League

Ħamrun
Spectators: 7000 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 2000, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Kurt Vella made the kick off which started today's match. Kurt Vella fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 3rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jason Cachia having to interfere. The audience was convinced that Kurt Vella's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Jason Cachia was relentless in the 6th minute of the game. Zach Apap hit a great freekick 6 minutes into the match. Jonathan Robinson fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 8th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Evan Lia having to interfere. Nick Buttigieg charged in rather forcefully in the 11th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Nick Buttigieg the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, Balzan's Nick Buttigieg got a free kick in the 11th minute. 12 minutes into the match, Ħamrun's Tyron Said broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. Ħamrun's Jason Cachia played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kurt Vella in the 17th minute of play. Jason Cachia showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Kurt Vella, who was totally free with the ball in the 18th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Kurt Vella in the 22nd minute of play forced Ħamrun's goalkeeper Jason Cachia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Jason Cachia took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Kurt Vella, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lawrence Failla in the 34th minute of play forced Ħamrun's goalkeeper Jason Cachia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 36th minute Kurt Vella shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jason Cachia saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 39 minutes of play, Balzan's Nathan Lauri made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Jason Cachia was left in no man's land by his defense there! David Sciortino sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Jonathan Robinson was the one to do the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Kurt Vella in the 56th minute of play forced Ħamrun's goalkeeper Jason Cachia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Lawrence Failla was extremely unlucky when he, in the 58th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. Ħamrun's Jason Cachia proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 61st minute of the match, managed to save Ħamrun from getting a goal against them. Lawrence Failla received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 65th minute. Jason Cachia tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 69 minutes into the match, Ħamrun's goal looked a bit too open when Kurt Vella came free, but Jason Cachia reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Jonathan Robinson came up free with the goalie in the 70th minute, the Ħamrun fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Jonathan Robinson couldn't finish the play. Nick Buttigieg kicked well hit freekick during the 71st minute of the match. David Sciortino struck a weak shot in the 72nd minute. Evan Lia didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Ħamrun. Ħamrun's Jason Cachia proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 74th minute of the match, managed to save Ħamrun from getting a goal against them. A collision led to Balzan getting a freekick after 76 minutes play. Nikolai Griffin hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Kurt Vella in the 81st minute of play forced Ħamrun's goalkeeper Jason Cachia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 82nd match minute, Ħamrun was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Francis Fsadni to maneuver through the defense. Through an outstanding action, after 83 minutes, Jason Cachia successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. David Sciortino hit a great freekick 88 minutes into the match. Everyone was convinced a goal was close when Balzan's Kurt Vella in the 91st minute lifted the ball towards the upper right corner, but Jason Cachia was perfectly placed and prevented a goal for Ħamrun through an amazing save. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lawrence Failla got free with Jason Cachia in the 98th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The Balzan supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Balzan would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.