Heavily depleted Blues made to fight hard for the points

Sliema W. 1

St Patrick 0

St Patrick: F. Azzopardi, M. Pullicino, R. Cassar, M. Fleri Soler, C. Failla, G. Failla, T. Caruana, B. Fenech, S. Costa Brasilino, S. Zerafa, C. Dozie (M. Tanti).

Sliema W.: M. Camilleri, A. Muscat, D. Debono, N. Turner, D. Doncic, A. Mifsud, I. Woods (A. Scerri), N. Micallef, O. Anonam, L. Pernis, B. Said.

Referee: K. Azzopardi. Asst refs: K. Borg, J. Camilleri. 4th official: A. Azzopardi.

Scorer: I. Woods,

Yellow cards: G. Failla, B. Fenech, S. Zerafa, O. Anonam,

Player of the match: Ivan Woods.

TMI Top 3: 1. I. Woods, 2. A. Muscat; 3. R. Cassar.

Sliema joined Valletta on top of the Premier League last night as they overcame a strong challenge from bottom-placed St Patrick.

The Blues win matured despite they had a host of regulars missing, including Kris Laferla, Jeffrey Chetcuti, Joe Brincat, Stefan Giglio, Rupert Mangion, Claude Mattocks, Joe Farrugia and Miguel Mifsud, the Blues were too strong for St Patrick.

Moreover, Nigerian goalie Murphy Akanji was only a reserve player as the MFA told Sliema that they could only make use of three foreigners – and that included Anonam who, despite obtaining Maltese citizenship, is not allowed to play as a foreigner by the MFA!

Despite all these absentees, Edward Aquilina and Hugh Caruana still presented a decent formation which included their three newcomers, Ivan Woods, Slovakian Lubos Pernis and goalie Matthew Camilleri. And that shows the strength in depth of the Sliema squad.

For Woods it was a memorable return to the Blues. He secured their three points with the only goal just before the interval.

Otherwise Sliema were made to fight hard for the points by the Saints who kept trying till the very end.

On their part, St Patrick had Anizoba missing through suspension and Arnold Buttigieg through injury. Goalie Alex Camilleri was also relegated to the substitutes’ bench.

The Saints’ resistance lasted 42 minutes, that is, until Ivan Woods scored his first goal for Sliema which proved to be the winner.

In the first half, Sliema were frustrated by a resilient St Patrick side which showed a vast improvement after their 5-0 drubbing against Valletta last Friday.

Sliema, in fact, had to wait till a few minutes before the interval to break the deadlock.

In the second half, the Blues were expected to coast home comfortably but they still lacked penetration against a massed Saints defence, though it must also be said that they were also unlucky on some occasions.

Sliema enjoyed the lion’s share of the attacks but it was the Saints who provided the first thrill. From a Thomas Caruana low shot following a G. Failla freekick, Matthew Camilleri saved on deck.

Soon after, at the other end, Ivan Woods went close to scoring for Sliema as his effort hit the crossbar with goalie Azzopardi completely beaten.

Then it was Doncic who had a grounder just missing the target.

On the 40th minute, a Turner freekick was headed down by Anonam to Woods, but the newcomer’s shot went wide.

Two minutes later, Sliema finally took the lead. Slovakian Pernis started the move with the ball arriving in Woods’s path. The former Pieta striker made no mistake from close in.

In the 57th minute, Orosco Anonam had a fine dipper hitting the crossbar before the ball went dead. Doncic then had a glancing header going over

On 68 minutes a fine combination between Muscat, Pernis and Woods ended with the latter’s first time effort going wide.

Four minutes later, Muscat was involved in a fine personal action, dribbling his way into the area. His final effort was, however, tipped by the goalie onto the crossbar and from the rebound, Micallef’s cross was headed over by Pernis.

In their only attack, St Patrick had a Caruana shot easily saved by Camilleri.

Near the end, the Saints forced Sliema in defence, but Camilleri was never tested seriously.