Resurgent Spartans have last laugh in seven-goal thriller

Ħamrun Spartans 4
Sultana 56; Micallef 58; Comvalius 61; Spiteri 76
Marsaxlokk 3
Pereira 37, 60; Licari 51

Let's hope that the first Premier League match of 2009 is a taste of things to come.

Eager to put their early-season struggles behind them and start the New Year on a flying note, Marsaxlokk and Ħamrun Spartans hurled caution to the wind as they stormed into each other from the word go.

The product of their combined efforts was a pulsating encounter that produced seven goals, six of which came in a frenetic 25-minute spell in the second half with the Spartans having the last laugh after coming from two goals down to eclipse Marsaxlokk.

Goals are what make games entertaining and this one had plenty of them but the two coaches, especially Marsaxlokk's coach Patrick Curmi, will have been appalled by his team's abject defending as well as well as their lack of commitment in the middle.

A draw would probably have been a fairer result but the Spartans, who had the better of the early exchanges, will surely beg to differ after staging such a remarkable comeback.

The reward for their second victory on the trot is a leap of two places up the table as the Spartans have climbed above Marsaxlokk into seventh place, one point ahead of their vanquished opponents.

Steve D'Amato, the Ħamrun Spartans coach, named new signings Sylvano Comvalius and Florin Anton in the starting line-up for the team's first league assignment of 2009.

Comvalius, a Dutch striker, flanked veteran Stefan Sultana in attack while Anton, a Romanian defender, patrolled the left flank.

The inclusion of Comvalius meant that Gaetan Spiteri, back in the fray after serving a one-match ban in his side's 3-0 defeat of Sliema, had to make do with a place on the bench. Dylan Kokavessis was absent from the Spartans' 18-man squad.

Marsaxlokk coach Patrick Curmi had William Camenzuli and Clive Brincat taking up the two centre-half positions in the Blues' four-man defence.

Their forward line was led by Argentine striker Julio Alcorse and Brazilian Marcelo Pereira, the latter yet to prove his worth for Marsaxlokk since his move from Mqabba in the close season.

Marsaxlokk goalkeeper Reuben Debono was called upon to smother away a dangerous corner by Ryan Fenech in the early stages.

At the other end, striker Pereira spurned a glorious chance to put Marsaxlokk ahead when miscuing his shot from inside the area with only Ivan Casha to beat.

The Spartans played the more cohesive stuff in the initial exchanges. Referee Saviour Tanti waved away what looked like legitimate claims for a penalty from the Spartans when Ryan Fenech's drive from the edge of the box appeared to strike William Camenzuli's groping arms.

Fenech, yesterday given the onus to provide flair to the Spartans' midfield, produced a low shot that was blocked by the diving Debono.

Marsaxlokk were clearly struggling to cope with the physical threat of Comvalius and Sultana as well as the marauding of the likes of Ryan Fenech and Manolito Micallef.

Comvalius engineered the Spartans' best chance on 15 minutes when his powerful run took him to the byline from where he crossed low to the ummarked Sultana who hit wide from routine distance.

In a rare attack, Marsaxlokk threatened to nose ahead when Kevin Sammut made a good run down the right before lofting the ball towards Alcorse whose first-time volley flashed wide of the near post.

As the Spartans' early pressure fizzled out, Marsaxlokk upped the frequency of their incursions into the Ħamrun half with midfielder Christian Cassar at the heart of their best moves.

Nine minutes from half-time, Casha denied Marsaxlokk when palming Alcorse's firm header over the bar after the Argentine was first to Pereira's teasing cross. In no time, the Blues opened the scoring, Pereira gliding past Anton on the right of the Spartans' box before hitting a low shot that ricocheted off Casha's body and into the net.

The Spartans thought they had scored an immediate equaliser when Sultana towered above friend and foe to head Ryan Fenech's corner into the net but the Premier League's all-time top scorer was adjudged to have committed a foul as he rose to meet the ball.

Reprieved, Marsaxlokk quickly regained the initiative, Sammut slipping a through-ball to Cassar who poked the ball wide from close in. Moments later, Cassar delivered a swirling cross from a corner and Wellman's header came off Zoran Levnaic before the Spartans' defence cleared.

Debono, the Marsaxlokk goalkeeper, didn't appear for the second half, his place taken by Saviour Darmanin. The former Valletta goalkeeper soon had to deal with an awkward situation when Comvalius charged into Marsaxlokk's area and drifted to the right of the on-rushing Darmanin. Hamrun's Dutch forward attempted a cross-shot but Malcolm Licari, yesterday deployed at right-back, hooked the ball clear.

No more than a minute had passed when Comvalius was at it again, bursting past Camenzuli but out came Darmanin to close him down.

From the distinct possibility of drawing level, the Spartans found themselves 2-0 down on 51 minutes, Licari unleashing a rasping drive that flew into the top-left corner.

Marsaxlokk were in seventh heaven but anxiety creeped in their players when the Spartans halved the deficit five minutes later.

Comvalius, one of the Spartans' best players yesterday, evaded the attentions of the jittery Marsaxlokk defenders as he directed a cross from the left towards Sultana who chested the ball before firing a powerful shot that bulged the net.

Less than a minute later, the Spartans made it 2-2, Micallef ghosting past the Marsaxlokk defence down the right before hitting low past Darmanin.

The numerous Spartans fans were in raptures but the spurt of goals continued as Marsaxlokk regained the lead on the hour.

Poor defending was again the order of the day as Sammut's cross from the right soared past a posse of ball-watching players and into the path of Pereira who had all the time in the world to pick his spot and rifle a low shot past Casha.

This goal brought joy and relief to Marsaxlokk but not for long as barely a minute later, the Spartans levelled at 3-3.

Latching onto a shortly-taken free-kick by Ryan Fenech, Comvalius darted into the penalty area down the inside-right channel and swerved the ball past Darmanin from a rather tight angle.

Midway into the second half, Sultana, such a loyal servant to Ħamrun, made way for Spiteri. The latter made an instant impact on the game as he edged the Spartans ahead for the first time 14 minutes from time.

Marsaxlokk's lack of bite in midfield proved to be their undoing as the dynamic Ryan Fenech easily dispossessed Alcorse and served Spiteri who glided past Brincat and steered a low shot past Darmanin.

It was the turn of the Blues to be stung into action and they would have equalised but for three saves by Casha from efforts by Sammut, Pereira and substitute Mark Barbara.

Three minutes from time, Marsaxlokk received a glimmer of hope when Ħamrun defender Roderick Fenech was shown a straight red card for use of foul language after taking issue with the referee's decision to whistle a foul against him after he blocked Licari's run. However, there was little time left for Curmi's troops to make their numerical superiority count.

Ħamrun Spartans
I. Casha-6, M.A. Bonnici-5 ('81 A. Attard), D.A. Cucciardi-5.5, Z. Levnaic-5, S. Comvalius-7.5, Rod. Fenech, S. Meilak-5, Ryan Fenech-7 ('90 L.J. Agius), S. Sultana-6 ('67 G. Spiteri-6), A. Florin-6, M. Micallef-6.5.

Marsaxlokk
R. Debono-6.5 ('46 S. Darmanin-3), M. Licari-6, G. Sciberras-5.5, K. Sammut-6, J. Alcorse-5 ('76 M. Barbara), S. Wellman-4 ('61 R. Conceicao-5), W. Camenzuli-4, C. Brincat-4, M. Pereira-7, C. Mattocks-4, C. Cassar-6.

Referee: Saviour Tanti.

Yellow cards: Camenzuli; Cassar; Bonnici; Micallef; Conceicao.

Red card: Roderick Fenech (Ħ) 87.

BoV player of the match: Ryan Fenech (Ħamrun Spartans).