Woods hands Wanderers hard-fought win

Sliema Wanderers 1
St George's 0

Title challengers Sliema Wanderers were forced to battle more than anticipated to lower the colours of newcomers St George's in the opening match of the 2006/07 Premier League yesterday.

On paper, the Wanderers were expected to find little difficulty in picking up their first three points of the season against opponents who were making their first appearance in the top flight after a number of years with many of their players having never graced the Ta' Qali turf before in their career.

But, the match turned out to be anything but a stroll for the Wanderers who were made to fight hard for the win. In the end, it had to be an Ivan Woods goal, early in the second half, that settled the issue in favour of the more quoted side.

Despite Czech newcomer Zdenek Svoboda's efforts in midfield, Sliema struggled to impose their superior technical quality as the Saints managed to close all avenues towards their goal.

The Cottonera team should be lauded for approaching this match with a positive frame of mind and coach Marco Gerada will certainly be encouraged by the performance of his players.

Both teams could bank on their strongest formation with Edward Aquilina, the Sliema coach, opting to leave out Roderick Bajada, Brian Said and Noel Turner who started on the bench.

Gerada made use of his best resources with Sulaiman Hammad, of Nigeria, partnering Brazilian Edoardo Do Nascimento. The latter, along with Renato Conceicao, were facing their former team-mates.

The stifling heat yesterday inevitably left its mark, particularly in the opening stages, as both sets of players found it difficult to produce any constructive play. The only attempts at goal came from long range shots that failed to pose any danger to either goalkeeper.

St George's were holding their own well with Do Nascimento and Hammad threatening the Blues' rearguard with their pace and strength.

One minute short of the half hour, Hammad released the sprinting Do Nascimento but Sliema goalkeeper Murphy Akanji was on the alert to avert danger.

Sliema kept hustling and bustling in midfield, trying to unlock the solid Saints defence, but their poor distribution in the last quarter of the pitch was foiling their bid to break the stalemate.

Their first real attempt at goal arrived eight minutes from half-time when Woods sent an inviting cross into the path of Stefan Giglio whose header finished just wide.

The first episode of controversy for the new season arrived barely a minute later when Lee Grima put Do Nascimento through. The Brazilian sped towards the Sliema goal and tried to dribble past Akanji just outside the area. He seemed to be thrown off balance by the Nigerian keeper and the weak shot was cleared off the line by Jeffrey Chetcuti.

St George's wanted a foul in their favour and demanded a red card for Akanji but the referee surprisingly waved play on.

Just before the break, the woodwork denied Sliema an opener.

From David Carabott's corner, Chucks Nwoko's dipping header was stopped by the upright before the ball was cleared away to safety.

During the break, Aquilina looked to add more energy to his midfield when Giglio, still trying to regain full fitness, was replaced by Noel Turner.

Sliema could not have hoped for a better start as barely four minutes after restart they finally forced a breakthrough.

Carabott's inswinging cross from the right found Woods unmarked in the area and the nippy forward headed the ball firmly past Bernard Paris, the St George's goalkeeper.

The goal inevitably eased Sliema's nerves and six minutes later Woods almost made it 2-0 when he raced through before sending a shot past Paris only for Conceicao to clear away the danger.

Right on the hour St George's came close to an equaliser when Heathcliff Schembri put Hammad clear, the Nigerian turned past Akanji but his shot was cleared in time by the alert Chetcuti.

At the other end, Nwoko picked up Woods whose firm drive finished over. On 66 minutes, Paris did well to keep out Carabott's rasping drive and 11 minutes from time another Carabott screamer forced Paris into a double save as the Blues looked to score a second goal that would kill their valiant opponents.

St George's refused to buckle and five minutes from time Schembri found substitute Steve Borda in the Sliema box but his header was blocked by Akanji.

Sliema: M. Akanji-6, A. Muscat-5.5 ('61 R. Bajada), M. Di Lello-6, C. Mattocks-6.5, D. Carabott-7, J. Chetcuti-6, I. Woods-6.5 ('86 J. Mintoff), I. Ciantar-6, C. Nwoko-6, Z. Svoboda-7.5, S. Giglio-5.5 ('46 N. Turner-6).

St George's: B. Paris-6.5, C. Brincat-6, R. Conceicao-7, E. Sevasta-6, A. Bonello-6 ('79 E. Degabriele), H. Schembri-6.5 ('88 L. Mizzi), J. Spiteri-6, S. Sciberras-6, L. Grima-6, E. Do Nascimento-7, H. Sulaiman-6.5 ('82 S. Borda).

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Scorer: Woods 49.

Yellow cards: Giglio, Brincat, Turner, Sciberras, Conceicao, Di Lello.

Player of the match: Zdenek Svoboda (Sliema Wanderers).

Next Matches

Today - 5 p.m. Marsa vs Msida; 7 p.m. Pietà vs Valletta.

Tomorrow - 8 p.m. Birkirkara vs Marsaxlokk.