Last-gasp goal saves Birkirkara

Birkirkara 1
Vukanac 90+3;
Vittoriosa Stars 1
Santos Silva 60;

The only common ground Birkirkara and Vittoriosa share at present is an ability to dismantle pre-season predictions.

The Stripes were highly-tipped to be title contenders on the eve of this campaign while for Vittoriosa Stars some bestowed a quick return to the first division. Both look in need of revision already.

Vittoriosa maintained their positive form of late with a merited point as Birkirkara escaped fatal punishment when Nikola Vukanac’s last-gasp header had the Stripes’ army roaring as much in relief as exaltation.

While it may too early to consider seriously either the possibility of Birkirkara retaining the Premier League title or the likelihood of Vittoriosa staying in the top-flight, the unexpected close encounter yesterday added more weight to the latter proposition.

For the moment the ambitions of each side are trapped by the statistics. Birkirkara are still running to standstill, five points behind Valletta, while Vittoriosa joined Hibs on the five-point mark.

Never changing a winning side, seems to be Winston Muscat’s credo as he decided to field the same starting formation which earned him the first win of the season last Sunday against Hibernians, leaving on the bench the returning Edison Carabay.

In a period where Birkirkara’s long injury list includes Trevor Cilia and long-term absentees Rowen Muscat and Alan Tabone, Paul Zammit must have been delighted to see Shaun Bajada back on the bench after his swift recovery from ankle injury.

The Stripes seemed uncomfortable at first, and on the 18th minute Andrew Decesare gave the ball away to Anthony Ewurum but Michael Fraser rushed off his line to clear the danger.

Birkirkara were enjoying more possession but the Stars had the first golden chance to score on the half-hour mark, when Jeffrey Chetcuti glanced just wide after pouncing on a half-hearted clearance.

But few moments later, the Stripes’ spirits were lifted visibly when Emiliano Lattes forced Simon Agius to dive to his right after he ended a weaving run across the penalty area with a powerful finish.

Ewurum and Carlos Campagnoli became increasingly influential, switching flanks to expose Angus Buhagiar’s lack of experience in the full-back position as Birkirkara’s overworked defence began to crack with the match approaching half-time.

In fact, on the 38th minute, the Brazilian made light of his giant frame with some fancy footwork on the left flank to cut inside and making room for a shot but the Birkirkara goalkeeper gathered his curling effort with ease.

Vittoriosa continued to excel and the second half began with a flowing three-man move with Leighton Grech shooting straight into the hands of Fraser.

In the 54th minute, Fenech cut inside and forced a good save from Agius.

Zammit’s thoughts on Birkirkara’s performance were reflected in his bold decision to introduce Bajada and Karl Pulo ten minutes into the second half.

But this double substitution failed to alter the flow of the contest as Grech and Jorge Santos Silva combine impressively with Vittoriosa taking a well-merited lead through Santos Silva on the hour mark.

Gasps of disbelief reverberated around the Birkirkara stand as the Brazilian pushed the ball home with a magical ‘no-look’ flick as he executed an incisive one-two with Grech.

The goal roused the lethargic Birkirkara into stepping up a gear as the momentum of the match shifted firmly in Birkirkara’s hands.

In the final minutes, Agius won a personal duel with Lattes, who hit the woodwork twice in the space of three minutes before the goalkeeper showed impressive reflexes to repel the Argentine’s first-time effort in the 86th minute.

Birkirkara were committing increasing numbers to every attack in an effort to snatch a late equaliser and the Stars might have profited but substitute Edison Carabay was denied by the post.

At the very death, however, just as tempers and nerves were fraying intolerably among the Birkirkara supporters, Agius’s resistance was finally broken.

When the Vittoriosa defence thought to have come to terms with Bajada’s tantalising free-kick, Vukanac arrived at speed to guide a header into the net.

More woes followed for the Stars as they ended the match with ten men after a clash with Joseph Zerafa.

Birkirkara
M. Fraser-6, R. Scicluna-6, A. Decesare-5 (77 T. Paris), J. Zerafa-5, S. Zahra-5 (55 K. Pulo), N. Vukanac-6.5, T. Vella-5 (55 S. Bajada-5), P. Fenech-5, E. Lattes-7, M. Galea-5, A. Buhagiar-5.

Vittoriosa S
S. Agius-6.5, C. Sammut-6, S. Pace-6, J. Chetcuti-6, C. Campagnoli-6.5, D. Cachia-6, K. Mifsud-6, J. Santos Silva-8 (88 C. Micallef), A. Ewurum-7, S. Wellman-6.5, L. Grech-7 (75 Edison Carabay).

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: Decesare, Zahra, Scicluna, Fenech.

Red card: Carabay (V) 90+4.

BOV player of the match: Jorge Santos Silva (Vittoriosa Stars).