Tenacious Spartans stun Marsaxlokk

Marsaxlokk 0
Hamrun Spartans 1

Hamrun Spartans caused the biggest upset of the 2007-08 season so far when yesterday, they beat champions Marsaxlokk in a highly entertaining match.

Gaetan Spiteri's first-half goal was enough to give the newly-promoted Spartans their second win of the season, in the process putting an end to Marsaxlokk's perfect start to the season following two successive wins.

The Spartans fully deserved to leave the National Stadium with all three points as they were clearly the better team on the day. They outplayed the reigning champions for long stretches and, had they been sharper in front of goal, Hamrun's winning margin would surely have been bigger.

The southerners, for their part, were a shadow of the team that coasted to comfortable victories in their first two matches of the season. Brian Talbot's men struggled to impose themselves on the match and it was only in the final stages that they put the Spartans under pressure in search of an equaliser.

Marsaxlokk certainly need to step up their game if they are to have a realistic chance of successfully defending their title.

Talbot, the Marsaxlokk coach, was boosted by the news that midfielders Gareth Sciberras and Andre Rocha Da Silva had been declared fit to start on the bench. Skipper Carlo Mamo was the only notable absentee for Marsaxlokk as he is still recovering from a groin injury.

Hamrun coach Marco Gerada promoted

U-18 goalkeeper Julian Mallia to the senior squad yesterday after veteran Sean Sullivan broke an arm and is likely to be out for eight weeks.

Michael Falzon was again given the responsibility of guarding the Spartans' goal while newcomer Mark Anthony Bonnici was named among the substitutes as Gerada stuck with the same line-up that lost 3-0 to Sliema.

The Spartans hit the ground running and after only four minutes, Spiteri astutely released Steve Meilak. The Malta U-21 international looked certain to score but was denied by a providential tackle from Malcolm Licari.

Gerada's men kept up the tempo and deservedly broke the stalemate after 11 minutes. Ryan Fenech's cross from a corner whizzed past the Marsaxlokk defence as Spiteri nipped in to stab the ball past Reuben Debono.

Marsaxlokk hit back immediately and almost equalised within two minutes of Hamrun's opener. Steve Wellman's cross sailed towards the unmarked William Camenzuli whose first-time volley went just over.

Marsaxlokk were slowly gaining the upperhand as the Spartans adopted a counter-attacking strategy, knowing that the pace of Spiteri and Alfred Effiong could hurt their opponents.

On 27 minutes, John Debattista sprinted down the right channel before crossing for Spiteri who headed just wide.

Four minutes later, Marsaxlokk's Brazilian striker Wendell Gomes fed Camenzuli who made his way into the area but his low shot skimmed the upright with Falzon beaten.

Eight minutes from the break, Effiong used his body strength to dispossess Wellman before serving Rupert Mangion whose chip finished just wide.

The Spartans were showing good organisation at the back with Precious Monye using all his experience to snuff out the Marsaxlokk forwards.

Hamrun should have doubled their lead two minutes before the break when Meilak turned past Licari before squaring the ball towards Effiong who hit wide in front of a gaping goal.

On the resumption, Marsaxlokk intensified their efforts to restore parity. On 48 minutes, Gomes swung over a dangerous ball towards Camenzuli whose diving header was well blocked by Falzon.

Six minutes later, the Spartans missed another golden opportunity to kill the game. Meilak again powered through down the left but his cross was too strong for the on-rushing Effiong. Just past the hour, Mangion tried his luck from the distance but his shot finished just over.

Frustration was growing among the Marsaxlokk players amid their struggles to pose any danger to the Spartans defence. On 63 minutes, Talbot sought to add more thrust to his team's attacking moves when he brought on Da Silva for Kevin Sammut.

Eighteen minutes from time, Gomes found space in the Spartans' penalty area but completely miscued his shot. Then, Cleaven Frendo came close with a rasping shot from a free-kick that flew just wide of the upright.

Five minutes from time, Falzon did well to dive to his right to parry Camenzuli's piledriver as Marsaxlokk raised the pressure in the dying minutes.

However, with three minutes of the game remaining, Hamrun midfielder Mangion found himself in ample space only to fire wide.

Mangion's miss was quickly forgotten as a few minutes later, the referee's final whistle confirmed the Spartans' surprise victory over the champions.

Marsaxlokk: R. Debono-6, M. Licari-5.5, R. Conceicao-6, S. Wellman-5, C. Magro-5.5, C. Frendo-6 ('82 M. Barbara), J. Pace-6, P. Pullicino-5.5, W. Gomes-5, K. Sammut-5.5 ('63 A. Da Silva-6), W. Camenzuli-7.

Hamrun: M. Falzon-6.5, P. Monye-7, E. Briffa-6 ('60 K. Borg-6), Roderick Fenech-6.5, S. Meilak-6.5 ('84 D. Cucciardi), Ryan Fenech-7, J. Debattista-6, R. Mangion-7.5, B. Timotic-6.5, G. Spiteri-7.5, A. Effiong-5.5 ('65 M.A. Bonnici-5.5).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Scorer: Spiteri 11.

Yellow Cards: Camenzuli; Ryan Fenech; Meilak; Roderick Fenech; Wellman; Monye; Frendo.

BOV Player of the Match: Gaetan Spiteri (Hamrun).