______________________________________

Our lads vindicated the 4-1 the first round loss to neighbours St. Georges, winning the second round match 1-0.

The Saints had much of the ball possession and showed better technique but could not pierce our compact defense, admirably led by skipper Mark Sammut who is growing in stature as the league progresses. Our opponents were erratic up front and their attempts at goal were mostly off target. The few shots at goal they had were parried by our young keeper Bianco, who though not having the best of matches managed to keep a clean sheet.

On the other hand, Fgura by far created the best and open chances and with a little more luck could have won by a more clear margin. In the first half, with Claudio Pace and Jason Gauci having a go at goal, the best chance was created by Christian Bordieri whose shot from distance was turned to a corner in a splendid fashion by the goalkeeper.

In the second half Fgura scored the winner thanks to substitute Alex Cauchi who from his right back position made a foray upfront challenged the goalkeeper for a loose ball, won the rebound and deposited in an empty net. Fgura could have added another when Pace on the break attracted two defenders on him and then released Bordieri with ample space in front of goal but his shot was blocked by the opposing keeper.

These 3 points are vital for our quest to try to keep Section C status.

__________________________________________