Qala stun Ghajnsielem and become co-leaders

9 October 2022

GFA BOV Gozo Football League Division I (MD 6) Gozo Stadium

Qala Saints FC : 4

Ghajnsielem FC : 0

25’ (1-0) Jordi Parnis

45’ (red card) Manwel Xerri (QS)

62’ (2-0) Lawrence Grima

68’ (3-0) Joseph Buttigieg

71’ (red card) Claudio Henrique Da Silva Barbosa (GHJ)

72’ (4-0) Rafael Conrado Prudente

Qala S:

M. Zammit, L. Grima, Jsph. Buttigieg, J.V. Ferrari Silva, M. Buttigieg (N.C. Njoku), J.Y. Suzuki Bicudo (C. Caruana), A. Carvalho, E. Buttigieg, J. Parnis, R.C. Prudente (L. Attard), M. Xerri.

Ghajnsielem:

A. Parnis, A. Xuereb, D. Farrugia, M. Bezzina, J.P. Oliveira Santos, S. Attard, K. Farrugia, K. Grima, V. Candido Junior (K. Borg), C.H. Da Silva Barbosa, P. Dos Santos Cruz.

Qala Saints recovered the defeat conceded in their previous match against Nadur Youngsters and confirmed their excellent start in the championship with a 4-0 win over Ghajnsielem.  With this result Qala 

Are back at the top of the table and this time they are sharing leadership with Nadur.

Ghajnsielem were considered favourites for the three points as they started the season as serious challengers for the title and were coming from a win after conceding two consecutive defeats.  However, in this match, Ghajnsielem were outplayed by Qala Saints and they never gave the impression that they could win the match even when they played for some time with an extra player on the field. Ghajnsielem was once again disappointed as they lost all the confidence that they expressed during the first matches of the championship.

Qala on the other hand deserved the win.  They confirmed the very good start that they had so far in the championship and held territorial supremacy throughout the encounter.  Qala came out determined to obtain the win and practically achieved their objective by scoring two goals when they were playing with a player less on the field.  The Maroons were well-organised in their defence and they rarely conceded any space to Ghajnselem’s strikers to produce danger.  Moreover, Qala’s offensive play was once again very effective as they created scoring opportunities through different solutions.  So far Qala has the best attack with 17 goals scored in six matches and they also have the current top scorer of the category, Rafael Conrado Prudente, with eight goals. 

Timeline

Qala Saints came out more aggressive than their opponents and took command of the midfield at an early stage of the encounter so that for most of the first half Ghajnsielem were forced to defend their territory and found it very difficult to create danger.  Qala gained more confidence after taking the lead and made it more difficult for their opponents to produce a reaction.

16’ Qala created the first serious scoring opportunity when Ayesller Carvalho passed to Jordi Parnis who was unmarked but the latter saw his shot from a good position 

24’ Ghajnsielem’s goalie Adrian Parnis had good timing and managed to block the danger when Jordi Parnis came face to face with the keeper after receiving a through pass from the midfield by Ayseller Carvalho.

25’ (1-0) Qala’s Jordi Parnis made up for his previous miss and netted with a low shot as he controlled a long-ranged clearance by Manwel Xerri, entered the area and placed in goal before Ghajnsielem’s keeper could arrive to a position to block the danger.

31’ Ghajnsielem’s reply arrived through a shot from outside the area by Claudio Henrique Da Silva Barbosa that ended just wide.

33’ Ghajnsielem’s goalie Adrian Parnis denied Qala from scoring the second goal and kept his side in contention when he blocked a close-ranged header by Rafael Conrado Prudente following a free kick by Ayesller Carvalho.

45’ (red card) Qala was reduced to ten players when Manwel Xerri was sent off for a second caution received for a foul on Claudio Henrique Da Silva Barbosa.

45+1’ From the resultant free kick the attempt by Joao Pedro Oliveira Santos ended inches away from Qala’s goal.

HT (1-0)

Second Half

During the opening part of the second period, Ghajnsielem continued to struggle to produce a reaction despite the extra player on the field of play.  Qala maintained composure and also managed to increase their lead with a second goal that arrived just after the hour mark and paved the way to the win.

10’ Qala’s Ayesller Carvalho had an attempt directly from a free kick that ended wide.

17’ (2-0) Qala surprised their opponents and scored the second goal when Ghajnsielem’s rear guard failed to clear a cross from the left by Jordi Parnis and the ball arrived to an unmarked Lawrence Grima who fired in goal with a low shot.

23’ (3-0) Ghajnsielem were demoralised and their defence once again was surprised following a cross from the left-hand side by Jordi Parnis and Joseph Buttigieg came from behind and concluded in goal with a fine shot despite the attempt by the defence to clear the danger.

26’ (red card) Ghajnsielem also ended up playing with ten players as Claudio Henrique Da Silva Barbosa was shown a red card for a foul on Julian Yoiti Suzuki Bicudo.

27’ (4-0) The Maroons added another goal when Ayesller Carvalho passed outside the area to Rafael Conrado Prudente who released himself from the direct opponent and netted with a low shot which ended out of the reach of the goalkeeper.

38’ Ghajnsielem’s goalie was called to make another intervention to turn a corner with a free kick from a long distance by Ayseller Carvalho.

41’ Qala were again dangerous but a shot by Julian Yoiti Suzuki Bicudo ended just over the crossbar.

43’ Ghajnsielem could have scored a consolation goal but a shot by Shaun Attard following a personal action was well blocked by Qala’s keeper Mattia Zammit.

FT (QS 4 – GHJ 0)

Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann