Floriana 1
Birkirkara 1
Floriana: J. Haber, A. Scicluna (I. Varela), E. Pepe, E. Ruiz, S. Pisani, M. Vella (B. Farrugia), J. Pisani, A. Cini, N. Chiesa, M. Fontanella, R. Camenzuli.
Birkirkara: M. Kopric, C. Bubalovic, G. Sciberras, R. Muscat (M. Guillaumier), S. Dimitrov (S. Bajada), V. Plut, N. Vukanac, F. Temile, J. Zerafa, C. Attard, R. Scicluna (J. Brincat).
Referee: F. Zammit.
Asst refs: L. Portelli, S. Attard.
4th official: M. Apap.
Scorers: V. Plut, N. Chiesa,
Yellow cards: R. Muscat, N. Chiesa, E. Pepe,
Player of the match: R. Camenzuli.
TMI Top 3: 1. R. Camenzuli, 2. R. Muscat, 3. S. Pisani.
Attendance: 905
Birkirkara had to content themselves with just a point from their encounter against Floriana yesterday.
After dominating the first half, the Stripes handed the initiative to the Greens in the second and they only came to life again in the final 10 minutes when their forcing did not produce the goal they searched for the three points.
The draw means that Birkirkara now occupy second place with Hibernians who, however, have today’s match against rivals Tarxien in hand. They both have 20 points, four adrift of leaders Balzan.
Floriana have now joined Valletta in 4th place on 18 points, but the citizens also have today’s match against Hamrun in hand.
For the Greens, coach Giovanni Tedesco was making a welcome return after serving his four-match suspension.
Birkirkara were superior to the Greens in the first half with Rowen Muscat and Gareth Sciberras, not to mention Ryan Scicluna, controlling midfield.
The Stripes also created the best chances apart from scoring the only goal.
Floriana did not stare at their opponents either, but they found it extremely difficult to get past the solid Stripes defence. And when they did, they were off target .
It was former Birkirkara player Camenzuli who was the only one going close with two long distance shots, the first of which saved by the Birkirkara goalie.
Moreover, the Greens appeared frustrated by the ball possession tactics adopted by the Stripes.
In the second half, the story was completely different. The much more determined Greens took over the midfield sector and penned the Stripes in their half for long stretches as the latter struggled hard to keep the hungry Greens at bay.
Their equaliser was richly deserved and it seemed as if they would take over the reins, but the Stripes once again took over in search of a winning goal. But it was all in vain.
In the 10th minute, from a Steve Pisani freekick, Fontanella hit well over the bar from a central position.
Birkirkara opened the scoring on 17 minutes when from a Dimitrov corner, Plut hit hard with the ball hitting goalie Haber only for the ball to go over the line and into the net.
Soon after, at the other end, goalie Kopric had to dive sideways to turn to corner in style a Camenzuli 20 metre shot.
In the 29th minute, following a Steve Pisani cornerkick, the ball was cleared out to Camenzuli whose scorcher from 25 metres just missed the target.
In the 36th minute, Birkirkara missed a gilt edged chance of increasing their lead. Vito Plut set Frank Temile in the Greens area and the latter, completely unmarked, saw his shot being blocked by an excellent Haber.
In the 42nd minute, from a Temile cross, it was Dimitrov who went close for Birkirkara, hitting just over from close in.
Early in the second half, Fontanella had a shot punched away by Kopric. The Stripes goalie then turned to corner another Camenzuli humdinger.
Floriana maintained the initiative and on the 57th minute, from a Fontanella cross, Varela saw his shot blocked miraculously by Kopric. The rebound, by Jurgen Pisani, hit the upright.
A goal was in the air and in their next attack, the Greens equalised. From a Jurgen Pisani perfect cross, it was Nicolas Chiesa who headed beautifully into the net, giving Kopric no chance.
In a rare Birkirkara attack, from a Cain Attard cross, a Vukanac header was excellently saved by the diving Haber.
In the 87th minute, Cain Attard had a header going inches wide of the upright.
Till the end, Birkirkara searched in vain for the winning goal and had to settle for just one point.
Sliema W. 1
Balzan 1
Sliema W.: G. Zammit, A. Mu (R. Spiteri)scat, G. Muir, R. de Souza Vilas Boas, S. Biancardi, J. Mintoff, M. Muchardi (G. Aquilina), M. Potezika, P. Xuereb, JP Farrugia (M. Galin), D. Dos Santos.
Balzan: I. Janjusevic, P. Fenech, S. Arab, B. Kaljevic, B. Gilio de Oliveira, S. Bezzina, C. Brincat, A. Nafti (T. Agius), D. Grima (A. De Barros), M. Piciollo (P. Lapira), A. da Silva Souza.
Referee: AM Sant.
Asst refs: E. Spiteri, T. Debono.
4th official: E. Grech.
Scorers: B. Kaljevic, M. Muchardi,
Yellow cards: S. Arab, B. Kaljevic, P. Xuereb, C. Brincat,
Red cards:
Player of the match: M. Muchardi.
TMI Top 3: 1. M. Muchardi, 2. P. Fenech, 3. D. Dos Santos.
League leaders Balzan and Sliema yesterday shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
It was a fair result in an evenly balanced game in which Balzan showed the best ideas in the first half while Sliema came back strongly in the second during which they equalised.
In the process, both teams missed out on two precious points – it was the two teams’ second successive draw.
In the first half, the match never reached great heights and neither side seemed to have a clear edge.
However, it was Balzan who created the best opportunities. And at the interval, they seemed to have merited their slender lead courtesy of a great goal by Kaljevic.
Sliema struggled to find a way past a well organised Balzan defence and this, despite the promptings of Dos Santos and Muchardi who never stopped running.
On the other hand, Paul Fenech and Abdelkarim Nafti also worked hard in midfield, but both Piciollo and Kaljevic were under control for most of the time, at least until the latter found the net just before the interval whistle.
In the second half, it was Sliema who mostly dictated play and were fully worth their equalising goal by man of the match Muchardi.
Balzan elected to defend their slender lead, but after the goal, they again moved forward with purpose although till the end, only a few chances were created by both sets of strikers.
After a rather tame start with play restricted to midfield, Sliema threatened first on the 10th minute through a Muchardi fine effort from the edge of the area, which went just wide of the target.
Soon after, at the other end, goalie Zammit had to rush out of his charge to clear ahead of the advancing Kaljevic.
And in the 14th minute, Nafti’s shot was too central and easy prey for goalie Zammit.
In the 18th minute, Piciollo attempted a shot at goal from an almost impossible angle – the end result was the ball went wide.
Balzan had another good chance on 24 minutes, but Kaljevic hit weakly from an ideal position and Zammit could save with ease.
In the 31st minute, it was again Balzan who went close. Da Silva Souza set Piciollo in the Blues’ area, but the latter saw his effort blocked by the onrushing Zammit.
In the 43rd minute, from a Mintoff cross, Muchardi’s first timer was blocked by a Balzan defender to corner.
Balzan broke the deadlock in the 45th minute. It was Paul Fenech who broke loose in three quarters pitch. The ball finally went to Bojan Kaljevic who hit home a fine first timer which went in via the crossbar.
In the 52nd minute, Sliema went close to an equaliser when a Xuereb shot saw goalie Janjusevic punching the ball with great difficulty. And five minutes later, from a Dos Santos cornerkick, it was Xuereb again who went close with a header that just missed the target.
On the hour, it was Dos Santos who tried his luck with a freekick from the edge of the area, but the ball sailed harmlessly wide.
Two minutes later, Sliema equalised. A Xuereb low shot was turned to corner by Janjusevic and from the same corner, it was Muchardi who headed in.
Sliema insisted on attack and Jean Paul Farrugia saw his grounder being turned to corner, but it was Balzan who almost took the lead again in the 80th minute when from a Fenech cross, it was Nafti who anticipated Zammit only to see his header hitting the post with the ball eventually being cleared.
In this incident, Nafti seemed to have been injured seriously so much so that an ambulance also entered the pitch near the goalpost which took him to hospital.
Till the end, both sets of defences never yielded an inch as the two teams appeared content with the result.