St George's, Floriana share honours in 1-1 draw

The feature about Joseph Barbara, published a few weeks ago, was a hit with Cospicua old-timers.

My phone never stopped ringing and I also received emails about the subject from Canada and Australia.

I had two engaging conversations with Joseph Barbara's son Carmelo, and former Malta FA secretary Joe Sacco. They provided me with new information which I am including in today's contribution.

Joseph Barbara was born on January 6, 1881 in Gudja and not in Zejtun as I stated in the previous article.

Barbara worked at the Admiralty Dockyard as head messenger and after marrying Carmela Tabone, he settled down at 6, Strada Nouva, Cospicua.

At the start of the Second World War, he moved his family to the relative safety of Zejtun where he died on January 11, 1975.

Joseph Sacco is a nephew on his mother's side of Joseph Barbara. He told me that Barbara's son John was a popular referee in the late forties and early fifties and his brother, Peter Barbara was, for many years, president of Rabat FC.

Peter's daughter is the wife of Ernest Chappel, a popular Rabat FC player of the fifties.

I believe this additional information on the football tradition of the Barbara family will interest many old-timers as will the story of today's write-up which takes us as far back as 1908-09.

Silver cup

In 1908, negotiations were opened between St George's and Floriana to stage a match for a silver cup.

The talks were long and hard but at last, they came to a positive conclusion in February 1909. The parade ground at Imtarfa, situated far away from both Cospicua and Floriana, was chosen as the neutral venue for the match.

The publicity given to the match during the long months of negotiations caught the imagination of the Maltese.

Hundreds of bets were placed and as the date of February 14 ap-proached, the 'Imtarfa Cup' became the only topic of conversation.

It is estimated that over 10,000 spectators surrounded the square or took other vantage positions to see the game. Everything was very orderly and, although extra police were despatched to Imtarfa from Valletta, their services were not needed.

Colour Sgt. Hicks, of the Suffolk Regiment, was selected as referee and Lance Corporal Garvey and Gunner Shorey were the linesmen.

The game started with St George's taking the initiative.

Floriana were more energetic but their passing game lacked the accuracy of that of the team from Cospicua.

The first chance to open the score fell to St George's when they were awarded a penalty but the ball was kicked high over the ribbon.

Floriana's Ruggieru Friggieri and Emmanuel Delia, of St George's, got engaged in a sort of private duel on the pitch. Despite their lack of height, these two players were renowned for the crunch of their tackles!

The crowd enjoyed every minute of it. It seems that Delia suffered most from the encounter because twice he had to leave the pitch to attend to his injuries.

Midway through the first half, Masu Hicks sold Friggieri the dummy before shooting in the first goal.

A little later, however, Naudi equalised with a tremendous kick which almost broke the net-rigging.

On the resumption, Floriana won several corners but these were badly taken.

The minutes ticked away and the Saints' goalkeeper Neriku Camilleri was kept busy by the Greens forwards but he did his job splendidly.

On the half hour, St George's pressed forward in a desperate charge on the Irish fort but Pawlu Borg in goal was equal to the occasion and averted disaster for his team.

It was now Floriana's turn to go on the offensive and Camilleri was again tested with two straight shots at his goal but once again he came out with flying colours.

At 4.45 p.m. Sgt. Hicks whistled the end of the match with the score still level at 1-1. A hurried consultation was held and it was agreed to play another quarter of an hour each way.

At the end of this period, however, no goals were scored and the referee declared a draw. After the match, St George's accused Floriana of breaching the pre-match contract. The Saints complained that Floriana fielded a 'picked team' from all over the island.

In those days, when registration of players was unheard of, there was an unofficial agreement between teams representing a district that all their players had to come from the place they represented.

Floriana did not abide by this rule and St George's felt cheated.

The arguments were long and widespread and there was a huge outcry for the game to be replayed but it took the two parties nearly three years before they reached an agreement and the issue was finally put to rest.

That, however, is another long story...

For the Record

Challenge Cup Match

(February 14, 1909 - The Imtarfa Parade Ground)

St George's vs Floriana 1-1

St George's: Neriku Camilleri, Lawrence Busuttil, T. Camilleri, John Born, Josie Fearne, Emmanuel Busuttil, Guze Tagliaferro, Masu Hicks, Emmanuel Delia, P. Thelma, G. Cordina.

Floriana: Pawlu Borg, Ruggieru Friggieri, Fredu Friggieri, Salvu Tabone, Guzi Mallia, Emmanuel Vella, F. Mifsud, W. Pisani, Guzi Vella, Salvu Samuel, R. Naudi.

Scorers: Hicks (St George's); Naudi (Floriana).

Referee: Sgt. Hicks (Suffolk Regiment).