St Andrew 2

Hamrun S 2

An action-packed and very entertaining game which pleased the sizeable crowd present.

Both teams had their very good moments and a draw was a fair result.

Hamrun were the first to threaten when Symour Micallef served Luke Galea with a through ball and St Andrew’s keeper Kane Valletta had to come out of his charge and kick the ball out of play.

Later he foiled the same player with a timely sortie after he was put through by Jake Grech.

In a St Andrew’s reaction, Kyrian Nwoko served Jacob Walker with a through ball but Joyfred Farrugia foiled him with a timely tackle.

Sean Gatt Baldacchino then served Walker with a cross from the right and Hamrun keeper Matthew Taliana saved his header from inside the area in two attempts.

Hamrun forged ahead in the 13th minute when Jonathan Stilon De Piro fouled Brady Galea on the left flank. Grech floated a perfect ball in the area from the free kick and Luke Galea scored with a header.

St Andrew’s came close to equalise in the 20th minute when from a flag kick by Gatt Baldacchino the ball was cleared on the line from a header by Matthew Guillaumier, but they managed to do so a minute later when Walker served Nwoko with a through ball in the area and he flicked the ball past Taliana. 

Valletta then saved a free kick by Grech and his counterpart saved a free kick by Gatt Baldacchino.

Soon after the restart Hamrun were twice denied by the woodwork. First the ball skimmed the bar from a shot by Grech and then the ball hit the bar from a cross-shot from the right by the same player.

At the other end, Nwoko served Walker with a through ball and after advancing, the ball missed the upright by inches from his shot with Taliana beaten.

Hamrun restored their one-goal lead in the 51st minute as they won a corner kick on the right flank which was well-taken by Brady Galea and substitute Isaac Lucas scored with a header from inside the area.

In another action by Hamrun ,Tensior Gusman released Luke Galea on the right flank who then served Grech in the area and Valletta denied him with a fine diving save.

St Andrew’s restored parity in the 62nd minute when Walker was fouled outside the area and Guillaumier scored a beauty from the free kick with a rising shot in the top left hand corner from 30 metres.

Taliana came to his side’s rescue in three consecutive occasions. First he saved in two attempts a shot from outside the area by Gatt Baldacchino. He then denied Nwoko with a diving save and saved a free kick shot in two attempts by Guillaumier.

Referee: Adel Radwan

Player of the match: Matthew Guillaumier (St Andrew)