Birkirkara................1

Hamrun S................3

Hamrun Spartans came from behind to upset 10-man Birkirkara 3-1 in yesterday’s second match.

It was a shock defeat for the below-par Birkirkara side which temporarily remains in second place on 16 points. The Spartans have moved onto the 10-point mark following this morale-boosting victory.

Stefan Sultana’s side maintained its recent revival with a spirited performance in which goalkeeper Andrea Cassar was the great protagonist and with Grima, Camilleri and Vella also showing great form.

It was a disastrous outing for Birkirkara who, after a somewhat aggressive start, had to play second fiddle to a team which showed more determination.

Hamrun had veteran David Camilleri in the starting line-up, while Birkirkara had to do without Joselito and Ryan Scicluna.

In the first half, Birkirkara took the initiative at first and even took the lead through a Shola penalty, but Hamrun fought their way back into the game and before scoring a deserved equaliser they had already showed their intentions with a fine Camilleri shot that hit the post.

After that, Birkirkara again took the initiative, but despite Joe Zerafa’s fine incursions on the left flank, they failed to penetrate the strong Hamrun rearguard again.

Spartans coach Stefan Sultana included Massimo Grima and veteran Camilleri in midfield and this move paid rich dividends.

In the second half, after taking the lead through Grima’s penalty, the Spartans were forced to defend for long stretches, even when the Stripes had Paul Fenech sent off.

But there was Cassar stopping all that Birkirkara could throw against him, and that included another penalty from Shola. No wonder he was Man of the Match.

The match had a quiet start with Hamrun controlling Birkirkara’s feeble efforts with ease, but in the 12th minute, the Stripes opened the scoring.

Fenech floored Mifsud Triganza in the area and referee Sant had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot. Shola Shodiya Haruna had to take the penalty twice as in the first occasion, several players entered the area before the kick, even if it entered the net despite Cassar’s brave effort to save. In his second attempt he sent the goalie the wrong side.

Hamrun responded six minutes later with a David Camilleri great shot which hit the crossbar with Gauci beaten.

The Spartans deservedly equalised in the 26th minute. From a Yoshev cross, it was Vergilov who headed goalwards only for Gauci to palm the ball out, but only towards Terence Vella, who hit home from near the penalty spot.

Birkirkara were close on 38 minutes through a Jhonnattan freekick which just missed the post.

In the second half, after seven minutes, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza lifted his shot from a free kick just over.

Two minutes later, the Spartans were awarded a penalty when David Camilleri’s freekick was handled in the area by a Birkirkara defender. From the spotkick, Massimo Grima made no mistake to put the Spartans ahead.

At the other end a Jhonnattan cross saw Mifsud Triganza arriving just too late in front of Cassar and a good chance went begging.

A few minutes later, Cassar was the protagonist as he turned to corner with some difficulty a Jhonnattan freekick.

Soon after, the Stripes ended in 10 men when Paul Fenech was sent off by Mr Sant for some protests following a yellow card.

Despite their numerical inferiority, the Stripes pressed for an equaliser and Shola had a good shot deviated to corner.

On the 75th minute, Mr Sant awarded the third penalty of the night after David Camilleri tripped Edward Herrera in the area. From the spotkick, Shola’s effort was excellently turned to corner by Cassar. From Jhonnattan’s corner-kick, Rowen Muscat headed wide from an ideal position.

Just before the end, Hamrun added another when Calabretta was set on the left. He beat the onrushing Gauci and unselfishly passed to Terence Vella who had no difficulty in planting the ball into the net.

Birkirkara: R. Gauci, Z. Muscat (R. Camenzuli), A. Mendoza, J. Zerafa, R. Muscat, P. Fenech, G. Sciberras, JP Mifsud Triganza, S. Shodiya Haruna, J. da Conceicao, E. Herrera.

Hamrun S.: A. Cassar, D. Zerafa (R. Spiteri), M. Grima, T. Vella, G. Calabretta, A. Ivanov, R. Fenech, L. Vitanov, A. Yoshev, A. Vergilov, D. Camilleri (L. Grech).

Referee: A. M. Sant

Asst refs: E. Spiteri, W. Debattista

4th official: G. Tonna

Scorers: S. Shodiya Haruna, T. Vella 2, M. Grima pen.,

Yellow cards: G. Calabretta, L. Vitanov, M. Grima, Z. Muscat, D. Camilleri

Red card: P. Fenech

Player of the match: A. Cassar

TMI Top 3: 1. A. Cassar; 2. T. Vella; 3. J. Zerafa

Attendance: 697