Stripes maintain winning streak

by Ayrton Galea - 11th November 2013

Jhonnattann Benites' brace in just two minutes handed Birkirkara their fourth win in a row. Since his return with the Club in the second week of September, the Brazilian winger has been giving electrifying performances.

The Stripes brilliant performance on Saturday earned them a 2-0 victory over the newly promoted side Vittoriosa Stars FC.

Vittoriosa should receive credit for their performance especially in the first twenty minutes, but after falling two goals behind, they were stunned. The Stripes after having scored two goals in quick succession took total control of the match, and it was only lack of luck which denied them from a bigger score.

Mr. Paul Zammit had no easy task to fill in his midfield department. Rowen Muscat and Gareth Sciberras were sidelined due to injury, while Paul Fenech was not in the best condition and started the match on the substitutes bench.

With three players missing, Mr. Zammit had to revamp his starting-eleven. Edward Herrera and Frank Temile made their way back in the starting-eleven selection. Daniel Zerafa also earned a first-eleven place to fill the gap in the midfield.

The First Half

The match started on a slow tempo, as both teams utilized the first minutes to study their opponents before they started to gain momentum.

Unpredictably, it was Vittoriosa who went out as the most adventurous team as they threatened Justin Haber's post after just six minutes. Marcio Teruel saw his powerful free-kick taking a slight deflection but the ball was well saved by an alert Justin Haber.

Vittoriosa remained better in the opening minutes as the Stripes struggled to settle in. The newly promoted side threatened again thanks to a long distance free-kick on the tenth minute. Taken again by Brazilian midfielder Tereul, his powerful effort was pushed away into a corner kick by Haber.

The Stripes began to find their feet on the ground. Just past the twelfth minute mark, Jhonnattann Benites had a half-volley easily parried by goalkeeper Sean Cini following a short clearance.

Birkirkara continued to produce better football. On the twentieth minute, they created their first dangerous scoring opportunity. Edward Herrera had a powerful, yet central drive saved by goalkeeper Cini.

The Stripes surged ahead on the twenty-second minute. Edward Herrera had one of his typical surging runs on the right flank before delivering an excellent cross which saw Jhonnattann Benites hitting a wonderful first-timer to hit hard past goalkeeper Cini.

Vittoriosa failed to regroup and hardly a minute later, the Stripes made the best of the situation and they doubled the score. Shola Shodiya made an excellent solo-action before hitting a powerful drive from outside the box. Goalkeeper Cini failed to grab Shodiya's effort and Benites powerfully hit home from close range.

The quick-fire double by the Stripes dashed Vittoriosa's early momentum and they looked stunned and were now lacking of ideas.

On the other hand, the Stripes kept pushing forward thanks to Daniel Zerafa who had a low shot from outside the box ending wide on the thirty-seventh minute.

The newly-promoted side made their first reaction of getting back in the match late in the first half with two different occasions where they threatened to narrow the gap. Six minutes from half-time, Teruel sent an excellent through-ball to Oscar Guerrero who sprinted into the area and tried to evade Haber but his final effort was pushed away by the Birkirkara goalkeeper.

Just before the half-time whistle, Vittoriosa came close to pulling one back. Alejandro Mendoza blocked Pereira's pass with his hand. From the free-kick, Teruel's shot was tipped by Haber into a corner-kick.

The end of the first half found Birkirkara leading with a 2-0 score.

The Second Half

Being two goals down, Vittoriosa tried to react quickly to get back in the match. Hoever the Striped never looked back and enjoyed an edge over their opponents for most of the time.

Jose Filipe Aguier had a header ending wide for Vittoriosa. On the other side of the pitch, eight minutes into the second-half, the Stripes went close to increase the lead. Frank Temile served Jhonnattann Benites, who was being Birkirkara's most inspirational player, who had a powerful drive from outside the box pushed away into a corner kick by goalkeeper Cini.

The Stripes remained offensive, and they created another fine scoring opportunity on the fifty-eight minute. Frank Temile, served Terence Vella who delivered an excellent cross back to Temile, who saw his header ending wide.

Vittoriosa replied a minute later, close to the hour-mark, when Marcio Tueuel had a shot easily saved by goalkeeper Justin Haber.

In Birkirkara's first substitution, three minutes past the hour-mark, Ryan Camenzuli replaced Frank Temile who seemed to be suffering from a knock received in a previous action.

Ryan Camenzuli was quick to leave his mark. Just after five minutes after being introduced on the pitch, he was served by Shodiya and he had a fine curling shot saved by goalkeeper Cini.

Vittoriosa almost pulled one back fifteen minutes from the end. Malcolm Buttigieg delivered an excellent free-kick and Clive Brincat rose high to hit a powerful header which however was denied by the crossbar.

Mr. Paul Zammit utilised his other two substitutions on the seventy-eight minute. Terence Vella and Shola Shodiya were replaced by Kurt Zammit and Demba Toure respectively.

The crossbar also denied the Stripes from increasing their lead on the eightieth minute. Substitute Ryan Camenzuli hit an outstanding drive from outside the box which hit past goalkeeper Cini but the ball smashed against the crossbar before bouncing on the goal-line and was then cleared into safety.

Three minutes later, the same player was in action once again when he served perfectly an unmarked Demba Toure, who had a powerful volley ending over from an ideal position.

On the eighty-fifth minute, the Stripes won a free-kick from outside the box and Toure took charge but his strike flew over Cini's bar.

One minute from time, the Stripes had a golden opportunity to seal the issue with the third goal. Jhonnattann Benites made the best out of an erratic pass in the defence, and he advanced inside the box. The Brazilian then showed great altruism by serving Kurt Zammit instead of attempting to score himself. Kurt had an open chance to put his name on the scoring sheet for the first time in the top division, but the youngster saw his shot unluckily being blocked by a defender.

Referee's Paul Caruana final whistle found the Stripes keeping the pace with leaders Hibernians by registering their fourth win in a row.

BIRKIRKARA: Justin Haber, Edward Herrera, Alejandro Mendoza, Jhonnattann Benites, Ryan Scicluna, Joseph Zerafa, Frank Temile (63' Ryan Camenzuli), Daniel Zerafa, Shola Shodiya (78' Demba Toure), Terence Vella (78' Kurt Zammit), Zach Muscat.

VITTORIOSA: Sean Cini, Samir Arab, Malcolm Buttigieg, Marcio Turuel (64' Mark Bara), Marcelo Pereira, Clive Spiteri (88' Ryan Mifsud), Siraj Arab (71' Oluwafunmi Omoboy Ebiesuwa), Oscar Guerrero, Lucas Dos Santos, Jose Aguiar, Clive Brincat.

Referee: Paul Caruana.

Assistant Referees: Duncan Sultana, Jurgen Spiteri.

Fourth Official: Sandro Spiteri.

Yellow Cards: 5' Daniel Zerafa, 9' Zach Muscat (Birkirkara) Ramon Dos Santos (Vittoriosa)

Scorers: 22' Jhonnattann Benites, 24' Jhonnattann Benites.

Man of the Match: Jhonnattann Benites (Birkirkara).

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