Stripes lose to Spartans

by Ayrton Galea - 4th December 2016

Birkirkara FC's misery continued on Saturday afternoon when they suffered another defeat in the BOV Premier League following a 2-0 defeat against Hamrun Spartans FC.

The Stripes, still smarting from their shocking FA Trophy exit, once again failed to reach the expectations with another casual approach performance where they were lacking in-front of goal and were punished by two goals inside the second half.

Coach Drazen Besek made four changes from the last match. Christian Bubalovic replaced Predrag Jovic, Matteo Desira Buttigieg replaced Ryan Scicluna while Matthew Guillaumier and Shaun Bajada replaced the suspended duo of Srdjan Dimitrov and Joseph Zerafa.

Birkirkara should have taken the lead eighth minutes from half-time. Philip Chircop floored Desira Buttigieg inside the box and referee Sandro Spiteri ordered the penalty. However, from the spot, Plut saw his effort denied by the crossbar.

The Stripes wasted another opportunity just two minutes after the break. Plut served Guillaumier inside the box who continued the possession to Temile but the Nigerian's strike from just yards out failed to hit the target as his shot ended wide.

Their careless approach in front of goal proved costly as Hamrun surged ahead in the next attack. Jake Grech sent the ball behind the Birkirkara's flat back and Massimiliano Giusti sprinted unmarked to hit a firm drive past helpless Kopric.

More woes followed for the Stripes as twenty minutes inside the second half, they ended up playing with one player less. Patrick Teixeira went down on the ground following a challenge by Vukanac and referee Spiteri showed the defender a straight red card in quite a harsh decision for the Stripes.

The Spartans wasted no time to double their lead as two minutes later, they made them two. Teixeira sent a fine through-ball to Giusti who beat Kopric with a close-range shot.

BIRKIRKARA: Miroslav Kopric, Christian Bubalovic, Gareth Sciberras, Matthew Guillaumier, Mislav Andelkovic, Matteo Desira Buttigieg (78′ Steve Bonnici), Vito Plut, Nikola Vukanac, Frank Temile, Shaun Bajada (70′ Ryan Scicluna), Cain Attard (46′ James Brincat).

HAMRUN: David Cassar (63′ Matthew Farrugia), Luis Miguel Vergara Rodrigues, Philip Chircop, Luke Sciberras, Jorge Mesqueu Neto, Massimiliano Giusti (78′ Saturday Nanapere), Luke Grech, Leandro Wallace Motta dos Santos (90′ Trevor Cilia), Jake Grech, Sergio Raphael dos Anjos Raphael, Patrick Jean Teixeira Maia.

Referee: Sandro Spiteri
Assistant Referees: Mitchell Scerri, Peter Abela
Fourth Official: Clayton Pisani

Yellow Cards: Cain Attard (Birkirkara), Massimiliano Giusti (Hamrun)
Red Cards: Nikola Vukanac (Birkirkara).

Scorers: 49', 67' Massimiliano Giusti (Hamrun).

BOV Player of the Match: Massimiliano Giusti (Hamrun).

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