Nadur Youngsters FC | Holders in the Final

Holders in the Final

Sunday, 09 September 2007 16:40

INDEPENDENCE CUP SEMI FINAL

VICTORIA HOTSPURS -1- NADUR YOUNGSTERS -3-

Gozo Stadium 09.09.2007

Holders Nadur Youngsters forced their way into the Final of the Independence Cup. They managed to have the better of Victoria Hotspurs in extra time, after the match ended 1-1. Both sets of players tried to play attacking football but the defenses had the better of the attackers. This will be the Nadur’s 4^th consecutive Final, winning the last 3. Nadur had Chidi Eric Nwankwo back in their ranks.

The match started with Hotspurs trying their luck with a fine shot by J. Portelli that ended just over the bar. Nadur replied with a shot by C. E. Nwankwo that Grima saving his shot with difficulty. Nwankwo should have done better when he found himself face to face with Grima, but placed the ball just wide. Play became confused and confined to the center of the pitch for some time. Out of the blues N. Borg tried a long range shot that ended high above Xuereb’s posts. A free kick by C. Camilleri hit the post with the ball coming towards Nwankwo, who headed towards goal, but the ball was cleared on the goal line. The clearance was short and Nwankwo was again denied by the post. Nadur were pressing for goal now and from a C. Camilleri’s corner P. Buttigieg’s overhead kick was saved by Grima into another corner. No goals at half time.

The second half saw Nwankwo playing a one-two with A. Portelli but the ball was cleared in time by the Reds defense. F. Bassi saw his free kick going just wide. A nice action between Nwankwo and C. Camilleri ended with Grima again saving for a corner. From the resultant corner, taken again by C. Camilleri, Marcos Rogerio Secco beat his marker in the air to head home his first goal for Nadur Youngsters. Soon after F. P. Azzopardi found A. Portelli who in turn found J. M. Portelli with a beautiful cross, but the latter’s try just missed the post. The Hotspurs reaction came late in the match and with 5 minutes on the clock left, they managed to get the equalizer. A Saverino’s free kick was headed by Noel Borg, past the helpless Xuereb into the Youngsters net. Nadur tried hard to take the lead again but they only managed a couple of consecutive corners that were always saved with some difficulty by the Hotspurs rearguard, one of them cleared off the fatal line. . The final whistle of the referee found no winner, so the match had to go into extra time.

Final Score after 90 minutes

As expected, Nadur came all out, and they managed to take the lead after only 90 seconds. A free kick taken by Chris Camilleri provoked havoc in the Hotspurs area; Nwankwo passes to substitute Charles Hili whose powerful shot from outside the area, ended behind Grima. Once in the lead Nadur hesitated and Xuereb had to be at his best to save a shot by S. Bassi into a corner, with the ball bouncing of the bar. The Reds again hit the bar from a J. Portelli free kick. Play remained the same even after the change of ends, with Hotspurs having more possession and the Youngsters defending. On the 115 minute Nadur sealed the issue. On a counter attack, J. Buttigieg perfect long range cross into the patch of Chris Camilleri who had no difficulty beating Grima for the third time. Xuereb then denies J. Portelli and Grima superbly denies D. Odovic the satisfaction of goal.

Nadur Youngsters will now face neighbors Qala St. Joseph in the final, to be played on Independence Day, the 21^st of September. A 10-man Qala managed to have the better of Ghajnsielem, with the penalty lottery (4-2), after a goalless 120 minutes. But before that day, Nadur and Qala will meet on Sunday the 16^th for League commitments.

Final Score After Extra Time

Referee: Andre Arciola

Nadur Youngsters Formation: Jonathan Xuereb; Peter Buttigieg; Dejan Odovic; Marcos Rogerio Secco; Anthony Portelli (Karol Mifsud); Joseph M. Portelli; Josef Buttigieg; Chidi Eric Nwankwo; Frank Paul Azzopardi (Charles Hili); Jeffrey Meilak; Chris Camilleri.