Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/806571
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 APRIL 2017 51 Sport FOOTBALL St. Andrews ...................1 Sliema Wanderers .........4 WARREN ZAMMIT IN a match that saw a lot of argu- ments in the latter part of it, Sliema Wanderers registered a solid 4-1 win over St. Andrews. St. Andrews created the first chance of the match on the 8th minute. Ivan Paz hit a shot from distance that went high. Sliema responded on the 28th minute. Jean Paul Farrugia went past a number of defenders inside the penalty area but his shot hit the side netting. Danilo Doncic's side broke the deadlock two minutes later. Enmy Pena Beltre sent a perfect cross to- wards Ziga Kastrevec who finished past Giuseppe Sarao. The Wanderers nearly equalised on the 35th minute. From a free kick, Matias Muchardi hit a volley that looked destined for the net. However, Jake Galea produced an excellent save as he tipped the ball for a corner. Galea could not do anything to deny Sliema a minute later. Alex Muscat received the ball inside the penalty area and hit a low shot that ended up inside the net. St. Andrews replied on the 39th minute. Felix Udoh fired a shot from distance that went slightly high. Seven minutes into the second half, St. Andrews were reduced to ten men. Bong Won Che was shown his second yellow card fol- lowing a foul on Denni Dos Santos. Having an extra player, Sliema tried to take advantage and had a promising opportunity on the 59th minute. Denni delivered a cross towards Farrugia who anticipated the goalkeeper and headed slightly over. Six minutes later, Farrugia did much better as he sent Sliema ahead. Muscat sent a dangerous cross towards the unmarked strik- er who headed past Galea. St. Andrews missed a golden op- portunity to equalise on the 68th minute. Paz sent a through ball to- wards Kyrian Nwoko, and the lat- ter went inside the penalty area but failed to hit the target. On the 76th minute, substitute player Peter Xuereb hit a powerful drive from distance that forced an outstanding save from Galea. The Wanderers sealed the issue a minute later. Following a corner, Mark Scerri forced another save from Galea. Rebound fell for Far- rugia who placed the ball inside the net. In the additional time given by the referee, Sliema scored their fourth goal. Scerri went inside the penalty area and was brought down. Instead of signalling the penalty, the referee gave the ad- vantage and it paid off as Muchardi finished home. St. Andrews starting line-up: Jake Galea, Michael Johnson, Karlo Kesinovic, Bong Won Che, Dale Camilleri, Enmy Pena Beltre, Jo- seph Farrugia, Felix Udoh, Aidan Friggieri, Ziga Kastrevec, Ivan Paz Sliema Wanderers starting line- up: Giuseppe Sarao, Alex Muscat, Ryan Spiteri, Denni Dos Santos, Mark Scerri, Matias Muchardi, Stefano Biancardi, Ricardo Calixto Correa Duarte, Jean Paul Farrugia, Leonardo Incorvaia, Gabriel Aqui- lina Referee: Matthew Degabriele Assistant Referees: Luke Portelli, Peter Abela Fourth Official: Fyodor Zammit BOV Player of the Match: Alex Muscat (Sliema) Birkirkara ................. 3 Mosta ....................... 0 WARREN ZAMMIT BIRKIRKARA found no dif- ficulty against Mosta as they earned a 3-0 win. Birkirkara went ahead after just seven minutes. From a free kick, James Brincat sent a dangerous cross inside the penalty area. In his attempts to clear the ball, Mosta's defender Tyrone Far- rugia headed past his own goal- keeper. The stripes doubled the score on the 34th minute. Miguel Alba went on a good run inside the penalty area and hit a low shot that gave Yenz Cini no chance. Nikola Jaros's side sealed the is- sue on the 76th minute. Gareth Sciberras served Srdan Dimitrov and the latter placed the ball past Cini. Birkirkara starting line-up: Henry Bonello, Christian Bubal- ovic, Gareth Scibberas, Matthew Guillaumier, Mislav Andelkovic, Srdan Dimitrov, Nikola Vikanac, Miguel Alba, Cain Attard, Gon- zalo Malan, James Brincat Mosta starting line-up: Yenz Ci- ni, Chinatu Francis Onwudinjo, Kurt Magro, Mario Toth, Da- vid Fenech, Kyle Frendo, Njongo Priso, Adrian Caruana, Emer- son Vella, Tyrone Farrugia, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza. Referee: Stefan Pace Assistant Referees: Martin Borg, Ryan Aquilina Fourth Official: Alan Mario Sant BOV Player of the Match: Srdan Dimitrov (Birkirkara) Birkirkara too strong for Mosta PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE BORG Mark Scerri of Sliema being closed down by Felix Udoh Adrian Caruana of Mosta challenging Muguel Alba for the ball Sliema come from behind to secure a solid win against ten men St. Andrews PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOMINIC BORG