Football is all about goals.

A game could be keen and exciting but at the end if no goals are scored the fans are left unsatisfied. It is like having a good meal but no desert afterwards.

There is nothing like a big scoring game in football especially if the goals are more or less divided evenly between the two contestants.

I have witnessed a fair amount of such games. One match which I still recall was played on November 23, 1974 at the old Gżira stadium.

I looked up this game in my archives and found Robbie DeCesare’s excellent match report which appeared next day in The Times of Malta.

Reading through his report revived my memories of that fantastic afternoon when Sliema Wanderers and my home-town club, Hibernians, scored seven goals between them in one of the most exciting league matches in my recollection.

That season, Sliema and Hibs were not among the front-runners in the league. The protagonists that year were Valletta, Floriana and, surprisingly perhaps, St George’s.

In contrast, Hibs and Sliema were in need of points to climb to a safer place in the league table.

Seven goals in one game were a rarity even in those days when the game was much more open.

The encounter never reached great heights but it kept the crowd glued to their seats with excitement up to the final whistle.

At first, it seemed that Sliema were going to run away with the game. At the interval they were already leading 3-1 and if it were not for Hibs’ veteran goalkeeper Freddie Mizzi, the deficit would have been much bigger.

It took Sliema only 11 minutes to open the score. The move was started by Toninu Camilleri. The Malta striker crossed the ball to the other flank where Ritchie Aquilina was waiting to lob the ball over Mizzi and into the net.

Aquilina was the younger brother of Sliema Wanderers, Hibernians and Malta midfielder Edward Aquilina.

Ritchie Aquilina, unfortunately, died ten years ago when still in the prime of life.

Fourteen minutes later, the Wanderers doubled the score.

A through-pass by Ronnie Cocks to Camilleri and the latter ran past Tony Zerafa before crossing to the centre where Leli Fabri was waiting to hit the ball into the net.

Three minutes later, Hibernians reduced the score as Joe Muscat flicked the ball perfectly into the net from a Sunny Gouder free-kick.

Sliema reacted strongly to this setback. On and on they came, forging one attack after the other.

The crowd was on its feet with excitement but every time that Sliema went near to scoring there was Mizzi to foil their efforts.

However, two minutes from half-time Sliema restored their two-goal margin. Ritchie Aquilina delivered a perfect ball to David Azzopardi who shot into the corner of the net.

At half-time, Hibs made some positional changes which immediately drew dividends. The game had hardly restarted when a through-pass was deflected by a defender and Ernest Spiteri Gonzi darted in and slammed the ball home with a tremendous shot.

With the score 3-2, Hibs tried to turn the game in their favour and with Sliema struggling to keep pace they created a number of scoring chances.

Then, on the stroke of the hour came Hibs’ best chance. However, with the goal at their mercy, Muscat and Vella got into each other’s way before they could conclude.

A minute later, Cocks hit the side-rigging with a first-timer and in Sliema’s next attack, Lawrence Borg passed to Azzopardi who after beating the offside trap shot at goal but the Hibs’ goalkeeper made an excellent save.

But Sliema were not to be denied and from the corner, ‘Chippy’ Vella soared like a bird over friend and foe to head the ball home.

With the score standing at 4-2 for Sliema, it seemed to be all over for Hibernians. However, there was still some fight left in them and a minute from time a Bertu Mizzi cross was slammed into the net by Frans Mallia.

That was the last action of an entertaining game of football.