QALA St. JOSEPH -2-   NADUR YOUNGSTERS -1-

Gozo Stadium                                                                                   14.09.2008

                    Holders Nadur Youngsters were eliminated from this year’s competition by Qala St. Joseph, assisted by very dubious decisions by the referee, to say the least. For this first match of the new season, Nadur fielded 8 local players, and had their main striker, Joseph M. Portelli on the substitute bench, due to a slight injury.  Debutant goalkeeper, Steve Sultana, had a good match for the Whites, marred only by his only mistake in the match (Qala’s second goal) while their two foreign players, Serbian Branislav Timotic and Bulgarian, Ivo Ginev left a good impression on their debut. Qala on their side fielded 2 ex-Nadur Youngsters players, Marcos Rogerio Secco and Chidi Eric Nwankwo, who together with goalkeeper Victor Agius (ex Għajnsielem) were making their debut.  They had their other signing, ex-Youngsters Charles Hili, missing from their line-up.

                     The match started with both teams looking to asses their opponent’s capabilities, with the first cross into the area coming from Qala’s Nwankwo, but his cross-shot went high.  S. Muscat for Nadur had a nice try from long distance going just wide and soon after I. Ginev shot high from close distance.  The match continued balanced, with the action of play mainly in the centre of the field.  On the 33 minutes, Nadur won a corner.  It was taken from the right by A. Simoncic and in the melee inside the Maroons area; the quickest to react was Jeffrey Meilak, who shot past the helpless Agius, to open the score for Nadur.  Qala’s reaction was immediate but slow.  On the 38th minute following a corner action, Qala, unbelievable were awarded a penalty.  A slight contact between Branislav and Nwankwo was harshly penalised by the referee, the 4th penalty given against Nadur by the same referee in 2 matches. Nadur protested vigorously, but in vain as the referee seems to have lost a bit his control. From the spot kick Ricardo Saverino, made no mistake.  On the 41st minute, Nadur were reduced to 10 men, when Aleksandar Simoncic was shown a direct red card following a debate with the referee.  2 minutes later in a heated argument near the left corner flag in the Nadur half, the referee had to show another 2 red cards, this time to Qala’s Ricardo Saverino and to the Youngsters Josef Buttigieg.  If anything for the record, Josef Buttigieg was NOT the player involved in the accident as he was down injured, but the referee’s decision stood.  Police had to intervene to calm down the situation.  During this accident the match was stopped for more then 4 minutes, but only 2 minutes of added time were given.

                     As expected, Qala came more aggressive after the break, and now with the wind blowing behind their backs they tried to push forward.  Nadur’s keeper was made to proof himself early, when a C.E. Nwankwo finished his solo action with a fine shot, which Sultana saved very well.  A nice action between Ginev and S. Muscat for Nadur ended with Secco clearing his lines.  The Youngsters keeper did well to stop a fine shot from close range by M. Bonello.  He showed good form again soon after, when he tipped over the bar the corner taken by M. Mifsud.  On the 68th minute, Brave keeper Sultana was surprised with a shot from Chidi Eric Nwankwo that ended behind him for Qala’s advantage.  Having a man less on the pitch and most of the decisions against them, Nadur failed to produce the reaction expected from them.  The same Sultana did very well to deny Qala their 3rd goal when he stopped superbly the shot by C.E. Nwankwo from close range.  Nadur had a nice action by F. P. Azzopardi that went solo but after dribbling 3 defenders he continued with his action and the ball was cleared.  The last effort came from Nwankwo, but again Sultana was well placed.

Referee:    Paul Caruana

Nadur Youngsters Formation: Steve Sultana; Jeffrey Meilak; Josef Buttigieg; Peter Buttigieg; Aleksandar Simoncic; Branislav Timotic; Frank Paul Azzopardi; Ivo Ginev; Anthony Portelli (Karol Mifsud); Shaun Muscat (Joseph M. Portelli); Saviour Attard.