Blues win drab encounter to reclaim sole leadership

Sliema Wanderers 2
Hamrun Spartans 0

As expected Sliema Wanderers found little difficulty in disposing of a makeshift Hamrun Spartans side to remain sole leaders of the top flight.

In a low key match, characterised by a dearth of action and played in front of almost empty terraces, two first half goals were the only thing that came close to football.

Ravished by injuries and hard-hit by suspensions to two key players, the Spartans went to the extent of issuing a news statement justifying the handful of young players who were called up by coach Atanas Marinov for this difficult assignment against the league leaders.

The Hamrun mentor must have endured a nightmare to pick up a side able to at least tame the fiery threat of the Blues' clan.

With Charlo Magro and Graham Bencini unavailable through suspension, the Spartans faced the anguish of taking to this task without injured central defender Cesar Paiber. The absence of David Galea, still nursing an injury, complicated matters even further. Add to the equation the surprise inclusion of Nikolai Kirilov and the picture gets further compounded. No wonder, the need was felt for a media release prior to the match.

The game itself never did set any houses on fire. The Spartans crowded their rearguard in their bid to limit the damage to bare minimum and although their fort did repel the assault, Danilo Doncic finally unlocked the door and Said made sure of the points with a second goal as the match wilted into oblivion.

Following their keen tussle against Valletta at the beginning of the week, the Blues did what was expected of them with the least amount of effort.

After ten minutes, Sliema threatened to break the deadlock. Brincat found enough space to try a menacing shot from outside the penalty area which Casha somehow managing to block.

On 20 minutes, the Blues took the lead. The striking tandem of Nenad Veselji and Doncic engineered the Spartans' downfall. Veselji nipped the ball on towards Doncic who had an easy assignment heading into the net from close range.

Ten minutes later, Sliema struck again. Grima lofted a corner into the penalty area. Okoh soared high into the area to skew the ball towards Said who nipped in to head past a helpless Casha.

The Hamrun goalie, who started yesterday's match ahead of regular Daniel Dengaky, did pull off a fine save before the end of the first half as he denied the hardworking Turner the glory of goal.

In the second half, Edward Aquilina roped in Eduardo Do Nascimento to add more punch to the forward line. Yet, in reality the move paid little dividends as the second half deteriorated to a lame training session.

Hamrun did give Akanji a scare as Bajada equated power and precision to bring the best out of the Nigerian who partially parried the shot. Striker Sultana did swing around in a flash to slot home but he was judged to be in an offside position.

Goalmouth action was still at a premium after the interval. Kirilov has yet to shed off the rust to regain his reputation as a deadly sprinter that left his markers chasing shadows.

Yesterday, Hamrun's prodigal son was of little help to Sultana who assumed the responsibility of the sole ranger deployed to trouble Akanji as Sliema cruised to a comfortable victory.

Sliema Wanderers: M. Akanji, I. Ciantar (E. Do nascimento), J. Chetcuti, B. Said, C. Okoh, J. Brincat (R. Mangion), M. Grima, N. Turner, D. Doncic, D. Camilleri.

Hamrun Spartans: I. Casha, A. Attard, J. Magri Overend, K. Borg, R. Bajada, G. Spiteri, M. Brincat, S. Sultana, J. Debattista, N. Galea, N. Kirilov.

Referee: Charlie Agius.

Scorers: Doncic 20th , Said 35th.

MFA Player Of The Match: Noel Turner (Sliema Wanderers).