23 December 2023
GFA BOV Gozo Football League 1st Division (MD 9) Gozo Stadium
Nadur Youngsters become sole leaders
Nadur Youngsters FC : 5
Xewkija Tigers FC : 0
43’ (1-0) Stefan Cassar
50’ (2-0) Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio
53’ (3-0) Joseph Zammit
85’ (4-0) Matthias Said
89’ (5-0) Marcelo Barbosa
Nadur Y:
S. Sultana, J.A. Ferreira Dos Santos, I. Xuereb, M. Pereira Muniz (M. Said 78), J.M. Vella, J. Zammit (B. Said 87), S. Cassar (J. Xerri 84), G. Hili (K. Grima 87), G. Muscat, J.V. De Oliveira Florencio.
Xewkija T:
N. Kosanin, J. Vella, D. Bogdanovic, M. Mercieca (J. Vella 78), J. Buttigieg, A. Debrincat (K. Farrugia 46), R. Buttigieg (M. Xuereb 81), A. Bozovic, D. Bugeja (H. Bonnici 81), C. Abela (M. Bonnici 71), S. Tesic.
In the last match from Match-Day 9 of the BOV Gozo Football League of the first division, reigning champions Nadur Youngsters registered a 5-0 win over Xewkija Tigers and with the points obtained, they moved to the top position on the table with a two-point lead over challengers Qala Saints.
Nadur came for this match with the pressure to take the full points at stake to take advantage of the defeat conceded by Qala in their respective encounter of the same Match-Day which was played the previous week. The Youngsters expressed their motivation from the initial stages but for most of the first half, they struggled to find a way to take the lead. Very often they were erratic in their final passing and on other occasions they were denied from scoring by Xewkija’s goalie Nikola Kosanin who made a series of difficult interventions. However, Nadur paved the way to the win as they broke the deadlock just before half time and as Xewkija tried to come out of their defence after the break, the Youngsters took full advantage of more space and made sure of the win by scoring four goals during the second period.
In this match, Xewkija, who had some regular players missing, tried to earn a positive result by protecting their territory and by operating with counter breaks. The initial strategy was effective for most of the first half but once they conceded the first goal they compromised the efforts of the first half as they became very fragile at the defence and ineffective in their efforts to create potential scoring opportunities. With this result, Xewkija dropped a position on the table and they are now under pressure from four other teams who are involved in the tussle against the red zone.
Timeline:
Nadur took command of the midfield from the first minutes of play and as time passed by, they increased their pressure on Xewkija’s defence. At some moments Nadur seemed frustrated as they found it very difficult to break Xewkija’s defensive wall. In the meantime, Xewkija’s breaks were often sterile as they did not manage to create danger within Ndur’s territory.
5’ Nadur could have scored an early goal but a close-range attempt by Marcelo Barbosa got a deflection and the ball ended in a corner.
15’ Xewkija replied with an attempt directly from a free kick by Josiah Buttigieg that was easily saved by Nadur’s keeper Steve Sultana.
18’ Xewkija’s goalie Nikola Kosanin was well placed and blocked a good shot by Marcelo Barbosa.
19’ The same goalkeeper was called to make two consecutive saves to block a shot Joe Vitor De Oliveira Florencio and Marcelo Pereira Muniz.
21’ (protests for penalty) Nadur claimed a possible irregular intervention by Xewkija’s defence as Stefan Cassar tried to find a way to conclude towards Nadur’s goal.
31’ Xewkija’s goalie Nikola Kosanin was in the right place to save an attempt from a free kick by Marcelo Barbosa.
37’ Nadur created a dangerous opportunity when Joseph Zammit released Stefan Cassar inside Xewkija’s area but the goalkeeper left his position in time and denied the opportunity to the striker to conclude towards goal
43’ (1-0) Nadur opened the score when Marcelo Barbosa passed inside Xewkija’s area but his low cross was not cleared so the ball arrived to an unmarked Stefan Cassar who netted from close distance.
45’ Xewkija’s goalie was again called to make a difficult save to turn to a corner an effort by Marcelo Barbosa and from the resultant corner action the ball arrived to Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio but the latter saw his effort that was blocked by the goalkeeper.
45+1’ Nadur’s De Oliveira Florencio went again close to score a second goal for his side but his attempt was again saved to a corner by Xewkija’s goalie Nikola Kosanin.
HT (1-0)
Second Half
Xewkija tried to produce a reaction in an attempt to recover the deficit but their efforts were sterile and ended up conceding two goals during the opening stages of the second half which practically compromised their possibility of saving the result. Nadur continued to dominate play and made sure of the win by scoring two more goals near the end of the encounter,
5’ (2-0) Nadur doubled their lead when Xewkija’s defence failed to clear the ball following an initiative by Stefan Cassar and Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio took the opportunity and placed in goal from an unmarked position.
8’ (3-0) Nadur added another goal when Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio passed inside Xewkija’s area and from his pass Joseph Zammit concluded in goal from close distance.
19’ Xewkija’s goalie Nikola Kosanin was again called to make a good save following a shot by Marcelo Barbosa.
26’ Nadur could have scored another goal but an overhead kick by Joseph Zammit from a corner action taken by Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio ended wide.
28’ Nadur’s Joao Vitor De Oliveira Florencio had another attempt that was well saved by Xewkija’s goalie Nikola Kosanin.
31’ Xewkija could have created more danger but a shot by Denzil Bugeja was saved in two attempts by Nadur’s goalie Steve Sultana.
40’ (4-0) Nadur scored their fourth goal when Marcelo Barbosa passed to substitute Matthias Said and the latter fired in goal with a shot that surprised Xewkija’s goalie.
44’ (5-0) The Youngsters sealed the handsome win when Marcelo Barbosa passed through Xewkija’s defence with personal action and concluded in the net from close distance.
FT (NY 5 – XT 0)
Referee: Alex Johnson
Assistant Referees: Vasil Vasilev, Paul Apap
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