Kercem turn a defeat into a win with second half goals

24 January 2023

GFA BOV Gozo Football League Division I (MD 11) Kercem Arkafort Stadium

Sannat Lions FC : 1

Kercem Ajax FC : 3

28’ (1-0) Andrew Attard

53’ (1-1) Andrew Mizzi

65’ (1-2) Ognjen Rolovic

86’ (1-3) Ognjen Rolovic

Sannat L:

L. Buttigieg, A. Sultana, T. Agius, O. Grech, D.A. Cuero, C.A. Sanchez Gonzales, L. Silva Gomes, A. Takatori, M. Mifsud (M. Farrugia), A. Attard, A. Azzopardi.

Kercem A:

D. Spiteri, D. Cassar, L.H. Santana Motta, J. Theuma (C. Attard), B. Da Cruz,  O. Rolovic (C. Briffa), P. Vinicius De Moraes Ferreira, A. Mizzi, G. Cardona (D. Hili), K. Formosa, S. Azzopardi.

Kercem Ajax retained their chances to close their gap from the co-leaders with three hard-earned points obtained from a 3-1 win over bottom-placed Sannat Lions.  Kercem started this match as favourites to obtain the victory but they found themselves trailing by one goal at the end of the first half as Sannat were well organised in their defence and were also dangerous in their counter breaks.

The Ajax, who failed to create serious scoring opportunities during the first half, staged an impressive reaction after the break and managed to turn the result in their favour by scoring three goals without conceding any reply from their opponents.

Kercem’s striker Ognjen Rolovic was the hero for his side for the second consecutive match as he scored the two goals that decided the win for his side.  On the other hand in the match, Sannat gave a debut to Japanese central defender Arata Takatori and Columbian midfielder Deison Arvey Cuero.

Timeline:

As expected Kercem were more adventurous during the opening stages and they saw more of the ball throughout the first period.  However, Sannat’s defence was well deployed and their goalkeeper was not called to make difficult saves.  As time passed by Sannat managed to go out of their defence and threaten Kercem’s defence and took the lead following the development of a free kick.

28’ (1-0) Sannat opened the score when Kercem’s defence failed to clear the ball from the goalmouth following a free kick by Lucas Silva Gomez and Andrew Attard arrived on the ball and concluded from close distance.

32’ Kercem should have levelled the score but Gabriel Cardona missed the tap-in following an inviting low cross by Bruno Da Cruz.

33’ The Ajax were again dangerous through a cross-shot by Bruno Da Cruz that was saved to a corner by goalie Luke Buttigieg.

HT (1-0)

Second Half

Play during the second period became much more interesting as Kercem increased their efforts in an attempt to recover the deficit while Sannat tried to find space to operate counterattacks. Kercem however recovered the deficit during the first minutes of play of the second period and turned the result in their favour midway through the half so that they took the driving seat for the rest of the encounter.

2’ Kercem went close to level the score but a shot from a good position by Andrew Mizzi missed the target.

3’ Sannat replied with a counter break but the effort by Lucas Silva Gomez ended wide.

8’ (1-1) Kercem scored the equaliser when Daniel Cassar delivered a cross from the right flank, the attempt by Bruno Da Cruz got a deflection by the goalkeeper and Andrew Mizzi netted from the resultant melee.

20’ (1-2) The Ajax went ahead when Sannat’s defence failed to clear a cross from the left flank by Pablo Vinicius Ferreira and Ognjen Rolovic took advantage and placed in goal with a shot towards the corner of the net.

25’ Sannat replied with a shot from outside the area by Deison Arvey Cuero following a clearance by Kercem’s defence from a free kick but the ball ended just wide.

35’ Sannat went closest to level the score through a header by Arata Takatori following a free kick by Lucas Silva Gomes, but Kercem’s goalie Daniel Spiteri made the best save of the evening to turn the ball to a corner.

41’ Sannat’s last opportunity to score arrived through a free kick by Aaron Azzopardi that ended high. 

41’ (1-3) Kercem sealed the win in the following action through a cross-shot by Ognjen Rolovic that surprised Sannat’s goalie Luke Buttigieg.  

FT (SL 1 – KA 3)

Referee: Andrea Naudi