Under 19 Youth League Section B

Lija Athletic FC   4 - 0   Melita FC   [Ht: 2 - 0]

Date: 30-Sep-2006 ~ Venue: Pace Grasso Stadium ~ Kick-Off: 14.30hrs.

On their third seasonal outing, Lija Athletic managed to crush Melita with a sounding 4-0 victory, with two goals scored in each half. Melita opened well, and it was the side from St. Julian's that had the better start into the match. In the eight minute, a well taken free-kick was kept out by Kevin Ellul, the Lija goal-keeper. Melita kept pushing forward but on ten minutes, Lija broke the deadlock following a quick counter-attack. Mark Cremona dribbled the ball past a Melita defender on the left wing, and he later crossed to the unmarked Karl Saliba who bursted the ball past Karl Zahra, the Melita goalie. It was Lija who were now playing the better football and on 15 minutes, Daniel Cremona found himself all alone on the right wing. The Lija captain tried lobbing the ball over the onrushing Melita keeper, but unluckily his effort just missed target as the powerful volley whizzed over the cross-bar. On 33 minutes, Melita were reduced to ten men as their Andrew Caruana Scicluna was sent out for an early shower, after receiving two yellow cards in the space of just two minutes. Barely a minute afterwards, Steve Ferriggi almost doubled the score for the Athletic, but the ball was somehow cleared off the fatal line by the Melita defenders. Following this goal-mouth action for Lija, Cremona also had a good try from the edge of the area, a few instances later. Five minutes before the break, Mark Cremona doubled the score in favour of the hard-working Lija side. He made an excellent run on the right flank, and kept advancing before coolly slotting the ball past Karl Zahra, the Melita custodian.

[ Half-time: 2-0 ]

The second half saw Melita playing with much more determination and good will, and it looked like the players wearing the red outfit (Melita) were not ready to throw the towel yet. Four minutes into the second period, one of Melita's substitutes almost managed to reduce the arrears, with a shot that slightly missed target. In the 54th minute, Lija Athletic had a goal disallowed, after Keith Farrugia was deemed to have fouled the Melita keeper before 'scoring'. A minute later Melita came close again, nevertheless their shot on target was somehow deviated and the ball went out off the vertical post. On 59 minutes, the Lija Athletic skipper, Daniel Cremona tried his luck from some 25 metres distance, and managed to score a magnificent goal that completely took the Melita goalie by surprise - excellent goal, and Lija were now home and dry! In the 66th minute, the Lija custodian, Kevin Ellul performed a brilliant save when he acrobatically managed to punch away into safety a most powerful shot. Two minutes later, Mark Cremona made a good run across the field, but was irregularly stopped and felled by a Melita defender just about he was calibrating to shoot inside the net. Unfortunately, Lija Athletic lost this player through injury, which subsequently forced the coach to perform a quick substitution, as Cremona (who played a marvellous game) could not continue his match. In the 74th minute, the Melita clan had the illusion of a goal after the ball managed to penetrate through a small hole in the roof of the Lija net, but the referee soon investigated the matter and arranged the defect. Eleven minutes from time, Lija rounded the score with a fourth goal when the hard-working mid-fielder, Hubert Friggieri concluded in the net a fine Daniel Cremona pass. The match seemed to have lost its momentum in its final minutes, as Melita had lost all their hopes while Lija's task had long been accomplished.

[ Full-time: 4-0 ]

Lija Athletic player of the Match: Mark Cremona.

  << Team Formation >>

<< Kevin Ellul -- Josef Laferla -- Hubert Friggieri -- Daniel Gauci -- Daniel Cremona -- Steve Ferriggi -- Mark Cremona (Omar Toutoungi) -- Karl Saliba (Keith Farrugia) -- Bryan Deguara -- Andrè Scicluna -- Christian Agius (Kenneth Borg) >>

Report by Samuel M. Cutajar ©  

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