Versity Tal-Qroqq vs Tarxien AFC

Date: 16^th February 2008

Venue: Paola

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Versity victory ensures 3^rd placing  

Tarxien AFC             0

Versity Tal-Qroqq      3

(Half-time 0 – 2)

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Sponsors:

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

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With this match the third round got underway. Victory would ensure that Versity would surely finish third in the standings even though the whole of the third round still needs to be played out. Versity did the job but they never set any houses on fire and their game did lack certain fluidity and composure which we started to get used to in their previous games. However, this result also ensured that Versity achieved a treble of wins over Tarxien.      

Camilleri opted to start off once more with the 4-5-1 formation. At the back one saw the return of Caruana on the right, Sciberras on the left and Grima-Ferrante as the central duo. Bugeja, Cutajar and R Zammit occupied the central midfield positions, Mifsud was deployed on the left and I Calleja played on the right with C Zammit being the lone striker.

Versity got the game going and started to make use of the whole pitch to take advantage of their man superiority since Tarxien started the match with a player less. However, it took Versity some time to assert certain control and in fact failed to stamp the desired authority. Although the midfield tried to create chances these failed to bring the desired results since Versity hardly troubled the opposing goal keeper. After the half way mark Versity managed to break the deadlock. From a corner kick the Tarxien defence cleared, however, C Zammit sent in a counter cross which found Grima in the six yard box who dispatched into the back of the net. This goal galvanised Versity who kept up the rhythm and shortly afterwards made it 2-0 courtesy of a fine pass from Mifsud who found R Zammit on the edge of the box who connected well to score into the bottom corner. This double lead seemed to allow Versity to control proceedings over their opponents who in the meantime had recovered the man down disadvantage and were playing at par. Tarxien had their moments in the first half but these were ably dealt with by an attentive Versity rearguard who had a very positive outing. The half drew to a close with Versity in command.

The second half saw the Versity mentor changing tactics from the 4-5-1 to 3-5-2. He wanted to take full control of the midfield sector and thus replaced Caruana with Schembri. However, Tarxien opted to take the game to their opponents and started to play with a 3 man attack aided with other midfield incursions which got Versity into difficulties. Versity’s midfield failed to back track enough to provide adequate cover to the defence and this forced the rearguard to defend with their teeth. In fact Sciberras, Ferrante and Grima all had to dig deep to avoid that Tarxien could find a breakthrough. Camilleri changed things as he saw the persistent danger he took cover and he drafted in Baldacchino for R Zammit. In view of the fact that the midfield men seemed too attack prone Camilleri opted to replace the tiring Cutajar with Bonnici to ensure adequate cover for this defence. These changes gave a better balance to the Versity rearguard and they controlled things better. Tal-Qroqq seemed to regain the upper hand and from a corner kick managed to add a third goal. The corner kick was directed to the back post which was met by Mifsud who connected well. The goaler seemed to deal with it but somehow fumbled the ball and this found itself in the back of the net. This was one of the last moments worth of note since Versity controlled the remaining minutes and as the final whistle was blown they were happy to have reached their target. 

This victory allowed Versity to reach 21 points and ensure a third placing in the standings. An outside chance remains for promotion but this will depend apart from Versity beating the top tow teams that some results go their way. However, Versity achieved their minimum set targets and surely theyu must be happy to have done this with matches to spare.

Formation:

C Abdilla     [6.5] – Satisfactory;

E Sciberras [6.5] – Assured;

D Grima     [7.5] – Towering;

S Ferrante  [8.0] – Excellent;

D Caruana  [6.0] – Could be better;

I Calleja     [6.5] – Enterprising on flank;

A Cutajar   [6.5] – Not as sharp as usual;

P Bugeja    [7.0] – At times kept ball too much;

R Zammit   [7.0] – Well-taken goal;

A Mifsud     [6.5] – Good outing;

C Zammit   [6.5] – Combined well;

Subs:

K Bonnici           [6.0] – Tenacious;

R Schembri        [6.0] – Satisfactory;

B Baldacchino    [6.5] – Good interventions;

Coach & technical staff:

D Camilleri [6.0] – Starting team was good but the half-time change was inappropriate and could have been detrimental to the result. However he managed to change again to have good cover.

Scorers:

D Grima; R Zammit; A Mifsud;

Versity Player of the match: S Ferrante – He was composed in defensive duties, showed class in directing proceedings and vision when breaking out with the ball from his defensive lines.