both games were called off.
So, a helter-skelter dash across the island of Malta to the Centenary Stadium, Ta'Qali, ensued, where Balzan Youths were to take on Tarxien Rainbows in the late kick-off, with Rabat Ajax, who had only won one game all season, and Vittoriosa Stars first up in the "battle of the basement." More than an hour and three buses after leaving Corradino, your (by now) rather bedraggled correspondent arrived at the stadium just in time to hear a roar from the small contingent of Stars supporters just before half-time, Marcelo Pereira putting their favourites 1:0 up with a header in the 43rd minute.
The second half began with the rain still teeming down and Rabat Ajax on the attack, and Mario Muscat in the Stars' goal did well to turn Diego Carrillo Pendas' free-kick around his right-hand post. Moments later, in the 54th minute, the Magpies almost took the lead when Joseph Caruana's shot, following a clearance from Pendas' corner, struck the outside of the Stars' right-hand post.
In a period when attacking play from both sides was scarce to say the least, a Vittoriosa foray ended with Oscar Guerrero's shot flashing across Pavel Velimirovic's goal. The Magpies kept coming, though, and a virtually unchallenged Adam Smeir, not long after coming on as a substitute, headed just wide from eight yards out and Pendas' deflected shot was well saved by Muscat.
PLAYING ON THROUGH THE DELUGE: Rabat Ajax on the defensive against VIttoriosa Stars (in white) at a rain-sodden Centenary Stadium
Ajax were on top at this stage, but their goalkeeper, Pavle Velimirovic, underemployed as he was, stayed alert and saved Gilbert Martin's effort on 84 minutes, and then, at the second attempt, held on to Ousmane Sidibe's header from just a few yards out.
As Rabat Ajax were pushing for an equaliser, their opponents were finding gaps in their defence, and Marcelo Pereira's shot was pushed behind by Velimirovic. In injury-time, Pereira should have put the result beyond doubt when put through for a one-on-one with the Montenegrin following a facile disposession of defender Ivan Carapic by one of three Stars' players, but Pereira's shot was blocked by Velimirovic's midriff and the ball went behind for a corner when it should have been lying in the back of the Rabat Ajax net.
Still, Vittoriosa Stars did enough in the first half to ensure that the points were heading in the direction of the famous Three Cities, and Birgù in particular, though it was tough on Rabat Ajax, who deserved a share of the spoils after a determined showing in the second-half and remained nine points adrift at the bottom of the table.
RABAT AJAX: Pavle VWLIMIROVIC, Shaun GAUCI, David AZZOPARDI, Ivan CARAPIC, Dylan FALZON (Wayne BORG), Joseph CARUANA, Jonathan BAJADA, Sorin Virgil OPROIESCU, Malcolm LICARI (Adam SMEIR), Ryan MICALLEF, Diego CARRILLA PENDAS
VITTORIOSA STARS: Mario MUSCAT, Ousmane SIDIBE, Samir ARAB, Oscar GUERRERO (Federico GUERRERO), Siraj ARAB (Karl SAMMUT), Clive BRINCAT, Gilbert MARTIN (Ryan MIFSUD), Marcelo PEREIRA, José Filipe AGUIAR, Francisco ARRIGADA MELLA, Luke VELLA CRITIEN
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The line-ups for the above game were not made available to your correspendent before or after the game in question, and the line-ups as listed above were taken from both The Malta Independent and the maltafootball.com website.
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