Victoria Hotspurs earn the first point

by | Oct 17, 2022 | 22/23, GFL 1st Div, Match Report, News

7 October 2022

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

Sannat Lions FC: 1

Victoria Hotspurs FC : 1

44′ (1-0) Sebastien Martinez Turizo

62’ (penalty missed – saved) Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes (VH)

72’ (1-1) Damon Hili

87’ (red card) Christian Dingli (SL)

89’ (red card) Dimitri Christian Kassekar (VH)

Sannat L:

L. Buttigieg, J. Cassar (T. Agius), R.H. Alves Saldanha, N. Grima, C.A. Sanchez Gonzales, D. Borg, L. Silva Gomes, C. Dingli, A. Attard, S. Martinez Turizo, A. Azzopardi.

Victoria H: 

O. Attard, D.C. Kassekar, O. Cremona, C. Vella, O.G. Fernandes, L. Farrugia (A. Xiberras), J. Pace, D. Hili, A. Debrincat (J. Grech), L. Mancuso Lemos Santos Ferreira, A. Debrincat, E.A. Da Silva.

In the first match from Match Day-6 of the BOV Gozo Football League of the first division, Sannat Lions and Victoria Hotspurs obtained a point each from a draw of two goals.  This match was a direct clash from the lower part of the table as the Hotspurs were without a point from their previous four matches while Sannat were in second place from the bottom with four points from their previous five matches.  This was, therefore, Victoria’s first point in the championship and at the same time, it was Sannat’s second consecutive positive result.  In the end, Sannat seemed more satisfied with the outcome as they remain four points ahead of the same Victoria, the latter however have a game in hand.

The final score of the match was just as the two sides tried their best to obtain the win.  For this match, the Hotspurs had Chris Buttigieg who was making a return on the substitute’s bench as a coach, and the changes made in the starting formation from the previous matches showed that the Citizens were determined to start the recovery in an attempt to move away from the bottom of the table.  However, Sannat shared play during the first half and managed to take the break in the lead so that after the resumption they were in a position to administer play.  The match had a turning point just after the hour mark when the Hotspurs missed an opportunity to convert a penalty so that in the following minutes their opponents grew in confidence and went also close to scoring a second goal.  Once the Hotspurs scored the equaliser, the dying moments of the encounter became tenser, with a player from each side who was sent off, and where the win could have gone either way

Photo: Paul Scicluna

Timeline

Play for most of the first half took place in the midfield as the two defensive departments prevailed over the respective strikers.  Neither side managed to take control of the play, and as a result, the actions on goal were rare.

6’ The Hotspurs were dangerous through a strike from outside the area by Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes following a personal action that ended just high.

25’ Sannat had their best opportunity to take the lead from a direct free kick, from an angled position, by Sebastien Martinez Turizo, but Victoria’s goalie Owen Attard managed to turn the ball to a corner with some difficulty.  

44’ (1-0) Sannat broke the deadlock when Camilo Andres Sanchez Gonzales passed through Victoria’s defence from the left-hand side and from his low cross Sebastien Martinez Turizo concluded in goal with a low shot.

HT (1-0)

Second Half

The match became much more interesting after the break as the Hotspurs came out determined to recover the deficit while Sannat continued to perform well at their defence so that they managed to neutralise Victoria’s offensive play for most of the time.

17’ (penalty missed – saved) penalty Victoria Hotspurs were awarded a penalty for a foul by Andrew Attard on Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes, but the latter saw his shot from the spot kick that was saved to a corner by goalie Luke Buttigieg.

20’ Sannat could have punished their opponents when Lucas Silva Gomes produced pressure on Victoria’s goalie who was out of his position, and the clearance by the goalkeeper was blocked by the same Silva Gomes but the ball ended over the crossbar.

24’ Sannat’s goalie Luke Buttigieg was well placed and neutralised without difficulty an overhead kick by Elton Da Silva following a cross by Christian Vella.

27’ (1-1) The Hotspurs managed to recover the deficit when Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes delivered a cross from the right flank and the ball arrived to Damon Hili who controlled without pressure and fired in goal from an ideal position.

36’ Sannat were dangerous through a direct free kick by Sebastien Martinez Turizo that ended on the roof of the net.

42’ (red card) Sannat was reduced to ten players when Christian Dingli was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes.

44’ (red card) The two teams ended with the same number of players on the field of play as Victoria’s central defender Dimitri Christian Kassekar was also sent off after committing a second bookable offence by stopping Lucas Silva Gomes who was entering the area with personal action.

45’ From the resultant free-kick Sannat almost capitalised but the attempt by Sebastien Martinez Turizo ended just wide.

45+4’ (red card) During the final stages the officials from the two substitute benches had some disputes and at the end, Victoria’s coach Chris Buttigieg was sent off.

FT (SL 1 – VH 1)

Referee: Glen Tonna

Photo: Paul Scicluna

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