Sliema Wanderers 0
Qormi 0
A poor run of two draws and a defeat to the start of their championship campaign had cranked up the pressure on Sliema Wanderers before this match. Qormi were also looking to put behind them a negative run of two consecutive defeats.
So, both teams were expected to go out for victory but in the end neither Sliema nor Qormi were able to savour success as this drab encounter ended goalless.
Boosted by a double substitution and some positional changes by coach Alfonso Greco, Sliema made amends for their low-key play in the opening 45 minutes to shake their opponents out of their comfort zone after the break but they were still unable to break Qormi’s defensive resilience.
Newcomer Kassy Guy Gnabouyou’s inclusion was one of three changes effected by Greco following the 3-1 defeat to Hibs in Sliema’s last outing as Mark Scerri and Luca Martinelli were awarded starting roles.
Qormi coach Josef Mansueto fielded an attack-minded line-up with Ryan Micallef starting as the team’s chief striker and Frank Temile and Alfred Effiong supporting him from the flanks.
Albert Bruce, Bjorn Bondin and Emerson Vella were back in the team as Roderick Sammut, Steve Agius and Joseph Chetcuti had to be content with a place on the bench.
Qormi almost took the lead with a cleverly worked free-kick on 22 minutes as Duncan Pisani switched the ball back to Temile whose teasing cross was met by Bruce who shot just wide.
It took 36 minutes for Sliema to seriously threaten the opposition when Michael Mifsud was left unmarked to head goalwards Gnabouyou’s cross at the far post. Zoran Levnaic, however, cleared into a corner.
Greco’s thoughts on Sliema’s performance at half-time were reflected in his bold decision to introduce newcomer Filippo Talato and Trevor Cilia at the expense of Andrea Pisanu and Mifsud respectively.
The changes left an immediate impact.
Talato forced Matthew Farrugia into a fine save to turn his drive around the post. Then, Cilia went close with a shot following some excellent footwork by Gnabouyou.
Scoring opportunities proved hard to come by as the two teams lacked fluency.
Sliema enjoyed a slight edge but Qormi gave little away at the back.
Ten minutes from time, Temile rifled wide for Qormi after cutting in from the left inside in a typical surging run but his final effort let him down.
One minute from time, the Wanderers had an excellent chance to grab all points when Cilia’s corner sparked a goalmouth scramble but Farrugia kept his eyes on the ball to avert danger from Talato’s attempt.
Sliema Wanderers
G. Zammit-6, L. Martinelli-5, M. Potezica-7, J. Mintoff-6, M. Scerri-6, M. Mifsud-5 (46 T. Cilia-6.5), A. Pisanu-5 (46 F. Talato-6.5), C. Gatt Baldacchino-5.5, K. Gnabouyou-6 (89 P. Xuereb), P. Barbetti-6, S. Bianciardi-6.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, J. Bondin-5.5, Anderson Santos-6, E. Vella-6, D. Pisani-6, B. Bondin-5.5, R. Micallef-5 (75 J. Chetcuti), Z. Levnaic-5.5, A. Bruce-6, A. Effiong-6 (90 S. Agius), F. Temile-6.
Referee: Philip Farrugia.
Yellow cards: Mifsud, Martinelli, Temile, Scerri, Levnaic, Barbetti.
BOV player of the match: Marco Potezica (Sliema).