ONVOL 1ST DIVISION LEAGUE

HOTSPURS RE-OPEN TITLE HOPES

J Xuereb, M Filip, S Attard, D Odovic, J Buttigieg (P Buttigieg 65’), A Simoncic, C Camilleri, C Hili, A Portelli, E Nkwankwo, J Portelli

M Grima, D Farrugia, JP Grima, C Attard, M Vella, R Grech, M Buttigieg (Anthony Briffa ’84) N Borg, J Portelli, R Severino (S Xuereb ’86), F Bassi

      The second match in programme at the Gozo Stadium staged the top of the table clash between title holders Nadur and the surprising Victoria Hotspurs.  Nadur showed their teeth in the early stages.  In the early minutes a poor clearance by the Hotspurs’ defence, ended in the path of Nkwankwo who placed the ball past Grima.  The referee however flagged the offside.  It seemed to be messy stage by the Hotspurs, a misunderstanding between Grima and the defender provided an assist to whose bicycle kick, though weak, was yet again not cleared properly leading Grima to clumsily caught the ball with his hands.  The clear backpass didn’t escape the vigilant guard of the referee Caruana, however Nadur failed to capitalize this opportunity.  Nkwankwo proved to be the roaming hazard in the Victoria defence.  A precise cross was met by Nigerian’s first timer who found an attentive Grima to produce the first noteworthy save of the match. 

     Nadur seemed to hold the game in their hands having the lion’s share of possession.  Victoria held them back as best they could.  Nadur were dangerous yet again, when a back pass by the Hostpurs defence put Grima under pressure.  The former missed to shoot it away but Joseph Portelli fired high.  Against the run of play Victoria, opened the score in the 28th minute thanks to a penalty.  Ricardo Severino irrupted into the Youngsters’ defence and engaged in a duel with, the until then impeccable, Saviour Attard.  Saverino’s footwork seemed to disorient the Nadur defender who tripped the Brazilian.  The same Severino edged the citizens in front.  Nadur, despite their constant domination in midfield, failed to produce a proper goalscoring opportunity until ten minutes later when a cross from Simoncic found Nkwankwo unmarked who incredibly missed the easiest of opportunities from just a couple of metres from the line.  Once again luck seemed to bless the Hotspurs’ awful defence.  In the 45^th minute Saviour Attard was providential in stopping a low cross by Fabiano Bassi before it could reach the free Saverino.

      The second half started with an aggressive Nadur determined to overturn the result.  In the second minute a cross into the Victoria defence was controlled by Hili whose path was crossed by a well-placed Grima who snatched the ball from his feet.  In the 8^th minute a corner taken by the usual Simoncic plummeted onto the head of Anthony Portelli who concluded wide.  Jospeh Portelli was again protagonist of the action when he forced his way past the defence to find himself face to face with Grima the latter, however, was once again quick to block the Nadur attacker. 

      The Youngsters showed no sign of resignation however in the 18^th minute the Hotspurs, unlike their opponents, were cunning to take advantage of their chances.  Daniel Farrugia served Severino with a quick pass and the Brazilian’s run was stopped by Marius Fillip, whose challenge however was judged irregular by the referee who did not hesitate to whistle the second penalty in favour of the citizens.  The confident Severino had no problems in shooting past Xuereb to double the score.  In the 28^th minute the Hostpurs started to take advantage of their oppenent’s fatigue as Ryan Grech found his way through the spaces left open by Nadur.  His attempt was however parried by Xuereb.  Nadur were quick to reply on the half hour.  Joseph Portelli, served in the middle of the Hotspurs’ area, controlled the ball as best he could and tried with a spectacular semi-overhead kick to lob the ball past Grima.  Yet this time it was the crossbar that prohibited the champions from at least pulling one back.  As the clock kept ticking Nadur found themselves lacking both conviction and energy.  The Hostpurs on the other hand, were once again opportunistic in the 35^th minute when Marvin Buttigieg passed the ball to Severino beat Xuereb with a low drive. 

   The Hotspurs had nothing left but to administer the result.  Coach Jovann Bugeja ordered two substitutions: Anthony Briffa came in for Marvin Buttigieg, and Steve Xuereb replaced the applauded Severino.  With three minutes to go Nadur savaged some pride thanks to Jospeh Portelli who with a precise first timer from a Camilleri cross stunned Grima to make the score 3-1.  This goal however, failed to generate enthusiasm amongst the Nadur players.  It was Victoria, on the other hand, that two minutes later outnumbered Nadur in their own area.  Farrugia passed the ball to Bassi who left no opportunity to Xuereb but to drop him. 

     Caruana awarded the third penalty to the Hostpurs and the Brazilian presented himself on the ball to fire past the ailing Xuereb for the fourth time. The final score is surely illusory as Nadur were the better side all along.  The Hotspurs however took their chances and punished the wasteful Nadur, halting the leaders’ perfect run and placing themselves just one point adrift. Referee: Paul Caruana

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