Sliema on mark to boost coach Aquilina

Msida St Joseph 1
Sliema Wanderers 4

2006 has yielded only heartache for Edward Aquilina.

Three days into the new year, Aquilina's erstwhile bright prospects of guiding his side to a fourth successive championship looked to have been compromised by a 2-1 defeat to rivals Birkirkara. Then, last Monday, he suffered the most terrible blow of all with the demise of his brother Ritchie after a long illness.

The disappointment encountered during one's football career, be it as a player or coach, can never be compared to the suffering engendered by the loss of a loved one but it is well documented that in hard times, football can prove a welcoming distraction.

So, it was for the Wanderers coach yesterday as his players combined commitment with fluid football to notch a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Msida St Joseph, in the process turning on the heat on Hibernians and Birkirkara.

Victory over top-six hopefuls Msida was also achieved with the help of a newcomer.

Six days after turning in a man-of-the-match display in Msida's 1-0 defeat to Marsaxlokk, Roderick Bajada was named in Sliema's initial formation after completing his transfer to the Wanderers in midweek.

Before kick-off, Bajada showed his appreciation to the Msida SJ fans by presenting them flowers. This commendable gesture by Bajada preceded a minute's silence in memory of Ritchie Aquilina, a former Sliema player.

Within 45 seconds of the referee's initial peep, Daniel Bogdanovic set off on a menacing run down the inside-left channel before pulling the ball back for Orosco Anonam. Without breaking his stride, Anonam hit a strong first-time shot that drifted wide and high of the Msida post.

Five minutes on, it was Msida's turn to create a dangerous attack of their own when Ibrahim Babatunde, allowed time and space to power his way through the middle, supplied a fine through-ball to Daniel Nwoke whose rising effort finished over.

Todor Raykov, the Msida coach, was forced to make his first substitution as early as the sixth minute, replacing the injured Mark Pullicino with veteran Charles Sciberras.

After Noel Turner had been prominent with a dipping shot that ended just wide, the champions put their noses in front, Ivan Woods firing a low shot past Omar Borg after a goalmouth melee.

Msida's attempts to redress the imbalance centred on long, vertical balls to robust strikers, Nwoke and Babatunde, and the odd overlap from Ousseni Zongo. But, the well-organised Sliema were rarely stretched beyond routine work.

Seven minutes from half-time, a slick move from the champions widened their cushion. Stefan Giglio, back in the fray after serving a one-match ban, lofted an excellent ball to Alex Muscat who raced clear on the right before serving Woods. The sweetly-struck volley from the Wanderers striker at the near post gave Borg no chance.

Late in the first half, Zongo had a clear sight of goal when the ball reached him on the right of Sliema's penalty area but his effort sailed wide of the far post.

Giglio should have put Sliema's minds at ease when the lively Bogdanovic set him clear with a perfect cut-back early in the second half. The former Malta midfielder elected to strike the ball first time but his central effort was fisted away by Borg.

Nine minutes into the second half, Sliema again missed a great chance to make it 3-0, Woods' shot from close range coming off the base of the post after receiving from Bogdanovic. The loose ball ran invitingly towards Woods but Farrugia threw his body in the way and averted the danger.

At the other end, Akanji kept Sliema's two-goal lead intact with crucial saves on Nwoke and a looping header from Babatunde, the latter meeting a free-kick from Sciberras.

Msida's hopes faded when Sliema increased their lead to 3-0. Ignoring unsuccessful claims of a penalty by the Saints for a handling infringement, Sliema were quick to break on the counter much to the delight of the rampaging Bogdanovic who sped through and curled the ball into the top-right corner.

Eleven minutes from time, Woods should have completed his hat-trick but his run was stopped by Borg.

The score became 4-0 five minutes from time, Bogdanovic poking the ball home from close range after jinking his way past the leaden-footed Msida defence.

On the stroke of time, Nwoke scored a consolation goal for Msida, pushing the ball over the line after his initial effort had taken a deflection off Akanji's sprawling body and onto the near post.

Msida: O. Borg-5, D. Theuma-5, S. Grima-5, M. Pullicino ('6 C. Sciberras-5.5), C. Micallef-5.5, T. Farrugia-6, P. Fenech-5 ('76 M. Valenzia), L. Micallef-5, I. Babatunde-6 ('63 S, Tagliaferro-5.5), D. Nwoke-6, O. Zongo-6.5.

Sliema: M. Akanji-6.5, A. Muscat-7, M. Di Lello-6.5 ('82 J. Farrugia), B. Said-6.5, D. Debono-6.5, N. Turner-6.5 ('82 D. Carabott), R. Bajada-6.5, I. Woods-7.5, O. Anonam-6 ('67 C. Mattocks-6), S. Giglio-6.5, D. Bogdanovic-7.5.

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Scorers: Woods 14, 38; Bogdanovic 69, 85; Nwoke 90.

Yellow Card: Bogdanovic.

BoV Player of the Match: Ivan Woods (Sliema Wanderers).