7 December 2024
GFA BOV Gozo Football League 2nd Division (MD 5) Kercem Stadium
Gharb Rangers FC : 0
Sannat Lions FC: 1
23’ (red card) Cyriel Buttigieg (SL)
24’ (penalty missed – post) Baldwin Osayi Igbinobaro (GR)
80’ (0-1) Aud-Gustine James Obaje
Gharb R:
A. Micallef, A. Sultana, D. Galea, T. Axiak, S. Gauci, B.O. Igbinobaro, F. Xuereb (N. Grima 76), J. Xerri (M. Tabone 61), K. Attard, M. Xuereb, M. Vella.
Sannat L:
K. Attard, S. Sillato, G. Portelli, O.J. Obaje, E. Gauci, P. Said, K. Calleja (D. Bellotti 68), A. Azzopardi, C. Buttigieg, A. Attard (T. Agius 65), C. Gauci.
Sannat Lions registered their second consecutive win in the campaign from their match against Gharb Rangers so they ended the first round in second place on the table. This match turned out to be well contested as Gharb were determined to obtain their first win and pull with them another team at the bottom of the table, while Sannat were looking to extend a good patch following a disappointing period. In the end, the match was well contested with an uncertain outcome.
Gharb seemed more motivated for most of the encounter but they found it very difficult to create good scoring opportunities. The Rangers may have compromised the possibility to obtain a win when they missed a penalty kick midway through the first half and for the remaining minutes, they also failed to take full advantage of an extra player on the field of play. On the other hand, Sannat showed that they are more experienced as they retained a strong defensive deployment throughout the ninety minutes and capitalised from their best scoring opportunity when there were few minutes left until the end of the match. Sannat’s striker Aud-Gustine James Obaje was the hero for his side for the second consecutive match by scoring the goal that decided the issue.
Photo: Anthony Cassar
Timeline:
Gharb came out more adventurous and for most of the first half they enjoyed territorial supremacy. Sannat tried to resist particularly after ending up with a player less and operated mainly with counter breaks but Gharb’s goalie was not called to make any difficult interventions.
23’ (red card) Gharb had a golden opportunity to take the lead when a shot by Francesco Xuereb was handled on line by Sannat’s Cyriel Buttigieg with the goalkeeper beaten and the ball ended in the net. However, the referee awarded a penalty and showed a red card to Sannat’s player.
24’ (penalty missed – post) Gharb did not manage to convert the penalty kick as the shot by Baldwin Osayi Igbinobaro hit the post.
35’ (goal disallowed) Sannat almost opened the score but when Eric Gauci netted with a fine shot the goal was disallowed for handling by the same player.
HT (0-0)
Second Half
Play continued to take place mainly in the midfield after the resumption and the actions on goal continued to be quite rare. However, the match was decided with a goal scored by Sannat during the dying moments of the encounter as Gharb seemed demoralised and did not manage to stage a reaction.
28’ Gharb had their best scoring opportunity of the second period through a shot by Francesco Xuereb from a good position but the ball ended just wide.
35’ (0-1) Sannat scored the goal that decided the encounter when Aud-Gustine James Obaje entered Gharb’s territory with personal action and defeated the goalkeeper with a low shot towards the far post.
42’ Sannat could have made sure of the win by scoring a second goal but a shot from a free kick by Paul Said was saved to a corner with difficulty by Gharb’s keeper Andre Micallef.
FT (GR 0 – SL 1)
Referee: Mark Azzopardi
Asst. Referees: Abbas Faron, Sanu Joy
Photo: Anthony Cassar
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