BIRKIRKARA 2 QORMI 2
Birkirkara fought back to rescue a point against Qormi in what turned out to be a match with a crescendo for Paul Zammit’s troops.
On the back of their recent lively displays, Birkirkara were expected to start the game at full throttle but it was Qormi who were the brighter side early on.
Yet, goalmouth action was hard to come by in the opening exchanges and boredom was finally broken when the referee pointed to the spot after Zornan Levnaic was harshly adjudged to have handled a cross by Joseph Zerafa. The Qormi fans felt justice was done when Matthew Farrugia did superbly to stop Shola Shodiya Haruna’s effort from the spot.
Referee Sandro Spiteri, who had come in for some strong criticism from the Qormi fans in the opening exchanges, was again the centre of attention five minutes from the break as he awarded another penalty this time on the other side when Nikola Vukanac stopped a cross inside the Birkirkara box but the ball swirled up and came off his hand. From the ensuing kick, Alfred Effiong coolly sent Justin Haber the wrong way.
Birkirkara’s bright start to the second half was typified by a menacing Edward Herrera’s shot that crossed against the crossbar with Farrugia beaten on 48 minutes.
It took Qormi a while to handle that early pressure but as Birkirkara hit a purple patch, Effiong punished their flat-out approach with a devastating counter-attack.
Defender Mauricio Mazzetti failed to close down Gustavo Villalobos’s through pass with the consequence that the ball rolled in the Birkikara area. A burst of pace from Effiong saw him through to reach the ball before slotting the ball behind the onrushing Haber.
Albeit sporadically, Birkirkara tried to play the game as it should be, one-touch on the ground when in possession but substitute Nassir Maachi, brought on for Zach Muscat, failed to make a decent contact with Camenzuli’s low cross after some good work by Joseph Zerafa on the left channel.
But the Dutch striker soon made amends as he cut the deficit with a delightful low shot from just outside the area after receiving from Camenzuli.
Reinvigorated by Maachi’s sharp movement, Birkirkara should have equalised eight minutes from time but Ledesma’s effort rolled just wide the base of the post following a deflection by Farrugia.
The inevitable was only delayed, however, as from the ensuing corner, Ledesma’s corner dropped to Vukanac inside the box who headed the ball into the path of Haruna to slot the ball home.