PFB ON TOUR - VATICAN CITY : MONACO

A beautifully clear evening in Rome, together with a view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, provided the perfect backdrop to an international match involving teams representing Europe's two smallest independent countries, the Vatican City and Monaco, at the Campo Cardinal F. Spellman on 10 May 2014.

It was the Vatican side's first international match since they lost 2:1 to the Monégasques in June 2013; for the visitors, it was a chance to put a recent - horrendous - 10:0 defeat away to Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man) well and truly to bed. Monaco came with a slightly weakened squad, as a number of players selected for the trip to Rome had to cry off due to work issues.

Considering the fact that the match had drawn a reasonable amount of media interest, it had drawn but a meagre crowd of spectators, almost outnumbered by journalists and dignitaries; in fact, the Vatican police band, who provided the pre-match entertainment and played both national anthems, probably outnumbered the huddle of people who gathered together to watch the match from the ground's one small stand.

The Campo Cardinal F. Spellman is part of a larger sports complex, the Cavalieri di Colombo/Pio XI complex at the Oratorio di San Pietro, and was used until fairly recently by the Attività Calcistica Dipendenti Vaticani (Vatican FA) for league and cup matches when both competitions featured 11-a-side teams.

VATICAN CITY SQUAD lines up for the national anthems

Once the formalities, including speeches from dignitaries representing both countries, had been dispensed with, the game could begin, albeit somewhat later than scheduled due to the match officials and a number of the Vatican squad being caught up in the traffic snarl-up in Rome, caused in no small part by an afternoon gathering of some 300000 Italian schoolchildren in and around the Vatican, which had been hosted by Pope Francis.

MONACO SQUAD standing to attention for the national anthems

And what a beginning to the game it was, with Monaco's Olivier Lechner opening the scoring within the first sixty seconds, catching the majority of those assembled, your correspondent included, off-guard with a shot which evaded Francesco Martella and flew into the bottom right-hand corner.

Monaco dominated the early stages of the match, with Julien Sirio embarking on a mazy run down the left wing in the sixth minute; after beating four opponents, Sirio cut into the penalty-area and shot from 10 yards out, but Martella saved well with his legs. Another chance for the visitors saw the home 'keeper gather the ball with some comfort.

The Vatican side were struggling to get their game together, but Andrea Majer did at least propel a shot towards the Monaco goal, only for it to be blocked by a defender.

Another run down the left wing towards the Vatican, this time by Arnaud Sbarrato, saw him clear to the left of the home penalty-area, but he mis-controlled the ball, which was put behind for a corner by a stumbling Majer.

Sbarrato had another chance a minute or so later, in the 26th minute, but, after a one-two involving Lechner, could only drag the ball wide of Martella's right-hand post. Not long after, Nasser Mboreha burst through the Vatican defence, but prodded the ball just a little too far ahead of himself, enabling Martella to get there first and smother the ball.

Martella's feet got in the way of another effort from Sbarrato after 31 minutes, this time after the forward put the ball over a defender; from the corner, after a goal-bound shot was blocked, Sirio's shot from around the penalty-spot went with of the right-hand post.

The home team were still unable to venture forward with any regularity, but Alessandro Quarta had the chance to put the Monaco defence to the test almost straight after Sirio's effort, but, in a chase for the ball from midfield with Jean-Paul Pennacino, only succeeded in fouling the central defender some 20 yards from the Monaco goal.

A shot on anger was finally aimed in the general direction of visiting goalkeeper Fabrice Di Franco's goal after Sandro Traiani mis-kicked a corner from the left-hand side, but Fabio De Cesare, unmarked on the right-hand side of the Monaco penalty-area, could only fire over the crossbar.

AN IMPRESSIVE BACKDROP: The dome of St. Peter's Basilica as seen from the stand at the Stadio Spellman

Still, this little flurry served to encourage the Vatican side, and a corner-kick on 36 minutes, which eluded everyone in the Monaco penalty-area, fell to Quarta on the right-hand extremity of the penalty-area, who could only stand and watch as his shot was well tipped over the bar by De Cesare.

Back up the other end of the field the ball did go in rather prompt fashion, and Lechner almost profited from a weak back-pass from Maurizio Baroncini, but he shot straight at Martella. 

There had been one or two tackles during the first half which one could describe as being rather enthusiastic, and after another one had been pulled up by the referee just inside the Vatican half in the 43rd minute, Sirio earned himself the game's first yellow card, which was immediately followed by some "handbags" of a different kind - and which were also rather less stylish - than those normally associated with Rome.

On to the second half, then, and not long after the restart, Di Franco in the Monaco goal went to head clear from the edge of the penalty area a rather aimless through ball, but completely misjudged his leap, the ball skimming off the top of his head; he was doubtless more than a little relieved to see it trundle past his left-hand post and behind for a corner.

This was the start of a period during which the Vatican had much more of the possession, but were unable to fashion much that would concern the visitors' defence, apart from a shot from San Pietro's Chirieletti in the 54th minute which was well saved by Di Franco. In truth, it appeared as though both teams were starting to run out of steam, and this was reflected in the lack of efforts on goal, a couple of wayward shots excepted. 

It was hardly surprising that a number of the Vatican team were becoming fatigued, as they were on duty earlier in the day during the schoolchildrens' rally in central Rome. Monaco's Lechner, though, was showing no signs of fatigue, and was proving to be a source of worry for the home defence from time to time with his darting runs down the wing.

The stupor was broken in the 77th minute when the Vatican's Marco Puoti received a yellow card for a tackle from behind on Anthony Rinaldi; this heralded the start of a much less restrained last 13 minutes or so, and a Rinaldi's team-mate Olivier Sabine shot wide from the left-hand side after receiving a pass from
Maximilian Agliardi with eight minutes left.

READY AND WILLING: The two teams, headed by flag-bearers and the match officials, wait to take the field

In the 85th minute, Simone Palmieri skied a free-kick in a central position from some 25 yards out. Less than a minute later, the ball had been worked upfield, and a cross from the left-hand side was controlled beautifully on the other side of the penalty-area by the unmarked Kevin Santini, who blasted the ball under the diving Martella from some nine yards out.

The Vatican came forward in search of a consolation goal, though the closest they came was a cross-shot in the last minute of normal time from Chirieletti after his run down the left wing. 

Monaco ran out deserved winners of what was often a bitty - and occasionally fractious - ninety minutes of football, earning their third win in a row against their hosts and easing the pain of their 10:0 thrashing in the Isle of Man almost five weeks earlier. Olivier Lechner and Kevin Santini looked dangerous throughout for the visitors, and their defence looked solid for most of the ninety minutes. Goalkeeper Francesco Martella kept the Vatican eleven in the game right up to the very last minute of normal time, and was blameless for Monaco's second goal. Simone Palmieri was stoic in defence.

Monaco's assistant manager Jean-Charles Arrigo declared himself satisfied with the result in what he described as a "close match, with two teams very close [to each other] in standard." The Vatican City team, meanwhile, can look forward to a friendly match next month against a team representing German side St.-Pauli.


VATICAN CITY: 1 Francesco MARTELLA, 2 Fausto BACCHIANO,3 Maurizio BARONCINI (13 Lorenzo PIEROTTI), 4 Enrico RIMAURO (16 Fabio DE CESARE), 5 Simone PALMIERI, 6 Marco TIBURZI, 7 Andrea MAJER (14 Angelo PALMA), 8 Roberto PERINELLI (C), 9 Fabrizio GAUDIO, 10 Sandro TRAIANI (15 Marco PUOTI), 11 Allesandro QUARTA (18 Marzio CHIRIELETTI)

SUBSTITUTES (unused): 17 Danilo TROIANI

MONACO: 1 Fabrice DI FRANCO 16 Maxime JULIEN), 3 Jeremy HÉBERT, 4 Fabien PETIT (13 Olivier SABINE), 5 Jean-Paul PENNACINO, 9 Olivier LECHNER, 10 Eric FISSONE (C) (17 Maximilian AGLIARDI), 11 Julien SIRIO (6 Jonathan LANDAU), 14 Nasser MBONEHA (2 Marc VASSALLO), 15 Anthony RINALDI, 19 Kévin SANTINI, 21 Annaud SBARRATO

SUBSTITUTES (unused): 22 Olivier EL-MISSAWI
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many thanks are due to the managerial staff of both teams for providing the squad lists for both teams, above all to Danilo Zennaro and Stefano from the Vatican City staff, Monaco's managerial duo of Thierry Petit and Jean-Charles Arrigo, and also to Aurelio Barbis for his tireless assistance and enthusiasm.

There is a possibility that there may be some errors with regard to the Vatican City starting line-up; an attempt shall be made to verify the information provided above. Should the correct line-up not correspond with that stated in this article, the line-up shall be updated.

PFB ON TOUR - GUARDIA SVIZZERA : ASSOCIAZIONE S.S. PIETRO & PAOLO

The Monaco team were in Rome last weekend for an international friendly against the Vatican City, which took place on 10/5/14, but the evening before saw a group match in the Coppa Sergio Valci - better known as the Coppa Vaticano - between the Guardia Svizzera (Swiss Guards) and Associazione SS Pietro e Paolo. 

The venue was the Associazione Sportivo La Salle complex in the west of Rome, which caters perfectly for the current needs of the ACDV (Vatican FA) as it has two 8-a-side pitches available for use; until fairly recently, the Vatican league and cup competions both had 11-a-side matches, which were regularly played at the Stadio Spellman. Games are 60 minutes in length.

This fixture was the second for both teams in the group stage of the Coppa Sergio Valci after the first round had brought mixed fortunes for the two teams; Guardia had lost 3:1 against San Pietro, but P&P had better luck in their opening game, beating Dirtel by the odd goal in five.

In what was to become a feisty encounter, with your correspondent finding himself to be the lone spectator, Guardia took the lead almost directly from the kick-off after a run down the wing, followed by a pass inside,  from Daniel Hobi, which was met with a rather scuffed side-footer from Sven Stadelmann, which was still strong and accurate enough to evade goalkeeper Walter Maurer and creep just inside the right-hand post.

 BEHIND THE WIRE: The teams get ready for the second-half

P&P almost replied immediately through Paolo Nardi, but his half-volley, delivered after some good work by Salvatore Adamo, flew over the bar. There then followed a period where both teams engaged in some promising moves which did not deliver, until, in the ninth minute, Corrado Del Nero almost levelled for the team in orange after collecting the ball in midfield and forcing his way through, though Guardia 'keeper Rémi Castella saved his shot well. Five minutes later, Del Nero's Giorgio Rossini went close with a free-kick which curled just past Castella's left-hand post with the goalkeeper static.

After Guardia's Hobi had two attempts on goal in as many minutes fisted away - the second most acrobatically after a goalmouth scramble - by Maurer, Stadelmann doubled his side's advantage on 19 minutes when he bore down on goal from midfield and struck a low shot into the left-hand corner of Maurer's net. P&P almost clawed their way back into the game, when a low corner came to Dario Collaiti in the penalty-area; his back-heel came to Adamo at the back post, but his side-footer went high and wide.

Hobi then received a yellow card for a tackle on Nardi, which was then followed by Flavio Massimo Elmi's fine effort from distance going just past the angle of crossbar and Castella's right-hand post. P&P's next attack, in the 25th minute, led to Adamo bundling the ball into Castella's net just as an almight row broke out on the half-way line which eventually led to several players from both sides getting involved in an altercation, but the goal stood.

P&P were in the ascendancy now, and Ruggero Rinaldin's shot from the left-hand side was palmed down by Castella but came back out to the P&P number 6, whose second attempt fizzed just wide. Parity was, however, restored after 29 minutes when Adamo fired a shot through a crowded penalty-area to Castella's right. P&P deserved to go in on level terms at half-time, as they had come back admirably from a strong beginning by their white-shirted opponents.

The second half began with Guardia on the attack, and Roger Staub had the first shot of the half, which ended up going wide of Maurer's right-hand post. P&P's Ruggero Rinaldin had the chance to put his side in front after being on the end of a Corrado Del Nero header, but his deft clip past the onrushing Castella floated across goal but wide.

Guardia regained the lead in the 34th minute, when Martin Büttler passed to Stadelmann, who completed his hat-trick by firing a fierce, low, shot to the left of Maurer, who could only palm the ball into the roof of the net.

Two minutes later, Büttler got his name on the scoresheet when he nipped in just in front of the diving Castella to divert home Roger Staub's low cross. Daniel Hobi lashed a free-kick across the face of the P&P goal three minutes further down the line, and then melée in front of the Guardia goalmouth almost led to P&P reducing the arrears to just the one goal, when a half-shot across goal was almost shinned in by Corado Del Nero.

SPOT THE BALL: Both teams can only watch as Flavio Massimo Elmi's free-kick for P&P flies towards Guardia's goal; goalkeeper Rémi Castella saved his effort

P&P did get their third goal in the 39th minute, and Adamo was the second player to claim a hat-trick on the night, when a throw-in evaded everyone in the Guardia penalty-area, enabling Adamo to ghost in at the far post and sweep the ball over the line. Shortly before being substituted with 15 minutes left, Rinaldin then almost made it 4:4, but his shot from the right-hand side of the penalty area went just past the post.

Manuel Steinmann's long-range free-kick on 46 minutes beat both the P&P wall and goalkeeper Maurer, but not Paolo Nardi, who cleared off the line, and the ball was worked up the field towards Giorgio Rossini, whose shot was expertly tipped over the bar by Castella.

It was 5:3 and four goals for Stadelmann after 49 minutes; he broke from inside his own half, and, despite an ultimately futile pursuit from Nardi, crashed a shot into the top right-hand corner of the net.

There was always a gritty feel to the game, and there was a yellow card for one of the P&P players on 50 minutes after a pull-back on Sébastien Roulin, which was the prelude to a variety of verbal exchanges between several players, leading to a little game of push-shove and a couple of players being pulled apart. The referee occasionally had his hands full, but had kept a good grip on things.

There was still a football game to be completed, however, and Stadelmann had two bites at the cherry for his fifth of the night in the 53rd minute, when he, along with Roulin, broke through the P&P defence, but his shot was saved by Maurer; he then headed high and wide from the resulting corner when unmarked.

Flavio Massimo Elmi's free-kick for P&P was then palmed away by Castella, and, in the closing moments, Büttler had the chance to net his second of the evening, when his shot from the left-hand side was beaten away by Maurer and came back to the Guard, but his second effort was tame and Maurer dropped on the ball at the second attempt.

The referee blew not long after to signal the end of an entertaining match, and it was a deserved win for Guardia, whose pairing of Stadelmann and Hobi had worked extremely well together throughout the match and were aided by some good defending from Manuel Staub.

Salvatore Adamo, as one might expect, took the plaudits as P&P's best player on the night, but Corrado Del Nero, who had been in the wars all night, also put in a good performance. Within half-an-hour of the end of the match, the lights were switched off and everybody had gone home, but the Guardia Svizzera were on the board.

GUARDIA SVIZZERA: 1 Rémy CASTELLA, 2 Manuel STEINMANN, 4 Daniel HOBI, 8 Roger STAUB, 9 Sébastien ROULIN (C), 11 Sven STADELMANN, 19 Martin BÜTTLER, 20 Maurus BEER (10 Ivan SARIC)

SUBSTITUTES (unused): 3 Kevin GOUDRON, Guillaume FAVRE

OTHER PLAYERS IN GUARDIA SVIZZERA SQUAD (positions unknown): Mario ACKERMANN, Andreas AMANN, Raphael EGGER, David GEISSER, Christian KÜHNE, Nicolas KLADIS, Simon RODUIT, Patrick SONDEREGGER, Stefan SUTTER, Sylvain TERCIER, Phillipp WAGEMANN, Franziskus WETTER

ASSOCIAZIONE SOCIETÀ SPORTIVA PIETRO E PAOLO: 1 Walter MAURER, 4 Dario COLLALTI (C) (22 Amadio FRANCESCO), 6 Ruggero RINALDIN (7 Flavio Massimo ELMI), 10 Paolo NARDI, 11 Salvatore ADAMO, 14 Giorgio ROSSINI, 15 Stefano DEL NERO, 17 Corrado DEL NERO

OTHER PLAYERS IN ASSOCIAZIONE SOCIETÀ SPORTIVA PIETRO E PAOLO SQUAD (positions unknown): Fabio DANTE, Vittorino DE SIMONE, Francesco Mattia D'IMPERIO, Francesco FELICETTI, Eduardo FRANCHI, Pierluigi GIORDANO, Livio LA MATTINA, Mirko MASSIMILLA, Paolo MUCCIARELLI, Fernando PANELLA, Stefano SARDELLA, Alessandro SAVARESE, Valerio SCAMBELLURI, Alfredo VITA
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many thanks to Ivan Saric (Guardia team manager), Stefano Sacco, Paolo Nardi and Giorgio Rossini (P&P players and assistant manager) for kindly providing the team-sheets, and to them all and also to Giancarlo Taraglio (ACDV) and for patiently putting up with your correspondent's ham-fisted attempts to communicate in pidgin Italian.

Any errors contained above are, as ever, the responsibility of the author; to finish, apologies for the rather poor quality of the photographs.

PFB ON TOUR - RABAT AJAX : VITTORIOSA STARS

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.

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.

PFB ON TOUR - MDINA KNIGHTS : SAN GWANN

San Gwann and Mdina Knights are not two teams which are well-known to football fans outside Malta, but their BOV Second Division match, played at the Luxol St. Andrews Stadium on 31/1/14, was the first in a veritable mælstrom of matches during a visit to Malta which straddled January and February.

Five days before, San Gwann, who were challenging for promotion, gained a hard-earned 3:2 win against Mqabba Hajduks, who were in the Premier League just a few years ago. The same day, Mdina Kinghts, who were bumping along at the bottom of the table, lost by the same score to Siggiewi.
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A cool evening, interspersed with showers, formed the backdrop to the start of the Bank of Valletta Second Division match between Mdina Kinghts and San Gwann at the Luxol St. Andrews Stadium in Pembroke on 31/1/14. It was not a night for coming out to watch a football match, but if your correspondent decided to brave the elements, around sixty other souls joined him.

San Gwann, as expected, set about pressurising the Kinghts' defence, and saw a claim for handball in the opposition penalty-area waved away as early as the third minute. The Yellows' Josef Cutatar and Nikolai Muscat were constantly probing for a way through the Mdina defence for most of the first fifteen minutes, though Ayrton Buhagiar provided a moment of worry for San Gwann with a dangerous cross from the right after 10 minutes which eluded everybody and swung just wide of the far post. 

His goalkeeper, Mark Aquilana, did well to claw away an inswinging cross from Wallace Oliveira Santos, but could do nothing to prevent Muscat from volleying in the game's opening goal from 10 yards out on 16 minutes after a cross from Alan Borg on the right-hand side; Aquilana joined his more than static defence in watching Muscat's volley fly into the top left-hand corner. 

Oliveira Santos was proving himself to be a one-man awkward-squad for the Knights' defence in the first half, and was firing shots in from all angles in the minutes following his side's opening goal; meanwhile, there was an entertaining battle of wits developing between his team-mate Cutatar and Knights' defender Daniel Cremona, which was to last until Cutatar's substitution in the 67th minute.

UNDER WAY: San Gwann (in yellow) take on Mdina Kinghts (black shirts) at Pembroke

Mdina were finding it difficult to gain a foothold in the match, but a cross from Andrea Muscat just evaded Cachel Vella in the 24th minute. Muscat and Emilio Cornago San Pedro were beavering away on the left-hand side of attack for the Knights, but to no avail. The San Gwann defence were looking very comfortable indeed, and a move on the half-hour, involving several of their team-mates further up the pitch, ended with Nikolai Muscat's 20-yard effort trundling wide of Aquilina's right-hand post.

Aquilina's involvement in the proceedings came to an early end in the 41st minute when he was clattered by Micallef when going for a cross from Kurt Zahra, and ended up going off with a shoulder injury after being prone for some time; Wallace Galea entered the fray in place of the hapless Aquilina.

Mark Saliba's half-volley from 20 yards flew just past the junction of post and crossbar of Galea's goal three minutes after he made his entrance, but the linesman's flag had been raised for offside. The last action of the first half came in the first minute of injury time, when a free-kick was given to Mdina after a foul, followed by the proverbial handbags, on Ayrton Buhagiar by Kurt Zahra; Buhagiar's resulting free-kickhit the Yellows' defensive wall and ricocheted away to safety.

The second half began tentatively, but San Gwann were soon back in their stride, with Mark Attard marshalling the defence with aplomb; up front, Zahra tried his luck from long-distance, but his shot was blocked. He followed that up shortly afterwards with a snap-shot from the left-hand side of the Mdina penalty-area which flashed just wide.

The San Gwann onslaught continued unabated, and Glenn Fenech headed home on the hour from a corner on the right-hand side, but he was deemed to have committed a foul. Four minutes later, San Gwann's lead was doubled when Josef Cutatar delivered a thumping header, again coming from a corner on the right, which gave Galea no chance.

The Knights were finding it hard to create chances of their own, Buhagiar's free-kick from 25 yards out which hit the wall and was cleared being the nearest thing to a shot on goal for the team in black during that period of the game.

San Gwann continued to press, and, in the 72nd minute, Borg and Toriano Singleton combined to fashion a move which resulted in Peter Xuereb's shot blocked by a defender; Singleton himself was heavily involved in the the search for goals in next couple of minutes. First, his shot following a jinking run from Xuereb was saved by Galea at the second attempt; then, Nikolai Muscat's volley across the face of the Mdina goal just eluded him at the left-hand post.

The same fate befell Xuereb four minutes later from a Xuereb cross, before Mdina finally had a shot on goal worthy of the name; Mark Cremona's shot from just outside the box beat Carbonara in the San Gwann goal but scuttled just past the right-hand post.

Two yellow cards for Mdina's Cachel Vella and Daniel Cremona came either side of a Xuereb shot being charged down by their defensive comrades, but it was a sign, belated as it was, that Mdina were not going to go down without a fight.

The Knights broke forward in the 86th minute, and a cross from the right-hand side caused panic in the San Gwann defence, but after an acrobatic swipe at the ball by Cachel Vella which missed completely, the ball was eventually cleared downfield.

They began to press, and two minutes later, in the 88th minute, were awarded a penalty when Marco Mercieca fouled Cornago San Pedro; there should have been no argument as Mercieca upended his opponent, but the defender said his piece and received a yellow card for his pains.

Ayrton Buhagiar sent the resulting penalty high to Galea's right, and, almost from nowhere, the Knights were back in the game, but were unable to pressurise the Yellows' goal for any considerable period of time. Instead, San Gwann were still the team looking the more likely to score, and Singleton was fouled by Nicholas Micallef, who was then booked. The resulting free-kick, taken by Kurt Zahra from some 20 yards out, flicked off the wall and over the bar.

In the 92nd minute, Singleton had the chance to put the game beyond any doubt when he evaded the Mdina defence, chipped the ball over Galea but also over the bar. The Knights then went upfield to attempt to salvage what would have seemed, just ten minutes previously, a most improbable point, and won a corner. 

The entire Knights' team, Gilbert Camilleri excluded, was in and around the San Gwann penalty-area, and more panic ensued in the Yellows' 18-yard box, but the ball was eventually cleared and San Gwann could breathe again. 

There was a slight verbal altercation on the pitch after the game in which a couple of players from both sides were involved, but the referee and the two policemen on duty soon put a stop to that. A slightly tempestuous end to game that had quite simply meandered along for 88 minutes, with San Gwann more than worthy winners. Events the next day would prove more tempestuous, in more ways than one..

 
MDINA KNIGHTS: 1 Mark AQUILINA (25 Wallace GALEA); 4 Giulio SAMMUT; 5 Gilbert CAMILLERI; 6 Mark SALIBA (20 Mark CREMONA); 7 Nicholas MICALLEF; 9 Cachel VELLA: 10 Ayrton BUHAGIAR; 11 Emilio CORNAGO SAN PEDRO (15 Stephen PLACE); 13 Andrea MUSCAT; 16 Kurt FARRUGIA; 19 Daniel CREMONA

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: 2 Eric SCIBERRAS; 8 Max EBETER; 17 Albert SPITERI; 21 Christian MANSUETO

SAN GWANN: 1 Claude CARBONARA; 5 Mark ATTARD; 6 Kurt ZAHRA; 7 Wallace OLIVEIRA SANTOS (11 Toriano SINGLETON); 9 Joseph CUTATAR (2 Glenn AGIUS); 10 Alan BORG; 14 Nikolai MUSCAT; 15 Zach BOWMAN; 17 Glenn FENECH; 19 Marco MERCIECA; 20 Christopher CUSCHIERI (8 Peter XUEREB)  

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: 4 Roderick BRIFFA; 12 Mark VELLA; 18 Nikolai BRIFFA; 21 David CARUANA
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many thanks to the gatekeeper and match-day staff at the Luxol St. Andrew's Stadium for their kindness in providing the line-ups.

PALAU 2014 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURE-LIST

The 2014 Palau league championship, or, to give it its full title, the Palau Football Association 2014 Adult Soccer League, kicked off on 13/4/14. Five teams will take part in this year's competition, with three teams making their bow in Palauan competitive league action: Lyon FC, Surangel Kings and Team Friendship. They will be up against old stagers Kramers FC and last year's débutants New Star FC. All matches shall be 9-a-side and last 60 minutes, using the home-and-away format.

Team Friendship picked up their first win in the league championship's first match, defeating Lyon FC 3:1, whilst Kramers FC kept a clean sheet against Surangel Kings, scoring five in the process themselves.

Please find below the full fixture-list for the 2014 Palau Adult Soccer League.

13/4/14 18:00 Lyon FC : Team Friendship
13/4/14 19:15 Surangel Kings : Kramers FC
20/4/14 17:45 Lyon FC: Surangel Kings
20/4/14 19:00 Team Friendship : New Star FC
27/4/14 17:45 Lyon FC : New Star FC
27/4/14 19:00 Team Friendship : Kramers FC
04/5/14 17:45 Lyon FC : Kramers FC
04/5/14 19:00 Surangel Kings : New Star FC
11/5/14 17:45 Team Friendship : Surangel Kings
11/5/14 19:00 Kramers FC : New Star FC
18/5/14 17:45 Surangel Kings : Kramers FC
18/5/14 19:00 Lyon FC : Team Friendship
25/5/14 17:45 Team Friendship : New Star FC
25/4/14 19:00 Lyon FC : Surangel Kings
01/6/14 17:45 Team Friendship : Kramers FC
01/6/14 19:00 Lyon FC : New Star FC
08/6/14 17:45 Surangel Kings : New Star FC
08/6/14 19:00 Lyon FC : Kramers FC
15/6/14 17:45 Kramers FC : New Star FC
15/6/14 19:00 Team Friendship : Surangel Kings

SEMI-FINALS

22/6/14 17:45 1ST : 4TH (SF1)
22/6/14 19:00 2ND : 3RD (SF2)

FINAL 

29/6/14 18:00 SF1 : SF2

2014 COPPA SERGIO VALCI (COPPA VATICANO) FIXTURE-LIST

The 2014 Coppa Vaticano, now known as the Coppa Sergio Valci, the former president of the Attivita SDV who died last year, begins on 28/4/14 and will feature the eight teams which took part in the recently-concluded league championship, which was won for the second year in a row by San Pietro. San Pietro also won the 2013 Coppa Vaticano, and will thus be looking to win their second double in as many years.

The eight teams will be split in to two groups and play three group games each, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals, which will be played over two legs. The final itself is scheduled to take place on 3/6/14. The Supercoppa, which is played between the league champions and the cup winners, is due to be played on 9/6/14. Should San Pietro win the double, they will be expected to line up against Santos, runners-up in the league competition.

Please find below the fixture-list for the 2014 Coppa Sergio Valci.

GROUP A: Ass. SS P & P; Dirtel; Guardia FC; San Pietro

28/4/14 19:45 Ass. SS P & P : Dirtel
29/4/14 20:45 San Pietro : Guardia FC
05/5/14 20:45 San Pietro : Dirtel
09/5/14 20:45 Guardia FC : Ass. SS P & P
13/5/14 19:45 San Pietro : Ass. S P & P
13/5/14 20:45 Dirtel : Guardia

GROUP B: Fortitudo 2007; Musei Vaticani; Pantheon SD; Santos

28/4/14 20:45 Musei Vaticani : Fortitudo 2007
29/4/14 19:45 Santos : Pantheon SD
05/5/14 19:45 Santos : Fortitudo 2007
06/5/14 19:45 Musei Vaticani : Pantheon SD
12/5/14 19:45 Fortitudo 2007 : Pantheon SD
12/5/14 20:45 Santos : Musei Vaticani 

SEMI-FINALS

19/5/14 19:45 A1 : B2 (SF1)
19/5/14 20:45 B1 : A2 (SF2)
26/5/14 19:45 A2 : 1B
26/5/14 20:45 B2 : 1A

FINAL

03/6/14 19:45 SF1 : SF2

---------------------------------

SUPERCOPPA

09/06/14 19:45 San Pietro (Champions) : Cup Winners

SAN PIETRO COME OUT ON TOP IN THE VATICAN

San Pietro have won the 2013-14 Vatican league championship thanks to their winning the championship final on 7/4/14, but it was a close-run thing, as they defeated debutants Santos 5:4 on penalties after normal time ended scoreless. It was, almost unbelievably, the only no-score draw throughout the entire season. San Pietro had finished in fourth place in the 2012-13 regular season.

Santos qualified for the final after drawing 3:3 on aggregate against Musei Vaticani; under UEFA rules, Musei Vaticani would have qualified on the away-goals rule as they had not only won their away match - both teams had won their designated away match, but had scored more goals in their victory than had Santos in theirs. Therefore, Santos' qualification can only have come about because of their finishing higher in the end-of-regular-season league table than Musei Vaticani.

San Pietro's qualification was much more straightforward; they defeated Associazione SS Pietro e Paolo by 8:5 over two legs. Eight teams took part in the 2013-14 league season; those not taking part this season were Borgorosso and Tipografia Vaticana.

Please find below the list of results for the 2013-14 Campionato Vaticano.


REGULAR SEASON

16/10/13 Pantheon SD 1:2 Musei Vaticani
16/10/13 Dirtel 2:1 Ass. SS P & P
17/10/13 San Pietro 2:3 Santos
17/10/13 Fortitudo 2007 2:0 Guardia FC
23/10/13 Dirtel 0:4 Musei Vaticani
23/10/13 Santos 5:0 Ass. SS P & P
23/10/13 Fortitudo 2007 4:4 Pantheon SD
23/10/14 San Pietro 4:1 Guardia FC
28/10/13 Santos 7:0 Dirtel
28/10/13 Guardia FC 2:2 Pantheon SD
29/10/13 Ass. SS P & P 1:4 Fortitudo 2007
29/10/13 Musei Vaticani 3:2 San Pietro
04/11/13 Pantheon SD 0:5 Santos
04/11/13 Fortitudo 2007 1:0 Musei Vaticani
05/11/13 San Pietro 6:2 Ass. SS P & P
05/11/13 Dirtel 3:3 Guardia FC
11/11/13 Fortitudo 2007 1:4 San Pietro
11/11/13 Pantheon SD 1:2 Dirtel
12/11/13 Musei Vaticani 4:2 Santos
12/11/13 Guardia FC 2:2 Ass. SS P & P
18/11/14 Ass. SS P & P 7:2 Pantheon SD
18/11/14 Guardia FC 3:3 Musei Vaticani
19/11/14 San Pietro 7:2 Dirtel
19/11/14 Santos 3:2 Fortitudo 2007
26/11/14 Musei Vaticani 4:3 Ass. SS P & P
26/11/14 Dirtel 0:3 Fortitudo 2007
26/11/14 Pantheon SD 2:4 San Pietro
26/11/14 Santos 3:3 Guardia FC
02/12/13 Musei Vaticani 4:1 Pantheon SD
02/12/13 Ass. SS P & P 5:2 Dirtel
03/12/13 Santos 1:2 San Pietro
03/12/13 Guardia 4:3 Fortitudo 2007
09/12/13 Pantheon SD 5:3 Fortitudo 2007
09/12/13 Guardia FC 2:4 San Pietro
10/12/13 Ass. SS P & P 1:1 Santos
10/12/13 Musei Vaticani 0:2 Dirtel
17/12/13 Fortitudo 2007 0:2 Ass. SS P & P
17/12/13 San Pietro 1:0 Musei Vaticani
18/12/13 Dirtel 0:3 Santos
18/12/13 Pantheon SD 4:2 Guardia FC
24/02/14 Ass. SS P & P 2:2 San Pietro
24/02/14 Guardia FC 2:3 Dirtel
25/02/14 Musei Vaticani 3:0 Fortitudo 2007
25/02/14 Santos 3:0 Pantheon SD
03/03/14 Santos 2:2 Musei Vaticani
03/03/14 Ass. SS P & P 4:1 Guardia FC
04/03/14 Dirtel 2:1 Pantheon SD
04/03/14 San Pietro 2:0 Fortitudo 2007
10/03/14 Fortitudo 2007 0:3 Santos
10/03/14 Dirtel 1:7 San Pietro
11/03/14 Pantheon 1:3 Ass. SS P & P
11/03/14 Musei Vaticani 3:2 Guardia FC
17/03/14 San Pietro 6:2 Pantheon SD
17/03/14 Guardia FC 1:5 Santos
18/03/14 Fortitudo 2007 0:3 Dirtel
18/03/14 Ass. SS P & P 1:0 Musei Vaticani 

TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	GD
San Pietro	14	11	1	2	53	22	34	+31
Santos	14	9	3	2	46	17	30	+29
Musei Vaticani	14	8	2	4	32	21	26	+11
Ass. SS P & P	14	6	3	5	34	32	21	+2
Dirtel	14	6	1	7	22	44	19	-22
Fortitudo 2007	14	4	1	9	23	34	13	-11
Pantheon SD	14	2	2	10	26	48	8	-22
Guardia FC	14	1	5	8	28	45	8	-17

SEMI-FINALS

25/03/14 Santos 2:3 Musei Vaticani
25/03/14 San Pietro 5:3 Ass. SS P & P
31/03/14 Musei Vaticani 0:1 Santos (Agg.: 3:3; Santos qualify)
31/03/14 Ass. SS P & P 2:3 San Pietro (Agg.: 5:8; San Pietro qualify)


FINAL 

07/04/14 San Pietro 0:0 Santos
(San Pietro won 5:4 on penalties)


TOP SCORERS

21 Ghoxaj (San Pietro)
15 Chirieletti (San Pietro)
15 Quarta (Santos)
15 Pantaleoni (Santos)
10 Panella (Ass. SS P & P)