Floriana hold Hajduks to a draw

In the 1960s, I spent many a pleasant summer evening at the Paola Band Club listening to old-timers telling their tales of famous football matches.

I can trace my love for the game and its history back to those good old days when everything seemed so fresh and romantic.

Many were the tales recounted but somehow, their memory would always reel back to the Hajduks tourney of 1925.

Hajduks enjoyed a great reputation in Malta and were billed as the 'champions of Europe'. They left a great impression with the Maltese who were not used to the continental style of football.

Hajduks played the short pass to perfection and although better and more famous foreign teams visited the islands later on, the Maltese never forgot the magicians from the former Yugoslavia. According to my friends, no other team could switch the ball from one player to another with the skill, speed and precision of the Hajduks.

During their stay in Malta, Hajduks played five games, winning one, losing one and drawing the other three.

Hajduks drew 1-1 with Sliema Wanderers. Then they lost 3-2 to the Pick Navy.

They drew 0-0 with Floriana and 2-2 with the Army before losing 3-1 to the MFA XI.

Hajduks were certainly great ball artists but were uncomfortable with the vigorous British type of football the Maltese used to play.

The fair but robust game of the Maltese and British Service teams put them off their stride and although their football was pretty to watch, it did not reap them many dividends.

The only team that dared to play the short passing game against the Hajduks was Floriana. The Greens had a long tradition of playing the Scottish style of football which relied more on skill and accurate passing of the ball than the bustling type of direct football preferred by the English.

The game between Hajduks and Floriana did not produce any goals but from a purist point of view, it delivered the best football of the tourney.

Despite the game being played on a Thursday afternoon, the Hajduks' popularity was such that hours before the game a large crowd had already assembled outside the Empire Sports Ground.

The weather was all that one could wish for and the ground was in an excellent condition, making it easy for the two teams to keep the ball on the ground. And what a game it turned out to be!

Floriana were the first to settle down. They pushed forward in search of an early goal but the visitors' rearguard defended well.

As the first half progressed, Hajduks seemed to get the feel of the hard pitch of the Empire. Their passing became more accurate and applying their characteristic triangular movement, they 'waltzed' their way nearer and nearer to the Greens' penalty area.

The Greens were more direct in their play. They tried a couple of long-range shots but the Hajduks goalkeeper was up for the challenge. Then, just before half-time, Floriana were awarded a penalty.

Salvu Tabone, who had an awesome reputation as a penalty-scorer, took the kick. Taking a long run, Tabone drove the ball to one side of the goalkeeper but although Gazzara did not see it coming, he stretched an arm and somehow managed to tip it over the bar.

The second half was a delight to watch. Both sides went forward in search of the elusive goal that would have given them victory.

There were many fine moves in the centre of the pitch as first one team and then the other, tried to open up the opposing defence.

A goal always seemed to be in the offing but somehow it never came and when referee P.O. Chowey, of the Royal Navy, blew the final whistle, the scoresheet was still blank.

There was, however, a general consensus among the spectators at the Empire that this was the best game of the tourney and the best performance of the famous Hajduks in Malta.

Of course, one must not forget the positive contribution of Floriana who matched the Yugoslavs all the way.