Alcorse penalty saves Marsaxlokk

Msida St Joseph 1
Da Silva 59
Marsaxlokk 1
Alcorse 71 pen.

Julio Alcorse salvaged a point for nine-man Marsaxlokk when scoring a penalty against a battling Msida St Joseph yesterday.

The 1-1 draw was a fair outcome to a hard-fought encounter that came to life after the break.

Following a drab first half, in which neither side managed to impose territorial supremacy, the second period was a different story as the two teams tore into each other and no fewer than three players were shown the red card.

Msida seemed on their way to a valuable win when Andre Rocha Da Silva put them ahead on the hour. However, Marsaxlokk laid siege to their opponents' goal and their efforts were rewarded 19 minutes from time when Alcorse hit home from a penalty to avoid what would have been a costly defeat in the running for a top-six berth.

Msida coach Patrick Curmi restored his Brazilian trio to the starting formation. Pedro Calcado and Marcos Aurelio were declared fit to start while Da Silva returned from suspension.

Marsaxlokk coach Brian Talbot dropped goalkeeper Saviour Darmanin. He was replaced by Reuben Debono. Defender Renato Conceicao was out with a knee injury while Carlo Mamo and William Camenzuli were serving a one-match ban.

Alcorse could have given Marsaxlokk a headstart.

Pouncing on some hesitant Msida defending from a corner, the Argentine fired over from routine distance. However, after that early chance, the southerners failed to attain any kind of continuity in their game.

Msida created their first real chance on 27 minutes when Aurelio evaded his marker before firing a shot that was deflected away for a corner. Marsaxlokk responded soon after but Claude Mattocks's drive never reached the desired target.

Chances remained few and far between with Msida forced to make their first substitution three minutes from the interval when Aurelio came off with knee trouble. He was replaced by Chris Camilleri.

A minute later, Alcorse was put through on goal by Malcolm Licari but the Argentine's finished wide.

Marsaxlokk soon came close to breaking the stalemate after the restart. Only two minutes had passed when Stephen Wellman slid the ball towards Pereira whose grounder was parried by Matthew Camilleri. From the loose ball, Kevin Sammut's shot was cleared off the line by Tyrone Farrugia.

On 51 minutes, Calcado was lucky to remain on the pitch after making a robust challenge on Wellman. The Brazilian sighed with relief when he was only shown a yellow card.

Eight minutes later, Msida moved ahead. Kurt Magro released the sprinting Da Silva who had the better of Debono with a calibrated shot.

Mattocks almost restored equilibrium a minute later but his volley flew just over.

At the other end, Camilleri was a whisker away from doubling Msida's lead but his angled drive flashed just wide.

Talbot sought to add impetus to his team's attacking play when he withdrew Pereira for Mark Barbara.

On 65 minutes, Cassar's swerving free-kick looked destined to hit the net but Msida's Andrew Spiteri cleared the ball away for a corner.

Marsaxlokk got back on level terms on 71 minutes when Barbara was floored in the box by Tyrone Farrugia and a penalty was awarded. Referee Kevin Azzopardi sent the Msida defender off after ruling that his foul had denied Msida a clear scoring opportunity.

Alcorse's shot from the spot rolled beneath the diving Matthew Camilleri and into the net.

Numerical parity on the pitch was restored 13 minutes from time when Said's tough tackle on Adrian Farrugia earned him a second booking. A minute later, the woodwork denied Marsaxlokk a second goal on Alcorse's piledriver.

Marsaxlokk were reduced to nine men five minutes from time when Wellman was also dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Three minutes from time, Debono came to Marsaxlokk's rescue when he pushed away Magro's shot.

Msida
M. Camilleri-6.5, S. Grima-6, A. Spiteri-7, S. Vella-6, T. Farrugia, A. Farrugia-6.5, A. Da Silva-8, D. Cachia-6 ('74 K. Mifsud), M. Aurelio-5.5 ('42 C. Camilleri-6), P. Calcado-7, K. Magro-6.5.

Marsaxlokk
R. Debono-6, M. Licari-6.5, G. Sciberras-6, B. Said, K. Sammut-6.5, J. Alcorse-7, S. Wellman, C. Brincat-5.5, M. Pereira-4.5 ('63 M. Barbara-6), C. Mattocks-6.5, C. Cassar-6.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: Magro; Mattocks; Said; Calcado; Wellman.

Red cards: T. Farrugia (MSJ) 72; Said (M) 77; Wellman (M) 85.

BoV player of the match: Andre Rocha Da Silva (Msida).