League

Balzan
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) San Ġiljan's Herbert Cornelisse started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. 8 minutes into the game, Anthony Straathof was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. San Ġiljan's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Balzan the free kick. In the 8th match minute, San Ġiljan was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Anthony Straathof to maneuver through the defense. The audience was convinced that Lawrence Failla's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Eugenio Cardona was relentless in the 18th minute of the game. Herbert Cornelisse might have been able to make a better finish in the 21st minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Evan Lia. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Herbert Cornelisse ran back to his position shaking his head. 25 minutes into the game, Lawrence Failla lined in a short shot 2-0 behind a frustrated Eugenio Cardona. In the 27thth minute of the game Lawrence Failla who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but San Ġiljan's Eugenio Cardona was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 31 minutes into the match, Leo Critien notched a goal, 3-0, to the right of San Ġiljan's Eugenio Cardona. Eugenio Cardona was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. When Leo Critien came up free with the goalie in the 33rd minute, the Balzan 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 Leo Critien couldn't finish the play. In the 39th match minute, San Ġiljan was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Edward Ghigo to maneuver through the defense. Balzan's Giorgio Soler took a good shot, in the 40th minute, which hit the crossbar above Eugenio Cardona's head, and flew over the goal. San Ġiljan's manager was very thankful on the sidelines as his team had managed to keep the ball out of the net after some serious pressure by Balzan. After some fancy dribbling in the 42nd minute, Leo Critien managed to get in a good position for a shot. Balzan's supporters rose to their feet, but Leo Critien was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Eugenio Cardona breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Leo Critien fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 44th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Eugenio Cardona having to interfere. In the 45th minute of the match, Lawrence Failla tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Eugenio Cardona saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Lawrence Failla might have been able to make a better finish in the 48th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Eugenio Cardona. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Lawrence Failla ran back to his position shaking his head.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Lawrence Failla stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. 53 minutes into the match, Lawrence Failla had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Eugenio Cardona. San Ġiljan's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Lawrence Failla was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-0. Leo Critien received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 58th minute. Eugenio Cardona tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 59thth minute of the game Lawrence Failla who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but San Ġiljan's Eugenio Cardona was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 62nd minute there was a penalty for Balzan. Giorgio Soler stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Eugenio Cardona. 5-0. Neil Spina fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 72nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Evan Lia having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Balzan's zone, Herbert Cornelisse stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Evan Lia came out of the goal and Herbert Cornelisse tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 78th match minute, Balzan was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Nikolai Griffin to maneuver through the defense. Eugenio Cardona made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Leo Critien in the 85th minute of play. Balzan's Evan Lia proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 96th minute of the match, managed to save Balzan from getting a goal against them. Zach Apap hit a great freekick 96 minutes into the match. Evan Lia made an important save on a dangerous shot by Neil Spina in the 97th minute. Leo Critien fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 99th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Eugenio Cardona having to interfere.