I ask to be excused for borrowing this title from the Times of Malta of Monday, January 10, 1949. However, in the circumstances I think that it is most appropriate. The correspondent, Scrutator, coined the headline to describe the MFA XI-Rapid Vienna encounter in the Christmas Tourney.
Scurtator went on to begin his article in his usual clever and somewhat sarcastic style:
"A communique from the battle front at Gzira, issued after what Dr Schwarzl, president of Sport Klub Rapid, described as a 'robust game', reads as follows:
'Austrians and Maltese clashed at the Empire Stadium Battlefield and after tough exchanges, the former were victorious. The winners were superior in mobility and carried heavier armour and guns. At one time the Maltese shaped like scoring a sensational victory but lost the opportunity given to them when the Austrian defensive lines had panicked.
'Victory also went to the Austrians in the matter of territorial gains. The Maltese sustained casualties'."
Those were the good old days of the traditional Christmas Tourney. The teams presented at the stadium by Carmelo 'Meme' Scicluna were always of the highest standard and the Maltese enjoyed every minute of it.
Rapid Vienna were one of the best foreign teams to visit Malta during that glorious period of our game. They played their first game on Christmas Day against Valletta. In their ranks, the Austrians had 11 internationals. The Maltese champions were no match for the Austrians who won 6-1 without much exertion.
Rapid then beat Floriana 5-1 in front of a bumper crowd of over 12,000 spectators and then continued their winning sequence with 5-1 and 6-1 victories over the UK Services XI and Hamrun Spartans.
However, Rapid found a hard nut to crack in their next game against Sliema Wanderers. They won 2-0 but the Blues rose to the occasion.
Sliema played a cautious game and their first-time tackling upset the usually well-oiled Viennese machine.
This result earned Sliema the cup donated by Mr Scicluna for the team obtaining the best result against the foreigners. However, once again, the most awaited game of the series was that against MFA XI.
The biggest crowd of the season filled the terraces of the Empire Stadium and they were certainly not disappointed.
MFA XI played one of their best matches in many years. They trained hard for the occasion but they were not prepared for the tough tackling, elbowing and obstruction play of the visitors.
It remains something of a mystery why the highly-talented Austrian team resorted to such foul play. There was no need for it. Could it be, perhaps, that after five matches they were starting to feel the strain of their tour? Or could it be that, at last, they had met a team which could match them for skills if not for physical fitness.
Whatever the reason, they abandoned their usual meticulous game in favour of a more robust and, in the circumstances, more effective approach.
After suffering an early goal, through outside-right Korner, the Maltese equalised in the first minutes of the second period when Lolly Borg converted a penalty.
The Austrians were wilting under the pressure and a few minutes later Tony Nicholl was tripped inside the area... another penalty. This time Borg opted for accuracy instead of power but his shot hit the edge of the post with goalkeeper Zeman beaten. Borg played the ball from the rebound but the referee rightly signalled for a free-kick against him.
Rapid breathed again and when Preca fouled Dienst in the box, the referee justly pointed to the spot. Korner had no difficulty in beating Lolly Rizzo with a well-placed penalty.
The third goal was scored ten minutes from time by Dienst who closed in and beat Rizzo from an angle. Malta tried desperately hard to narrow the gap. In the closing minutes Salvinu Schembri saw his well-placed shot miss the bar by inches.
For the record
January 9, 1949 - Christmas Tourney (the Empire Stadium, Gzira)
Malta FA XI vs Rapid Vienna (Austria) 1-3
Malta FA XI: L. Rizzo, G. Preca, L. Zammit (L. Debattista), G. Sacco, E. Cole, Bennetti, S. Schembri, Buttigieg, T. Nicholl, L. Borg, P. Demanuele, (M. Decesare).
Rapid Vienna: Zeman, Merkel, Happel, Mueller, Gernhardt, Golobe, Korner I, Riegler, Dienst, Stroll, Korner II.
Scorers: MFA XI - L. Borg (penalty). Rapid - Korner I (2 - 1 penalty), Dienst. Referee: Mr Hewinson.