Matchday 6

Nadur Youngsters - 6 vs Sannat Lions - 2

by Saviour Attard -

Nadur Youngsters crushed Sannat lions 6-2  yesterday at the Gozo Stadium to go top of the table with 12 points.The whites were trailing by two goals but provided an impressive comeback in the second half, scoring six goals with Cadu on the scoresheet for three times.Other goals from Anthony Portelli,Kyle Russell and Saviour Attard completed the rout over the reigning Champions.

In the first half  Nadur provided a poor display and rarely threatened  to score as  Sannat could have grabbed a stronger lead.The Lions started on the attack and after 22 minutes John Camilleri shot wide from an angled position. Camilleri turned provider few minutes later when he entered the Nadur area and passed back towards an unmarked Nikolai Filipov, who concluded wide. Sannat opened the score on the half hour mark.Filipov won a scuffle with Simoncic in the air and headed towards De Andrade who unmarked Camilleri.The Sannat striker rifled an unstoppable angled strike that gave Sultana no chance. Sannat doubled the score few minutes before half time when Sabri Rais headed on goal a corner by Jason Portelli.

Nadur appeared a different team in the second half with Kyle Russell on the attach and Charles Mercieca on the back. This change provided immediate results. Just after the restart, Nadur won a corner that was cleared towards Mario Portelli who passed in the area with the ball passing through Mario Azzoppardi’s legs. Cadu was quick to collect the ball and placed behind Sannat’s goalie. The goal revitalized Nadur and after 55 minutes went close to equalize when a corner from Alex Simoncic created panic in the area with the defence neutralizing with difficulty. The lions were lucky again seconds later when another free kick by Simoncic was again dangerous.

The equalizer arrived soon after. Peter Buttigieg collected a clearance from a corner and cleverly unmarked Jeffery Meilak on the right side.Meilak crossed low in the middle where Anthony Portelli was perfectly placed to divert the ball in the lower corner of the net. Nadur were now in the driving seat for the three points after recovering from a two goal deficit in such a short period. The whites took the advantage two minutes later through a header by Saviour Attard from a free-kick by Alex Simoncic.On the 77^th minute, Brazilian striker Cadu stole the ball from Sannat’s central defender Benneth Njoku and alone in front of goal made sure of the three points with a low shot.Nadur’s fifth goal came from Kyle Russell ten minutes from time. The Jamaican-born player received a pass from Cadu in the area and shot fiercely to grab his second goal of the season. Near the end Cadu managed to grab another hat-trick after that against Kercem with a delightful chip following a pass by Captain Anthony Portelli.

This win ended Nadur’s first round of matches of this season. Nadur have won four games and lost two, scoring 17 goals and conceding 11. The
whites will take on Xewkija in their next league game on the 6^th of December. Next match will be played this Thursday against Kercem for a place in the quarter finals of the GFA Cup.

Sunday, 15th November 2009, at 15:00 pm
Referee: Esther Azzopardi
Scorers: Claudio Antunes 47’, 77’, 82’; Anthony Portelli 65, Saviour Attard 67’, Kyle Russell 79’ (N), John Camilleri 34’, Sabri Rais 43’ (SL)
Yellow Cards: Jeffery Meilak, Josef Buttigieg, Mario Portelli (N), Mark Formosa, Mario Azzopardi, Fernando De Andrade (SL).
Nadur Formation: Steve Sultana, Peter Buttigieg, Mario Porteli (Ryan Meilak), Jeffery Meilak, Paul Camilleri (Charles Mercieca), Josef Buttigieg (Gary Hili), Saviour Attard, Kyle Russell, Alex Simoncic, Anthony Portelli, Claudio Antunes