Ciantar adds to Stripes' woes

Sliema Wanderers 1
M. Ciantar 62
Birkirkara 0

Birkirkara's recent slump continued yesterday after crashing to a third successive defeat when they were beaten by Sliema Wanderers in a drab encounter at the National Stadium.

The Stripes, touted among the championship challengers up to a few weeks ago, were again well below par as they failed to leave their mark in a match against an efficient Sliema team that showed fresh enthusiasm and fully deserved to take the points.

Miguel Ciantar was the outstanding performer for the Blues. The young forward not only scored the winning goal but also showed great ability with his constant running, leaving the Stripes struggling to keep him under check.

Thanks to this victory, the Blues have strengthened their grip on fourth place and are now just two points behind Birkirkara.

Coach John Buttigieg had Shaun Bajada and Ron Hartvig back for Birkirkara but Angus Buhagiar missed out with ankle trouble.

Sliema coach Stephen Azzopardi was boosted by the return from injury of Ian Azzopardi but Mark Scerri, Branco Nisevic and reserve goalkeeper Simon Agius were still not 100 per cent fit to play.

The match was devoid of goalmouth action in the early stages and we had to wait until the 22nd minute for the first attempt at goal.

That came from Sliema's Alex Muscat. He saw his shot from the distance excellently saved by Omar Borg, the Birkirkara goalkeeper.

Two minutes later, Borg dived to his right to push away Roderick Bajada's delivery from a free-kick.

The Wanderers came agonisingly close to forge ahead on 28 minutes when Woods's backheader, from Bajada's free-kick, looked destined to hit the net only for team-mate John Mintoff to miscue his tap-in from routine distance.

Birkirkara finally threatened on 35 minutes when Trevor Cilia's dipping throughball put Krasen Valkov clear but the Bulgarian fired over with only Henry Bonello to beat.

A minute later, Azzopardi was forced to make his first change when Victor Coto limped off injured. He was replaced by Matthew Bartolo. Then, it was the turn of Birkirkara to effect their first change when Joseph Zerafa was replaced by Martin Anastasi.

Chances were at a premium with neither side showing flair to create any decent openings and it was no surprise that at the interval it was still goalless.

Birkirkara looked an improved lot after the interval and on 46 minutes Hartvig was first to a Shawn Bajada corner but his header fell off target.

At the other end, Muscat sped past two defenders before firing a rasping drive that was pushed away by Borg. Bartolo should have done better for Sliema on 59 minutes when he found himself in ample space but fired wide.

Buttigieg looked to boost his attacking charge by withdrawing Valkov for Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza.

But it was the Wanderers who finally found a breakthrough when from a swift break, Bajada's perfect ball put Miguel Ciantar through and the young Sliema forward hit home past Borg.

Three minutes later Sliema almost added a second when Miguel Ciantar's drive beat Borg but came off the upright. From the rebound Mintoff tapped the ball home. However, the 'goal' was annulled for offside.

Sliema were again close on 77 minutes when Turner served the steaming Miguel Ciantar and the Wanderers' forward turned past Borg but saw his effort cleared off the line by Hartvig.

Late on, Bartolo should have wrapped up the points for Sliema but shot wide from close in as the Blues ended the match with ten men when Jeffrey Chetcuti was shown a second yellow card for dissent.

Sliema Wanderers
H. Bonello-6, A. Muscat-6.5, I. Azzopardi-6, M. Ciantar-8 ('88 J. Vella), J. Chetcuti, I. Woods-6, L. Dronca-6.5, I. Ciantar-6, V. Coto-5 ('36 M. Bartolo-7), R. Bajada-7.5, J. Mintoff-5 ('72 N. Turner).

Birkirkara
O. Borg-6, T. Cilia-5.5, R. Hartvig-5, I. Sokolov-5, P. Fenech-6, G. Mallia-6.5, S. Bajada-5, J. Zerafa-5 ('37 M. Anastasi-5), J. Holland-5 ('69 K. Mihaylov-4), M. Galea-5, K. Valkov-5 ('60 J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Sokolov, Fenech, Borg.

Red card: Chetcuti (S) 90.

BoV Player of the match: Miguel Ciantar (Sliema Wanderers).