Birżebbuġa 0
Gudja 4
After a drab opening 45 minutes, where both sides failed to deliver the goods, the game exploded in the second half with Gudja United running the show and not only secure a handsome win but now are only two points behind leading trio Pietà Hotspurs, Lija Athletic and Marsaxlokk.
The Division One championship is turning into a close affair with only three points seperating the top seven teams in the standings.
Gudja’s second half performance was magnificent yesterday and inspired by Radoslav Kovachev and Ivan Kurtusic they put Birżebbuġa to the sword.
There were no goal-scoring opportunities in the first half and the only noteworthy opportunity came on eight minutes when Bulgarian striker Kiril Aleksandrov’s shot was saved by Ivan Casha.
Birżebbuġa responded just before the break through a Vinicius Pereira Dos Santos weak header.
Gudja were a revitalised side in the second half. After 50 minutes Alan Abela’s drive was saved by Casha.
But the turning point came when Gudja scored two goals in the space of a minute which changed the game.
On 52 minutes Keith Bonello was served by George Chircop and the Gudja player hit a piledriver that gave no chance to Casha.
A minute later, it was Kurtusic who unleashed a powerful drive that came off the bar and bounced beyond the goal-line with assistant referee Alex Grech signalling to the referee to award the goal.
The Saints were now dead and buried and on the hour Gudja put the game to bed when Peter Paul Sammut stole the ball in the Birżebbuġa half and beat the onrushing Casha with a perfect lob.
Gudja continued to venture forward and it was no surprise that they scored a fourth on 90 minutes when substitute Cosmin Anton slotted the ball home from close in.
Birżebbuġa: I. Casha, R. Mintoff, G. Tanti, K. Borg, F. Peplow, P. Camilleri, V. Pereira Dos Santos, J. Farrugia (M. Pullicino), M. Mifsud, Z. Vuckovic, T. Mazzitelli.
Gudja: M. Xerxen, R. Buhagiar, A. Abela (C. Anton), J. Tonna, R. Kovachev, E. Vella, K. Bonello, G. Chircop (F. Owusu), I. Kurtusic (E. Bugeja), P.P. Sammut, K. Aleksandrov.
Referee: Andre Arciola.
Man of the match: Radoslav Kovachev (Gudja).