Birkirkara too strong for Vittoriosa

by Ayrton Galea - 18th December 2011

Birkirkara did as expected when they dominated Vittoriosa Stars and qualified for the fourth round of the U*BET FA Trophy thanks to a fine 4-0 win.

Birkirkara were the superior side throughout the whole ninety minutes. However one should say that Vittoriosa had their chances to narrow the gap, but at the end of the day, Birkirkara stole nothing especially when they had a goal disallowed for an offside position and a ball hitting the post besides a number of goal chances that ended wide.

Several players were ruled out for Birkirkara as Angus Buhagiar, Dragan Perisic, Rowen Muscat and Terence Vella were all injured. Rodrigo Pereira managed to recover in time for this match.

There were several positive factors during the game such as the first goal with our Club by both Shola Shodiya and Gareth Sciberras. However, without any doubt, the best goal was scored by Shaun Bajada who scored a wonderful goal. Few moments before the end of the match, Moises who was returning from a two match suspension scored the fourth goal with a low shot.

The First Half.

The first half saw Birkirkara building a two goal advantage. Shola Shodiya had an excellent performance and he managed to break the dead lock with a fine close range effort. Gareth Sciberras scored after a fine cross by Moises Avila Perez. The latter, had a goal disallowed for an offside position.

0' - Referee Kevin Cassar blew the starting whistle.

1' - Moises Avila Perez was fouled.

4' - Paul Fenech was fouled.

5' - Leighton Grech's diagonal shot ended wide.

8' - Henry Isaac for Vittoriosa was caught in an offside position.

11' - Birkirkara were unlucky not to take the lead when Gareth Sciberras hit the crossbar and the ball ended out.

12' - Paul Fenech fouled Isaac Henry.

14' - Paul Fenech was floored down and handled the ball. The referee ordered the freekick for Vittoriosa.

15' - Birkirkara took the lead! A perfect cross by Ryan Scicluna towards Shola Shodiya who controlled well before beating the Vittoriosa custodian with a close range effort.

19' - Shaun Bajada was fouled.

20' - Shaun Bajada was fouled.

20' - Birkirkara won a corner.

24' - Vittoriosa had their first attempt thanks to a long shot which ended wide.

25' - Shola Shodiya fouled with an extended foot.

26' - Shola Shodiya was fouled by Erin Azzopardi who was then shown the yellow card.

27' - Shaun Bajada's close range effort was turned into a corner kick.

27' - Paul Fenech fouled.

28' - In a good chance for Birkirkara to double the lead, Shola Shodiya's made a good solo run, then served Leighton, the latter released Shaun Bajada on the right but the final shot was too weak to beat the Vittoriosa goalkeeper Ivan Cassar.

28' - Ryan Camenzuli was fouled.

29' - Paul Fenech fouled.

30' - Birkirkara doubled the score! A fine cross by Moises Avila Perez was deflected by a flying header from Gareth Sciberras who beat Cassar to score his first goal with our Club.

32' - Vittoriosa almost pulled one back thanks to a low powerful shot by Marcelo Pereira but it was well served by Alexandar Canovic.

34' - Vittoriosa won a corner.

35' - Vittoriosa tried their luck but Alexandar Canovic turned their attempt into a corner kick.

36' - Ryan Camenzuli tried his luck with a shot outside the area but it ended wide.

37' - Birkirkara seemed to make them three when Moises Avila Perez hit home following a deflection. However, the goal was disallowed for an offside position.

39' - In another good opportunity for Birkirkara to increase the lead, Joseph Zerafa made a good solo run who then released Paul Fenech, who in turn served Shaun Bajada but the latter's cross failed to be hit by Shola Shodiya.

40' - Ivan Kurtusic fouled Shola Shodiya and was shown the yellow card.

42' - Leighton Grech commited a foul, and from the following freekick it was headed wide for Vittoriosa.

43' - Ryan Scicluna almost made them three but after a perfect cross, he failed to tap the ball past the goalkeeper.

44' - Shola Shodiya was fouled.

44' - Birkirkara won a corner.

45' - Referee Kevin Cassar blew the half time whistle.

The Second Half.

In the second half Birkirkara reduced a bit their playing level although they still remained the most dangerous and aggressive side. After Shaun Bajada scored an amazing goal to make them three, the match seemed to end with a 3-0 score but in the dying moments, Moises Avila Perez had other ideas and scored the fourth goal for Birkirkara.

0' - Referee Kevin Cassar blew the starting whistle of the second half.

2' - Birkirkara almost scored their third goal when Shola Shodiya served Paul Fenech whose shot was deflected, and Moises Avila Perez's tap ended wide.

4' - Ryan Scicluna fouled.

7' - Shola Shodiya was fouled.

8' - Ryan Camenzuli was caught in an offside position.

9' - Birkirkara made them three thanks to a wonderful shot by Shaun Bajada on the left from outside the box, which hit the right top post and went it.

11' - Rodrigo Pereira fouled. From the following freekick, Isaac Henry's effort was saved by Alexandar Canovic.

12' - Henry Isaac for Vittoriosa was caught in an offside position.

13' - Rodrigo Pereira fouled.

15' - Shaun Bajada was fouled.

19' - Gareth Sciberras fouled and from the following freekick by Henry Isaac it was once again saved by Alexandar Canovic.

21' - Ryan Scicluna's cross was deflected into a corner.

22' - Shaun Bajada fouled.

24' - Shaun Bajada's deflected shot was saved by the goalkeeper.

26' - In the first substitution for Birkirkara, Alan Tabone replaced Joseph Zerafa.

26' - Ryan Scicluna was fouled.

27' - Shola Shodiya fouled.

28' - In the first substitution for Vittoriosa, Roberto Brincat was replaced with Dillon Pace.

28' - Birkirkara made the second substitution as Trevor Cilia replaced Leighton Grech.

30' - Moises Avila Perez tried his luck with a shot which goalkeeper Cassar found no difficulty to save.

31' - Birkirkara had the perfect opportunity to make them four. Shola Shodiya served Shaun Bajada who all alone against the goalkeeper fired the ball wide.

32' - Marcelo Pereira's shot ended wide.

33' - In the second substitution for Vittoriosa, Johann Spiteri replaced Adam Spiteri.

35' - Trevor Cilia served Ryan Camenzuli whose first time shot ended wide.

36' - Vittoriosa were caught in an offside position.

36' - In the last substitution for Vittoriosa, Mauro Grioli replaced Josef Dalli.

40' - Birkirkara also made their third and final substitution when youngster Michael Camilleri came in to replace Shola Shodiya who had one of his best matches so far.

41' - Vittoriosa won a corner.

43' - Birkirkara almost scored when a good combination between Moises Avila Perez and Trevor Cilia, saw the latter's cross headed well by Moises Avila Perez but it ended wide.

44' - Referee Kevin Cassar stops the match due to two balls being on the pitch. From the drop ball, Gareth Sciberras passed the ball towards Vittoriosa's defence.

45' - Three minutes of extra time were shown.

45' - Shaun Bajada was fouled.

45+2' - When the match seemed over, Moises Avila Perez scored the fourth goal for Birkirkara with a low diagonal shot.

45+3' - Referee Kevin Cassar blew the full time whistle.

The draws of the fourth round of the U*BET FA Trophy will be held next Tuesday at the Centenary Stadium starting at 13:00.

BIRKIRKARA: Alexandar Canovic, Ryan Scicluna, Rodrigo Pereira, Joseph Zerafa (71' Alan Tabone), Ryan Camenzuli, Gareth Sciberras, Paul Fenech, Shaun Bajada, Shola Shodiya (85' Michael Camilleri), Leighton Grech (73' Trevor Cilia), Moises Avila Perez.

VITTORIOSA: Ivan Cassar, Justin Camilleri, Marcelo Pereira, Erin Azzopardi, Leonardo Rocha Da Silva, Adam Spiteri (78' Johann Spiteri), Josef Dalli (81' Mauro Grioli), Malcolm Buttigieg, Roberto Brincat (73' Dillon Pace), Isaac Henry, Ivan Kurtusic.

Yellow Cards: Erin Azzopardi, Marcelo Pereira, Ivan Kurtusic (Vittoriosa).

Scorers: 15' Shola Shodiya, 30' Gareth Sciberras, 54' Shaun Bajada, 92' Moises Avila Perez.

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