Under 17's lose to Hibernians

by Ayrton Galea - 7th October 2013

Birkirkara's Under-17's Team's encouraging performance was not enough to take something from the match as Hibernians scored once in each half to beat the Stripes with a 2-0 score.

After have been defeated with a 3-2 score in the opening match of the league against San Gwann, the Stripes were eager to pick their first points of the season. In fact, one should give credit for the brilliant attitude showed by the boys who not only did not let the defeat demoralize them, but gave out an excellent performance in the bid of picking the first points.

The First Half

The match started on a high tempo. Hibernians had most of the possession but the Stripes showed great resilience by exerting a high level of pressure which denied the Paolites from dictating the match.

The Stripes' had the first scoring opportunity. Former Valletta FC player, Clint Zammit stole the ball off the Hibernians' central defender, with the promising youngster delivering the ball in the middle but Gregory Busutill failed to arrive in time to conclude.

Hibernians were struggling to penetrate as the Stripes' rear-guard was leaving no space, which resulted in little or no options for the Paolites. Their remaining option was to opt for long-distance shots and it was one of the latter, aided by a dose of luck, which put them ahead.

Mid-way through the first-half, a Hibernians' midfielder fired a long-range shot which was deflected before hitting past the goalkeeper and the ball ended in the bottom corner of the net.

The goal may have boosted Hibernians, who were now playing better football but the Stripes did not throw in the towel. The attitude of the Stripes remained excellent, as they pressed to draw level.

In one of the best chances the Stripes created, Ryan Muscat showed great vision by lobbing the ball over the Hibernians' rear-guard in the direction of Clint Zammit but the wet surface proved to be a tricky task as the ball ended in the hands of the Paolites' goalkeeper.

The end of the entertaining, yet balanced first-half saw Hibernians leading with a narrow advantage.

The Second Half

The pattern of the second half remained unchanged as the high tempo was maintained in the early stages of the second forty-five minutes.

Being one goal down, the Stripes went out aggressive, and they searched for the equalizing goal quickly, but the luck was not in their favour, and it denied them from bringing the score level. In a fast break-away, Clint Zammit served Ryan Muscat in the penalty-area who slotted the ball past the goalkeeper but the ball smashed against the bar and bounced off the goal-line.

However, the Stripes suffered a drawback as goalkeeper Alistair Micallef sustained an injury and was unable to continue playing. Substitute goalkeeper Luke Chircop was quickly called into action as he produced an excellent save.

Luke Chircop's save to keep the score level was short-lived. A few minutes later, Hibernians doubled the lead. In a lack of communication episode between the goalkeeper and the defence, Luke Chircop came off his line to close down an opponent but the Hibernians' striker managed to slot home.

With two goals down and little time remaining, the Stripes still did not give up. In fact, they had a golden opportunity as Ryan Gauci did not hit the ball properly in front of the Hibernians' goalkeeper and the Birkirkara player was unlucky not to narrow the score.

In the last stages of the match, the Stripes continued to apply more pressure but the Paolites' defence remained strong and the referee's full-time whistle found Birkirkara unlucky to concede the second defeat of the league.

Birkirkara's First Eleven: Alistair Micallef, Aaron Montebello, Darren Buttigieg, Maximilian Bartolo, Zachary Cassar, Michael Zammit, Fabien Lufi, Ryan Muscat, Gregory Busutill, Clint Zammit, Jean Claude Grech.

Substitutes: Luke Chircop, Ryan Gauci, Neil Zahra, Carl Abela, Benjamin Galea.

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