Plucky Msida frustrate Birkirkara

Msida St Joseph 0
Birkirkara 0

An excellent performance by goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo inspired struggling Msida to a goalless draw against Birkirkara as the Saints continued with their quest to amass as many points as possible before their likely participation in the Relegation Pool.

Msida's spirited performance coupled with a collective effort was enough to frustrate Birkirkara who were after maximum spoils to boost their own hopes of a top six finish at the end of the second round.

Birkirkara's silver lining to an otherwise gloomy afternoon was the return to first team action of former skipper Antoine Zahra after nearly two seasons on the sidelines, battling injury.

Man-of-the-match Priso Doding stole the show for Msida as his surging runs created several problems to the Birkirkara defenders. The Cameroon forward had an effort hitting the upright and in the dying seconds was denied by the excellent Omar Borg, in the Birkirkara goal.

The clock marked nine minutes when Birkirkara created their first chance that should have reaped an opener. Alan Tabone fed David Sylla on the right who immediately sent in a dangerous cross that was met by Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza but his header flashed wide.

Just past the 15th-minute mark, Sylla was quick to fire a curling shot on the half turn which shaved the crossbar.

The Stripes continued to create the better chances and Sylla beat Msida's off-side trap and tried to surprise Bartolo with an exquisite lob but the Msida goalkeeper retreated quickly to block the ball.

On the half hour, Tabone shrugged off his marker before curling a ball into the area where Sylla saw his effort well saved by Bartolo.

A minute later, the Msida goalkeeper was once again called into action as he managed to keep out a powerful shot from Mifsud Triganza who was set up by a neat backheel by Bajada.

At the other end, Priso stretched the Stripes' rearguard to its limit as he sprinted down the right before cutting a cross that was partially cleared. The ball again fell in his path but his shot was deviated to a corner.

In the closing minutes of the first half, Sylla powered his way inside the area but hesitated a second too long to try his luck at goal allowing the Saints rearguard to regroup and clear the danger.

On the stroke of half-time, a crafty interception by skipper Lino Galea enabled the Stripes defender to slot the ball towards the unmarked Mifsud Triganza just inside the box with the striker belting a thundering shot that rebounded off the post.

Msida almost took a surprise lead on 53 minutes. Doding burst his way into the area before whipping a low shot that had the better of Borg but luckily for the Birkirkara goalkeeper the ball came off the foot of the post.

With Birkirkara struggling to create inroads, coach John Buttigieg introduced Michael Galea in lieu of Sylla early in the second half with his counterpart Patrick Curmi quickly responding by drafting in Patrick Borg as he looked to add more stability to his defence.

Then on 68 minutes it was the turn of Zahra to make his much-waited return to first-team action when he replaced Tabone.

Zahra's inclusion almost produced an instant opener for Birkirkara as three minutes later his calibrated pass almost put Shaun Bajada clear through but the Birkirkara midfielder was anticipated by Bartolo who cleared the ball away.

With the match heading for a draw, Msida nearly stole a winner in the closing stages.

It was the 85th minute when Doding slalomed past two defenders before firing a rasping drive that forced an excellent point-blank save by Borg much to the relief of the Stripes clan.

Four minutes of added time failed to fuel any further drama as the Msida players were clearly delighted with the result at the final whistle.

Msida: M. Bartolo-7.5, P. Sciriha-6.5, C. Brincat-6.5, T. Farrugia-7, A. Spiteri-6.5, D. Cachia-6.5, A. Farrugia-6.5, R. Baldacchino-6 ('83 A. Formosa), P. Doding-8, G. Dos Santos-6 ('65 P. Borg-6.5), P. Dos Santos Calcado-6 ('77 L. Mizzi).

Birkirkara: O. Borg-7, R. Sammut-6, L. Galea-6.5, R. Hartvig-6, E. Yanchev-6, P. Fenech-6, G. Mallia-6.5, S. Bajada-7, A. Tabone-6.5 ('68 A. Zahra-6.5), J.P. Mifsud Triganza-6.5, D. A. Sylla-7 (64 M. Galea-6).

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: G. Dos Santos, Spiteri, Mallia, Sammut, Hartvig, Baldacchino.

BoV Player of the match: Priso Doding (Msida St Joseph).