Late goal tames gritty Pietà

Birkirkara 2
Pietà Hotspurs 1

With only one minute remaining from the end of normal time, Birkirkara were on the verge of dropping their first two points of the season against a defiant Pietà Hotspurs side whose determined approach looked to have given them a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Cue Roderick Briffa. The young Birkirkara midfielder, who last season turned out for the Hotspurs, emerged as the unlikely hero by scoring a rather fortuitous winner for Stephen Azzopardi's troops within seconds of his arrival on the pitch as a substitute for Michael Galea.

Briffa's late, decisive contribution gave the Stripes their second win of the season and consigned the gritty Hotspurs, led by Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia, to their first defeat after a 2-2 draw against Sliema Wanderers.

Though Pietà will have felt hard done by Briffa's last-gasp goal after another committed performance, Birkirkara deserved to end this game on the winning side because it was they who created the better chances with Czech Jaroslav Marx dictating play in midfield.

There was little of note in the opening stages as the two teams looked to cancel each other out, especially in the middle of the park.

Chucks Nwoko sent in a tantalising cross-shot after 16 minutes which flew across the face of goal.

Saviour Darmanin then foiled Marx who had been sent clear by a clever Michael Galea pass. On 25 minutes, Darmanin was forced to concede a corner as he charged out of goal to block the goalbound Galea.

Although Birkirkara enjoyed the bulk of possession in the first half-hour, they laboured to breach the well-organised Pietà.

Discerning his team's difficulty in making inroads into the Pietà defence, William Camenzuli tried to unlock the opponents with a powerful run and a firm drive which Darmanin did well to turn around the post.

In their first significant foray into Birkirkara's half, Pietà came close to taking the lead as Kevin Mamo, latching onto a Malcolm Licari pass, curled a shot that flashed wide of the far post.

The largely subdued Matthew Calascione nearly capitalised from a moment of hesitancy in the Pietà defence, nipping in from the blind side to connect to a long Haber clearance but his effort trickled wide after he collided with Darmanin.

Both coaches opted for a substitution at the start of the second half.

Azzopardi replaced Clint Micallef with Sunday Eboh while Farrugia brought on Australian signing Danial Cummins in lieu of Anatole Debono.

George Mallia, Birkirkara's most influential player in the opening half, put his exquisite skills to good effect, powering his way into the penalty area before unleashing an angled drive that ended wide.

As Birkirkara continued to call the tune, Pietà breathed a huge sigh of relief four minutes into the second half, when, first Galea, and then Calascione, hesitated in front of goal, enabling the Hotspurs' defence to regroup and evade the looming danger.

When the Stripes did force a breakthrough 14 minutes into the second half, it came from the head of Romanian defender Lucian Dronca who leapt to direct Marx's corner into the net.

Birkirkara's joy was shortlived as Pietà took only five minutes to level matters, Pace heading past Justin Haber after the Birkirkara defence failed to cut out Woods' corner.

Darmanin ensured that the same fate did not fall on his team as he palmed away for a corner a menacing Camenzuli free-kick that looked destined to hit the back of the net.

Ten minutes from time, Alan Tabone, a late substitute for Calascione, signalled his arrival with an overhead kick that ended just over after Galea had nodded the ball into his path from Marx's corner.

Birkirkara pounded Pietà's fort with a series of attacks in the final minutes but these floundered on the Hotspurs' solid rearguard. Just as the Hotspurs looked to have weathered the storm, Birkirkara regained their lead courtesy of Briffa whose tame, scrambled effort from Marx's cross trickled past the grounded Darmanin.

Though stunned by that goal, Pietà tried to hit back admirably, Mamo's header from a Jurilj free-kick, however, bounced wide.

Birkirkara: J. Haber, L. Galea, W. Camenzuli, M. Calascione (A. Tabone), J. Marx, M. Galea (R. Briffa), C. Nwoko, C. Micallef (S. Eboh), L. Dronca, K. Scicluna, G. Mallia.

Pietà: S. Darmanin, P. Aquilina, M. Dilello, M. Jurilj, D. Okonkwo, G. Sciberras, I. Woods, M. Licari, K. Mamo, A. Debono (D. Cummins), J. Pace.

Referee: Anton Zammit.

Scorers: Dronca 59th; Pace 64th; Briffa 89th.

Yellow Cards: Dilello, Pace, Okonkwo, Cummins; Dronca.

Player Of The Match: Jamie Pace (Pietà Hotspurs).