photo by maltafootball.com

Fgura failed to win against a team lying in the lower part of the table and practically threw away the chance of contending a play-off place. It was an opaque display in a match which failed to entertain. It only took off in the last quarter. In fact goal scoring opportunities in the first half were limited to a handful of occasions. Fgura went close in the first half when Testaferrata concluded by heading just wide when forging forward from his stopper position.

In the second half some neat work by Spiteri in the penalty area but he chose to shoot from an acute angle rather than laying the ball to his fellow forwards. Siggiewi were awarded a controversial penalty, when Clint Ellul’s perfect tackle on the ball, was not deemed so by referee Sammy Attard, but Ciappara’s powerful shot hit the crossbar and the danger cleared away.

However the goal was in the air as the match grew livelier, with Siggiewi galvanized by the missed occasion and it came as no surprise when Ciappara made amends to the earlier error when heading home. This time the upright came to his aid, as the ball first hit the woodwork before ending its journey behind Farrugia’s back.

Fgura tried to salvage the match but their efforts were soon dampened when Mark Ellul was sent off for making a blatant foul when on the attack. Fgura’s closest chance to saving the game was a distant dipper from Ivan Pace which was saved with a bit of difficulty by the keeper.