Versity Tal-Qroqq vs Vittoriosa Lightnings

Date: 5^th January 2008

Venue: Paola

_____________________________________________________________________

Versity succumb in second half

Vittoriosa Lightnings  3

Versity Tal-Qroqq      1

(Half-time 0 – 1)

_____________________________________________________________________

Sponsors:

Mitsubishi Motors; Philip Toledo IT Solutions; Ristorante Sottovoce – M’Skala

____________________________________________________________________________

An opaque performance in the second half by Versity meant that they failed to take anything from this match. This can well lead the team to fail in its bid to stretch the other contenders for a promotion place. Having at his disposal a full complement bar the unavailable Williams Camilleri continued with his trademark 4-5-1.

Versity played with a flat back four, with Sciberras playing on the right, Ellul Soler on the left whereas the central duo was made up of Grima and Bonanno. Agius was preferred in goal though his performance could have been better. Camilleri played Cutajar, Ferrante and R Zammit in central midfield with the former two alternating to cover on the defence whereas the latter played in a more advanced role. Bugeja was deployed on the right whereas Sammut was on the left with C Zammit positioned as the sole striker.

Versity kicked off the match and made a sure start trying to unsettle their opponents in order not to let them dictate play. In general the first half did not set any houses on fire by either squad but Versity seemed to be well organised and threatened on the counter attack. Vittoriosa were limited by the Versity defence who were well marshalled by Bonanno and Grima who made a number of important tackles limiting their opponents to distant shots. Around the half-way mark a looping ball was somehow mishandled by the Vittoriosa goal keeper and the ball found itself in the feet of Ferrante who easily placed it in the back of the net. This lead allowed Versity to manage the game better but with more than half the match to go it surely could not guarantee that they will manage to take the points home. The half-time whistle was blown and Versity went back to recover their energy for what promised to be an interesting second half.

Vittoriosa immediately showed their intent as the second half got going to get back to level terms. They started stretching the Versity rearguard to the limits using the flanks to great effect, with Sciberras being under constant pressure since he was little aided by Bugeja in front of him. Grima more than on one occasion had to be alert and clear his lines in extremis. However, the writing was on the wall. From an incursion on the right the midfielder crossed and the ball hit accidentally the hand of Sciberras. The referee immediately signaled for a penalty amidst the protests of the Versity players since the ball was low and was finishing in the feet of another Versity defender. Useless protesting and from the resultant spot kick the Vittoriosa penalty taker made no mistake to bring the game on level terms. Shortly afterwards towards the 25^th minute in yet another Vittoriosa attack they took the lead. Their midfielder shot from outside the box and the Versity keeper fumbled the ball laying it in the path of the striker who from a few metres away did not miss. Versity seemed shell shocked. Their midfield personnel did not manage to draw out interesting openings and moreover Bugeja did not seem to be in a day of grace and failed to leave his mark on the match. Camilleri tried to change things round but his substitutions replacing A Sammut who tried hard to break down the flank with A Mifsud and R Zammit who gave a good account in trying to hassles his opponents with I Calleja failed to change things around. Versity seemed to be pretty lost and even let in a third goal when from an out ball Vittoriosa played the ball in the path of the advancing right back who with a firm and well directed shot aimed at the bottom corner sealed a merited victory for his team. Grima was eventually substituted in view of a muscle problem by Salerno.    

Versity failed to maintain the promising start they made in the first half and they were well beaten at the end. The players tried hard but on the day they were second best and had to bow out to a strong Vittoriosa outfit. However, they have to pick themselves up and prepare for another crunch match with Cospicua Dynamos.

Formation:

D Agius [6.0] – Unsure in second goal;

E Sciberras [6.5] – Under constant pressure;

J Ellul Soler [7.0] – Covered flank well;

D Grima [7.5] – Timely interventions;

K Bonanno [7.0] – Solid performance;

A Cutajar [7.5] – Assuring performance;

S Ferrante [7.0] – Coordinated play;

P Bugeja [5.5] – Poor performance;

A Sammut [6.5] – Worked hard;

R Zammit [7.0] – Roaming around;

C Zammit [7.0] – Generous;

Subs:

A Mifsud [6.0] – Tried hard;

I Calleja [6.0] – Failed to leave impact;

Salerno [6.0] – Late cameo;

Unused Subs:

K Bonnici

R Schembri

C Abdilla

Coach & technical staff:

D Camilleri [6.5] – The general formation was good but he failed through his changes to turn match around when team needed fresh impetus.

Scorers:

S Ferrante

Versity Player of the match: Adrian Cutajar – He provided a very solid performance in the heart of midfield whereby he covered the back four whilst playing confidently and well in the attacking approach work of the team.