Nadur Youngsters - 1 vs S.K. Victoria Wanderers - 1

- By Saviour Attard

Nadur Youngsters  extended their winless streak to five games as they obtained a 1-1 draw from their clash with S.K.V.W  on Sunday at the Sannat Ground.Debutant Brazilian striker Andre De Souza equalised just after the break as Nadur were trailing  0-1 after a terrible first half performance.The result means that Nadur can loose further ground on Ghajnsielem and Victoria Hotspurs.

The Whites failed to build on the game against Hotspurs and were nowhere to be seen in the first half. S.K.V.W. could have easily obtained a bigger lead after missing a couple of easy chances.It was Mark Buttigieg who had the first clear opportunity after 15 minutes of play as he  headed high a cross by Simon Gatt.Nadur were lucky again few minutes later from  a free-kick by Ige Adesina that deflected the wall and hit the cross bar.However Nadur went behind on the 25^th minute. Joseph Vella’s cross-shot seemed an easy task for Sultana but the ball took an awkward swing and ended in the corner of the net. De Souza had two distant free-kicks that were well saved by Adrian Parnis in S.K.V.W’s goal.

Nadur seemed to be a different side in the second half. The equalizer came immediately after the restart from a direct free-kick by Andre De Souza. The goal arrived in the most ideal period as the whites had the entire second half to fight for the three points. It was an injection of confidence for all the players. The whites, maybe still distracted with their goal celebration risked to fall behind immediately as Ige Adesina entered the area and shot low, only to see Sultana save brilliantly with his feet.

Nadur were more effective  in all areas of the pitch, with Claudio Antunes showing some fine footwork amongst the cheers of all fans present but they failed to conclude from a couple of crosses after that S.K.V.W were shocked with the goal conceded. The blues managed to gain composure and were dangerous twice 15 minutes from time from two separate headers by Ige Adesina and Mark Buttigieg.On the other front, Josef Buttigieg failed to finalize a well worked action between Cadu and De Souza, as his angled shot ended wide. Just before the final whistle, Cadu  was unmarked by his  Brazilian compatriot, and struck a fierce shot that was destined to the top corner of the net but Parnis pulled a great save to earn a point for his team.

This result meant that Nadur have earned only 5 points in the second round that saw them drop to third. Nadur’s last win dates back to the 15^th of November, which was against their next opponents Sannat Lions. The Game, that will end the second round will be played on the 10^th of this month and will start at 1pm.

Sunday, 31st January 2010 at 15:00 p.m.
Referee: Andre Arciola
Scorers: Joseph Vella 25' (SKVW), Andre De Souza 48' (NY).
Nadur Formation: Steve Sultana, Paul Camilleri, Mario Portelli (Chalres Hili), Charles Mercieca, Peter Buttigieg, Jeffery Meilak, Saviour Attard, Josef Buttigieg, Anthony Portelli, Andre De Souza, Claudio Antunes.