Efficient Stripes crush Rainbows to maintain perfect start
by Ayrton Galea - 27th August 2016
Birkirkara FC registered another comfortable victory on Friday evening, when two goals in each half enabled them to defeat Tarxien Rainbows with a 4-0 score. The goals were scored by BOV Player of the Match Vito Plut, Srdjan Dimitrov, Frank Temile and Gareth Sciberras.
Coming from the perfect start with a 4-0 victory against St. Andrew's, the Stripes proved to be too strong for their opponents. Vito Plut and Srdjan Dimitrov gave the Stripes a double early lead before two goals in four minutes from Frank Temile and Gareth Sciberras put the three points in the bag and ensured to maintain this perfect start.
It was undoubtedly the BOV Player of the Match Vito Plut who stole all the limelight in this match, as after he fired the Stripes ahead after just three minutes, he was the protagonist in the third and fourth goal with two assists to round a wonderful display.
Coach Drazen Besek made three changes from the first outing as Nikola Vukanac made his first appearance this season after recovering from an injury to replace Christian Bubalovic. Matthew Guillaumier replaced Ryan Scicluna while Frank Temile replaced Dejan Djordjevic.
Besek fielded a 4-1-3-2 formation. Kopric defended the posts while the Serbian duo of Jovic and Vukanac formed the centre-backs with Attard and Zerafa patrolling the side-backs. Andelkovic started in front of the defence, Gullaumier and Sciberras started at their either side of Dimitrov who was given an advanced role roaming behind the forward duo of Plut and Temile.
The First Half
The Stripes registered the perfect start taking the lead after just three minutes. Srdjan Dimitrov delivered an excellent free-kick on the first post that saw Plut rising high to hit a perfect header past goalkeeper Andrea Cassar.
Birkirkara should have added the second on the eighth minute. Plut sent a precise cross to Temile who controlled the ball inside the box before his close-range effort was blocked by Cassar. Seven minutes later, Rogelio Avila Filho shot over for the Rainbows.
Srdjan Dimitrov's skills were evident again when on the eighteenth minute, the Stripes doubled the lead. Temile won a free-kick just outside the box and Dimitrov stepped-up to take the set-piece and he struck a wonderful direct free-kick past goalkeeper Cassar.
Two goals and with momentum, the Stripes continued to control the match and on the twenty-sixth minute, they went close adding another. Dimitrov delivered a fine free-kick on the first-post but Jovic headed over.
Five minutes from half-time, a corner by Joao Pedro Oliveira Santos was headed over by Daniel Zerafa while just before half-time Vito Plut and Kurt Zammit collected a yellow card each for exchanging words and pushing, after Zammit delayed to put the ball out when team-mate Vila Filho fell to the ground.
The Second Half
Three minutes inside the second half, Tarxien Rainbows threatened to narrow the score. A cross from the left found Avila Filho who served Alex Nillson who had a fine drive turned into a corner kick by Kopric. On the other side, Dimitrov went close to score his second personal free-kick on the fifty-third minute from another direct free-kick but this time, his firm shot ended just over the bar.
Tarxien had a golden opportunity to reduce the gap just past the hour mark when a cross from the left by Pedro Oliveira Santos unzipped the defence to find Nilsson all alone who concluded weak in front of Kopric who did well to the score unchanged.
The Rainbows paid the utmost price for this miss as the Stripes made them three on the sixty-third minute. Cain Attard sent Plut through who sprinted past his marker before serving Temile inside the box and slotting home from close-range.
Three became four just four minutes later. Plut dashed inside the box again as he dribbled past his marker to cut in from the right before serving Captain Sciberras who drilled a low shot past Cassar to increase further the lead.
In Birkirkara's first substitution on the sixty-ninth minute, Matthew Guillaumier was replaced by James Brincat while seven minutes later, scorer of the second goal, Srdjan Dimitrov was replaced by Matteo Desira Buttigieg who for him was the debut with our Club.
Desira Buttigieg almost made them five in the eighty-third minute when another identical run by Plut from the right unsettled the defence before serving substitute Desira Buttigieg who saw his effort ending wide by inches.
Rowen Muscat made his first appearance this season with our Club as six minutes from time he was the third substitute for Coach Drazen Besek as he replaced Mislav Andelkovic.
Vito Plut, who produced a terrific performance including one goal and two assists, was voted the BOV Player of the Match.
BIRKIRKARA: Miroslav Kopric, Cain Attard, Nikola Vukanac, Predrag Jovic, Joseph Zerafa, Gareth Sciberras, Matthew Guillaumier (69' James Brincat), Mislav Andelkovic (84' Rowen Muscat), Srdjan Dimitrov (76' Matteo Desira Buttigieg), Frank Temile, Vito Plut.
TARXIEN RAINBOWS: Andrea Cassar, Ebiabowei Baker, Triston Caruana (54' Julian Galea), Daniel Ponce De Leon Garcia, Alex Nilsson, Sergio Fernandez Pendes, Daniel Zerafa (74' Luke Zahra), Alex Da Paixao Alves, Joao Pedro Oliveira Santos, Kurt Zammit, Regolio Antonio Avila Filho (62' Ayrton Azzopardi).
Referee: Fyodor Zammit.
Assistant Referees: Duncan Sultana, David Castillo.
Forth Official: Emanuel Grech.
Yellow Cards: 15' Alex Da Paixao Alves (T), 21' Cain Attard, 41' Nikola Vukanac, 45' Vito Plut (B), 45' Kurt Zammit, 51' Joao Pedro (T).
Scorers: 3' Vito Plut, 18' Srdjan Dimitrov, 63' Frank Temile, 67' Gareth Sciberras (Birkirkara).
BOV Player of the Match: Vito Plut.
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