Versity
Tal-Qroqq vs Vittoriosa Lightnings
Date: 23rd
February 2008
Venue:
Paola
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Early goal dooms Versity’s hopes
Versity
Tal-Qroqq 0
Vittoriosa
Lightnings 3
(Half-time
0 – 1)
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Sponsors:
Mitsubishi Motors;
Philip Toledo IT Solutions; Ristorante Sottovoce – M’Skala
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An indifferent outing by Versity led to a third defeat in
as many outings against Vittoriosa. Unfortunatley an early goal conceded in the opening 5 minutes made the task too difficult
for the men in blue to overturn. The customary 4-5-1 formation was once more the basis of Camilleri’s strategy but unfortunately
this failed to leave the necessary impact against very strong opposition.
Versity played with Abdilla in goal, a flat back four, with
Sciberras playing on the right, Salerno on the left whereas the central duo was made up of Grima and Ferrante with the midfield
made up of Cutajar, R Zammit, I Calleja in central midfield whereas Mifsud was deployed on the left and Buttigieg on the right
with C Zammit positioned as the sole striker.
Versity kicked
off the match and tried to control proceedings. However, barely 5 minutes had elapsed when from a corner the ball was headed
towards goal. Abdilla seemed to be in control but parried partially allowing the Vittoriosa striker to pounce the ball into
the net. Versity tried to get back into the match but they could not get through a well organized team. In fact it was rather
Versity who had to be on guard in view of the constant pressure made by Vittoriosa Lightnings. However, there were few points
of note in this half apart from noting that Ferrante and Cutajar were having a positive performance.
As the second
half got underway, Versity were intent on trying to get the scores level. However, Vittoriosa were of a different opinion.
In fact, Vittoriosa managed to double the score after around 10minutes of the restart when in a well played manouevre they
got past the through the flank, opened up the defence and scored. Versity tried to get back at their opponents but it seemed
that the second goal blew the wind out of their sails. The half proceeded with few goal bound efforts from the blues side
who seemed resigned to defeat. To compound further misery, Vittoriosa also managed to score a third goal towards the ned of
the match, when the attacker got the better of Grima in a physical tussle and slotted the ball home.
This was
a day when Versity failed to make an impact on the match and were resoundly beaten by a superiod Vittoriosa team who are challenging
for first position with their beighbour Cospicua. Versity should not be discouraged and prepare for their next encounter against
Cospicua Dynamos.
Formation:
C Abdilla
[5.5] – Unsure in opening goal;
E Sciberras [6.5] –
Under constant pressure;
S Ferrante [7.0] – Solid;
D Grima
[6.0] – Could be better;
M Salerno
[6.0] – Not at his best;
A Cutajar
[7.5] – Assuring performance;
K Buttigieg
[6.0] – Ran hard;
I Calleja
[6.0] – Tired out
R Zammit
[7.0] – Roaming around;
A Mifsud
[6.0] – Tried hard;
C Zammit
[7.0] – Generous;
Subs:
A Sammut
[6.5] – Worked hard;
K Bonnici
– [6.0] tenacious
R Schembri
– [5.5] failed to make an impact
Coach & technical staff:
D Camilleri
[6.5] – The general formation was good but his players had an off day
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.
