Brave Effort Not Enough

S. K. Victoria Wanderers -0- Nadur Youngsters -0-

25.10.08                                                                                                                                                                         Gozo Stadium

          Nadur Youngsters did everything but put the ball in the net in a very interesting match against one of the league leaders, S. K. Victoria Wanderers.  Nadur dominated for most of the match, as the Wanderers opted to defend and try to catch the Whites with quick counter attacks.  The Citizens had a player sent off 5 minutes before half time, but Nadur failed to take advantage from this extra man on the pitch.  Has it become a psychological problem for Nadur??  They seem to have improved in their tactical and technical play, but they are finding it hard to get the ball into their opponents net.  

          In the first minute, Nadur had a good opportunity when A. Portelli opted to cross instead of trying his luck when he beat his marker and went solo into the area.  Nadur kept their pressure on and a nice action involving A. Portelli, J. Buttigieg and J. M. Portelli ended with the latter miss kicked the ball.  The Wanderers had a long range shot by I. Adesina which was easily controlled by Sultana.  The same player had another try, this time from a better position that ended wide.  I. Ginev’s cross was met by A. Portelli but his shot was blocked with the rebound coming into the onrushing J. M. Portelli but again his shot was blocked by Mercieca.  I. Adesina’s free kick ended well over the bar.  The pressure that Nadur were putting on the Wanderers defence nearly paid its dividend when Mercieca made a reflex save on a J. M. Portelli close range shot when the latter was unmarked by an I. Ginev’s cross.  An A. Simoncic’s corner was headed just over by A. Portelli.  Again I. Ginev was the provider of a cross to J. M. Portelli, but his first time shot just missed the post.  In another counter attack by the Blues, Nadur’s goalkeeper anticipated I. Adesina to clear the danger.  Sultana had no problems to control a free kick by Simon Gatt, seconds before the same player was sent off following a very dangerous foul on J. Meilak. 

          The second half started on the same pattern of play, although Nadur were not as aggressive as the first.   A cross from the left by J. Buttigieg was badly taken by J. M. Portelli, with the blues defence clearing the danger with some difficulty.  The first

Attempt on the Youngsters for this second half came from a free kick by M. Grech which I. Adesina headed high.  Sultana then blocked well the shot by I Adesina following a through pass by W. Akande.  A. Simoncic found substitute S. Muscat whose effort was cleared by M. Buttigieg. J. Meilak tried his luck with a fine try that finished just over.   The Citizens had another header by I. Adesina that went wide following a free kick by F. Magrin.   A. Simoncic hit wide and I. Ginev had a try that ended well wide.   A. Portelli beat two defenders and passed the ball to S. Attard, but the latter’s first timer miss the target by a few centimetres.   Nadur kept pressing for the winner but A. Portelli hesitated a second too long and the danger was cleared by J. Refalo.  In vain were Nadur’s protests for a penalty when Portelli was felled in the area.  Smelling it was not to be the Youngsters day, the Blues tried to steal all 3 points when W. Akande’s long range shot was punched clear by Sultana with some difficulty.  The final whistle found the match scoreless with the Wanderers maybe happier with the result.  They are now leading the table with 8 points from 5 matches followed by Sannat Lions (4 matches) and Victoria Hotspurs (3 matches) on 7 points.  Nadur stay anchored in the bottom with 2 points from 5 matches, but this was their first clean sheet of the season.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi

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