The following match report covers the duel on 1/2/14 between Balzan Youths and Tarxien Rainbows.
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Inclement weather conditions blighted the Maltese fixture-list for 1/2/14, with the majority of games being called off across all four divisions; one game that did go ahead was that between Balzan Youths and Tarxien Rainbows, which took place at the Centenary Stadium at Ta'Qali. The weather did not deter just under 300 hardy souls from turning up to watch the second instalment of the day's double-header of matches at the stadium, which kicked off shortly after the conclusion of the fixture between Rabat Ajax and Vittoriosa Stars, which the latter won by a goal to nil.
The pitch was strewn with puddles at kick-off time with conditions deteriorating rapidly, and the Youths immediately went into attacking mode, with Dylan Grima testing Rainbows' goalkeeper with a low shot after two minutes. Less than a minute later, the game was brought to a halt as a howling gust of wind, which seemed to festoon the Ta'Qali complex with as much detritus as it could find from elsewhere on the island of Malta, sent players and match officials scurrying for cover.
With around 5 minutes and 30 seconds on the clock, it was deemed safe enough for the match to continue, and Balzan settled back into their attacking role with Lydon Micallef proving dangerous early on. However,Tarxien also had their moments,with Jorge Santos Silva causing disquiet in the Balzan defence.
Just past the quarter-hour, Pacha Negrin almost put Balzan in front after receiving a pass from Pedrinho, but his daisycutter from around the edge of the box struck the outside of Vella's left-hand post. A few minutes later, Micallef, who had played his part in the move leading up to Negrin's earlier effort, saw his half-volley loop across but just wide of Vella's goal.
The Youths had controlled the first 20 minutes or so, but Tarxien then had a flurry of their own, with a cross from the right causing panic in the Balzan defence, only for the ball to be scrambled clear; this was quickly followed by a counter-attack leading to a long-range half-volley from Jorge Santos Silva which flew a yard wide of Manuel Bartolo's goal.
A long ball down the left-hand side was picked up by Micallef, who passed to Pedrinho, and his short pass found Negrin, whose shot gained a slight deflection on the way to being well tipped around the post by the busy Vella.
Not long after, in the 29th minute, Balzan's domination paid off when a cross-field ball was headed on by Scicluna in the direction of Vella, who slipped at the wrong moment and, in falling, could only deflect the ball into the path of the onrushing Negrin, off whose shin the ball bounced into the bottom right-hand corner.
Balzan doubled their lead in the 35th minute when Pedrinho won the ball in midfield, carried it forward and, some 20 metres from Rainbows' goal, threaded a through ball out to Micallef on the left, and his sidefooter from just outside the angle of the six-yard box had enough speed on it to beat the Vella's despairing dive as the ball made its way across the face of goal and crossed the line just inside the far post. It was a fine end to a fine move, and just reward for Micallef's contribution during the first half-hour or so.
Jesmond Zerafa's men were looking comfortable as half-time approached; too comfortable, in fact, and they were jolted out of their complacency in the first minute of first-half injury-time when Tarxien's Malian striker Demba Touré reduced the deficit after a cross from the right was deflected into his path, and he made no mistake slotting the ball under Bartolo from right on the six-yard line.
Just a minute later, the game could have been turned completely on its head when Manuel Caruana's looping effort from more than 30 yards out beat a back-pedalling Bartolo, but pinged off the bar, after which the ball was eventually cleared behind for a corner, and Balzan headed for the changing-room with their lead still intact.
Tarxien began the second half with their tails up and dominated proceedings, although there were precious few shots on goal from either side up until the hour mark, a tame effort from a Balzan midfielder - which was easily gathered by Nicholas Vella - and another long-range effort for the Rainbows, this time from Carlos Menéndez Hevia, which went just over the bar, excepted.
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As the rain which had been battering Malta since the night before the match finally abated, Tarxien kept going forward with purpose, and, with 66 minutes gone, deservedly drew level. Jorge's corner form the left resulted in Touré heading the ball in from on the six-yard line, his effort gaining admiring glances from a flat-footed Bartolo and an equally statuesque Youths defence.
With just under 15 minutes to go, Tarxien won the ball in midfield, which resulted in a pass to Touré, and he forwarded the ball to Jorge, but his shot from 20 yards out was smothered by Bartolo just in front of the goal-line.
Balzan were playing below par, and Zerafa decided that enough was enough, replacing the increasingly ineffective Fabio Vignaroli and Dylan Grima with Kurt Magro and Ryan Darmanin, and Darmanin especially made his presence felt as the game drew to a close. With four minutes left, Darmanin received a pass from Calçado just outside the Tarxien penalty-area, and his audacious back-heel was latched onto by Negrin, who shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Negrin made amends less than a minute later, when he ran on to a through ball inside the opposition penalty-area and, having shrugged off a tackle from a Rainbows' defender, poked the ball across and under the diving Vella, who could only help the ball into the net, and the three points were Balzan's.
BALZAN YOUTHS: Manuel BARTOLO, Andrew SCICLUNA, Justin GRIOLI (Godwin McKAY), Steven BEZZINA, RAMÓN DOS SANTOS, Fabio VIGNAROLI, (Kurt MAGRO), Dylan GRIMA (Ryan DARMANIN), PEDRINHO Pedro Henrique DOS SANTOS CALÇADO, Edison David BILBAO ZARATE, Lydon MICALLEF, PACHA José Luis ARMARIO NEGRIN
SUBSTITUTES (not used): Firas ABOULEZZ, Juan Carlos CORBALAN, Michael FALZON (GK), Mark SPITERI
TARXIEN RAINBOWS: Nicholas VELLA, Carlo MAMO, Manuel CARUANA (Miguel CIANTAR), Andrew AGIUS, Luca MARTINELLI (William BARBOSA DA SILVA), Demba TOURÉ, Ryan SAMMUT, Carlos MENÉNDEZ HEVIA, Karl PULO, Josef MIFSUD, Jorge SANTOS SILVA
SUBSTITUTES (not used): Anthony CURMI, FERNANDO LOPES ALCÁNTARA, NIgel VELLA (GK), Steve BONNICI, Steve Marc SADOWSKI
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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 the The Malta Independent, The Sunday Times of Malta, and from the maltafootball.com website.
Photographs used are author's own.
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Inclement weather conditions blighted the Maltese fixture-list for 1/2/14, with the majority of games being called off across all four divisions; one game that did go ahead was that between Balzan Youths and Tarxien Rainbows, which took place at the Centenary Stadium at Ta'Qali. The weather did not deter just under 300 hardy souls from turning up to watch the second instalment of the day's double-header of matches at the stadium, which kicked off shortly after the conclusion of the fixture between Rabat Ajax and Vittoriosa Stars, which the latter won by a goal to nil.
The pitch was strewn with puddles at kick-off time with conditions deteriorating rapidly, and the Youths immediately went into attacking mode, with Dylan Grima testing Rainbows' goalkeeper with a low shot after two minutes. Less than a minute later, the game was brought to a halt as a howling gust of wind, which seemed to festoon the Ta'Qali complex with as much detritus as it could find from elsewhere on the island of Malta, sent players and match officials scurrying for cover.
DURING THE DELUGE: Substitutes and technical staff seek cover as the rain falls and the wind blows enough to cause a stoppage during the game between Balzan Youths and Tarxien Rainbows
With around 5 minutes and 30 seconds on the clock, it was deemed safe enough for the match to continue, and Balzan settled back into their attacking role with Lydon Micallef proving dangerous early on. However,Tarxien also had their moments,with Jorge Santos Silva causing disquiet in the Balzan defence.
Just past the quarter-hour, Pacha Negrin almost put Balzan in front after receiving a pass from Pedrinho, but his daisycutter from around the edge of the box struck the outside of Vella's left-hand post. A few minutes later, Micallef, who had played his part in the move leading up to Negrin's earlier effort, saw his half-volley loop across but just wide of Vella's goal.
The Youths had controlled the first 20 minutes or so, but Tarxien then had a flurry of their own, with a cross from the right causing panic in the Balzan defence, only for the ball to be scrambled clear; this was quickly followed by a counter-attack leading to a long-range half-volley from Jorge Santos Silva which flew a yard wide of Manuel Bartolo's goal.
A long ball down the left-hand side was picked up by Micallef, who passed to Pedrinho, and his short pass found Negrin, whose shot gained a slight deflection on the way to being well tipped around the post by the busy Vella.
Not long after, in the 29th minute, Balzan's domination paid off when a cross-field ball was headed on by Scicluna in the direction of Vella, who slipped at the wrong moment and, in falling, could only deflect the ball into the path of the onrushing Negrin, off whose shin the ball bounced into the bottom right-hand corner.
Balzan doubled their lead in the 35th minute when Pedrinho won the ball in midfield, carried it forward and, some 20 metres from Rainbows' goal, threaded a through ball out to Micallef on the left, and his sidefooter from just outside the angle of the six-yard box had enough speed on it to beat the Vella's despairing dive as the ball made its way across the face of goal and crossed the line just inside the far post. It was a fine end to a fine move, and just reward for Micallef's contribution during the first half-hour or so.
Jesmond Zerafa's men were looking comfortable as half-time approached; too comfortable, in fact, and they were jolted out of their complacency in the first minute of first-half injury-time when Tarxien's Malian striker Demba Touré reduced the deficit after a cross from the right was deflected into his path, and he made no mistake slotting the ball under Bartolo from right on the six-yard line.
Just a minute later, the game could have been turned completely on its head when Manuel Caruana's looping effort from more than 30 yards out beat a back-pedalling Bartolo, but pinged off the bar, after which the ball was eventually cleared behind for a corner, and Balzan headed for the changing-room with their lead still intact.
Tarxien began the second half with their tails up and dominated proceedings, although there were precious few shots on goal from either side up until the hour mark, a tame effort from a Balzan midfielder - which was easily gathered by Nicholas Vella - and another long-range effort for the Rainbows, this time from Carlos Menéndez Hevia, which went just over the bar, excepted.
WATCHING ON: Balzan Youths supporters watch as their team go on the attack against Tarxien Rainbows
As the rain which had been battering Malta since the night before the match finally abated, Tarxien kept going forward with purpose, and, with 66 minutes gone, deservedly drew level. Jorge's corner form the left resulted in Touré heading the ball in from on the six-yard line, his effort gaining admiring glances from a flat-footed Bartolo and an equally statuesque Youths defence.
With just under 15 minutes to go, Tarxien won the ball in midfield, which resulted in a pass to Touré, and he forwarded the ball to Jorge, but his shot from 20 yards out was smothered by Bartolo just in front of the goal-line.
Balzan were playing below par, and Zerafa decided that enough was enough, replacing the increasingly ineffective Fabio Vignaroli and Dylan Grima with Kurt Magro and Ryan Darmanin, and Darmanin especially made his presence felt as the game drew to a close. With four minutes left, Darmanin received a pass from Calçado just outside the Tarxien penalty-area, and his audacious back-heel was latched onto by Negrin, who shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Negrin made amends less than a minute later, when he ran on to a through ball inside the opposition penalty-area and, having shrugged off a tackle from a Rainbows' defender, poked the ball across and under the diving Vella, who could only help the ball into the net, and the three points were Balzan's.
BALZAN YOUTHS: Manuel BARTOLO, Andrew SCICLUNA, Justin GRIOLI (Godwin McKAY), Steven BEZZINA, RAMÓN DOS SANTOS, Fabio VIGNAROLI, (Kurt MAGRO), Dylan GRIMA (Ryan DARMANIN), PEDRINHO Pedro Henrique DOS SANTOS CALÇADO, Edison David BILBAO ZARATE, Lydon MICALLEF, PACHA José Luis ARMARIO NEGRIN
SUBSTITUTES (not used): Firas ABOULEZZ, Juan Carlos CORBALAN, Michael FALZON (GK), Mark SPITERI
TARXIEN RAINBOWS: Nicholas VELLA, Carlo MAMO, Manuel CARUANA (Miguel CIANTAR), Andrew AGIUS, Luca MARTINELLI (William BARBOSA DA SILVA), Demba TOURÉ, Ryan SAMMUT, Carlos MENÉNDEZ HEVIA, Karl PULO, Josef MIFSUD, Jorge SANTOS SILVA
SUBSTITUTES (not used): Anthony CURMI, FERNANDO LOPES ALCÁNTARA, NIgel VELLA (GK), Steve BONNICI, Steve Marc SADOWSKI
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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 the The Malta Independent, The Sunday Times of Malta, and from the maltafootball.com website.
Photographs used are author's own.
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