St Lawrence stun challengers Munxar

17 February 2024

GFA BOV Gozo Football League 2nd Division (MD 9) Kercem Stadium

St Lawrence Spurs FC: 2

Munxar Falcons FC: 1

20’ (0-1) Vitor Gabriel Soarez Sousa

47’ (1-1) Mark Dingli

70’ (2-1) Mark Dingli

St. Lawrence S:

J. Xiberras, J.K. Farrugia, N. Haber, G. Portelli, M. Terribile, J.M. Portelli (C. Azzopardi 85), A. Carvalho, V.J. Saliba, S. Farrugia, D. Micallef, M. Dingli.

Munxar F:

J. Micallef, K. Borg, P. Parnis, E. Bugeja, I. Belhadj, N. Mifsud, N. Mercieca, S. Muscat (K. Farrugia 71), V.G. Soarez Souza, E. Galea (L. Meilak 71), O. Spiteri (M. Zammit 71).

St Lawrence Spurs, who were occupying the bottom place on the table, came from behind in their match against challengers for promotion Munxar Falcons to obtain a 2-1 win and with the points obtained they moved away from the last place on the table.  This result rewards St Lawrence for their character as they kept insisting on coming out of a difficult situation since the beginning of the campaign and at the same time punished Munxar Falcons for some confidence which may compromise their chances to remain in the tussle for promotion.

The match turned out to be more contested than expected as Munxar, who were favourites to obtain the win, struggled to impose their superiority.  The Falcons took the lead mid-way through the first half but failed to extend their lead so that their less quoted opponents remained in contention and the Spurs turned the result in their favour with two goals scored after the break.  St Lawrence’s Mark Dingli ended up the hero for his side as he scored the two goals that decided the issue.

Timeline:

The play was quite balanced for most of the first half.  Munxar tried to hold command of play but they forum it difficult to convert their possession into good scoring opportunities.  On the other hand, St Lawrence seemed motivated to obtain a positive result and they often threatened their opponents with direct play that kept Mumxar’s rearguard under pressure.

4’ St Lawrence created the first serious scoring opportunity when Mark Dingli entered Munxar’s area from the right flank but his attempt was blocked to a corner by the defence.

12’ (0-1)  Munxar opened the score when Vitor Gabriel Soarez Souza received a through pass from Emmanuel Galea and surprised St Lawrence’s goalie with a lob from an ideal position.

30’ St Lawrence went very close to level the score but a lob by Ayesller Carvalho ended high.

33’ The Falcons missed a good opportunity to double their lead but a shot from close distance by Neil Misfud was saved with some difficulty by St Lawrence’s goalie Joel Xiberras.

45’ St Lawrence was again dangerous through a strike by Michele Terribile but goalie Joel Micallef was well placed and saved the danger.

HT (0-1)

Second Half

After the resumption, St Lawrence came out more determined and surprised their opponents as they levelled the score in their first attempt of the second period. The Spurs grew in confidence and prevailed over Munxar for the remaining minutes of the encounter.

2’ (1-1)  St Lawrence scored the equaliser when Miunxar’s defence failed to clear the ball from a corner action and Mark Dingli fired in goal from close distance.

5’ Munxar replied with a shot by Nathaniel Mercieca that was saved to a corner by goalie Joel Xiberras.

13’ Munxar’s goalie Joel Micallef had good timing and left his position to deny Mark Dingli from concluding towards the goal following a counter break.

16’ Munxar were again dangerous when Neil Mifsud entered Sy Lawrence’s area but his shot was saved in two attempts by goalie Joel Xiberras.

23’ The Flacons missed another good opportunity to regain the lead when Vitor Gabriel Soarez Souza entered alone inside St Lawrence’s areas but his effort was saved to a corner by the goalkeeper.

25’ (2-1) St Lawrence scored the decisive goal of the encounter when Ayseller Carvalho operated a counterbreak and released Mark Dingli who saw his strike end in the net despite the attempt of the goalkeeper to block the danger.

27’ St Lawrence could have sealed the win by scoring a third goal when Victor John Saliba entered Munxar’s territory but his shot from a good position ended wide.

FT (SLS 2 – MF 1)

Referee: Jo-Anna Vassallo

Assistant Referees: Paul Apap, Sillah Alhasana