Rabat Ajax 0
Melita 0
Melita and Rabat Ajax failed to improve their precarious positions at the lower end of the standings after cancelling each other out in a low-key encounter yesterday.
It was a poor performance from the two sides currently occupying the bottom two places as they only managed a lacklustre display that was riddled with a series of erratic passes and very little flair in the last third of the pitch.
No surprise, therefore, that at the end of the 90 minutes the two promoted teams this season looked happy to have settled for a point.
The Amateurs sorely felt the absence of forward Jose Luis Armaro Negrin, of Spain, and Serbian winger Jovan Vukanic as their forward play looked bereft of ideas with the result that striker Julian Galea lacked any kind of support.
Rabat never set any houses of fire either with the returning Nerijus Astrauskas failing to provide the cutting edge the Magpies had yearned for in their recent matches as they remained anchored at the bottom with no wins so far from 13 outings.
Melita coach Patxi Salinas was back on the bench after missing the team’s 3-0 defeat to Birkirkara due to suspension. Given the absence of Negrin, suspended, and Vukanic, who was nursing a knee injury, Salinas was forced to reshuffle his pack with Galea at the apex of a 4-3-1-1 formation and Nigel Rizzo playing just behind him.
The Magpies handed a recall to Gaetano Gesualdi. He filled in the void left by the departing Heiner Backhaus who was released earlier this week. Lithuanian Astrauskas shrugged off an ankle injury to start upfront but Yan Cauchi missed out with an ankle injury. He was replaced by Joseph Caruana.
After a dull opening, it was Silvio Vella’s Rabat who created the first scoring chance of the match when David Azzopardi curled the ball inside the Melita area but Astrauskas hit his header out of range.
Melita’s first attempt at goal arrived on 18 minutes. Michael Martin’s throughball released Galea whose volley was easily dealt with by Jonathan Azzopardi, the Rabat goalkeeper.
Scoring chances were very few and far in between as both teams struggled to create a semblance of flowing football. Indeed, poor distribution of the ball hampered both teams’ hopes of creating any openings.
Eight minutes from the break Rabat skipper Dylan Falzon almost profited from some hesitant defending from Melita’s Karl Vella Petroni. He unleashed a powerful volley that flashed wide of goal.
The match failed to pick up after the break and on the hour Salinas, clearly unhappy with his team’s showing, withdrew Luke Micallef and roped in Simon Galea.
Fuster finally threatened for Rabat when he chested the ball just outside the Melita box but his drive from an angle never troubled Matthew Sapiano in the Melita goal.
Sapiano was then forced to dive to his left to keep out Caruana’s fierce drive and, at the other end, George Gribbon served Galea after a quick counter break but the latter’s volley finished inside the side-netting after escaping his marker’s attention.
The Amateurs created the best chance of the second half on 76 minutes when substitute Galea burst clear and tried to round goalkeeper Azzopardi but Ivan Carapic recovered in time before the Melita striker could plant the ball inside the Rabat net.
Ten minutes from time, it was again Melita who went close when from a Tobias Terpougoff corner, Sierra Camacho directed his header over the bar from an ideal scoring position.
Late on, Astrauskas found space inside the Melita penalty area but lost his balance when challenged by Scicluna. The referee waved play on much to the chagrin of the Rabat players.
In the end the scoreless stalemate prevailed, a result that did little to help Rabat and Melita ease their worries in the drop zone.
Rabat Ajax
J. Azzopardi-5.5, G. Gesualdi-6, I. Carapic-6, J. Caruana-6.5, J. Felice-6 (90 C. Vella), N. Astrauskas-5, M. Fuster-6, D. Falzon-6, C. Brincat-5, D. Azzopardi-7, C. Gauci-6.
Melita
M. Sapiano-6, R. Alhinho-6.5, G. Gribbon-6, M. Martin-5.5 (76 A. Scicluna), N. Rizzo-6.5, J. Galea-6, M. Valenzia-5 (69 T. Terpougoff-5), L. Micallef-5 (60 S. Galea-6), K. Vella Petroni-5, L. Sammut-5, M. Sierra Camacho-5.5.
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow cards: Gesualdi, Vella Petroni, S. Galea, Scicluna.
BOV Player of the match: David Azzopardi (Melita).