Tenacious Blues stretch unbeaten start

Sliema Wanderers 2
Birkirkara 1

Criticism of Sliema Wanderers is often directed at their perceived lack of work-rate. How many times have we heard cynics speculate that Sliema's success in winning the Malta championship for the past three seasons owes to the experience of their players more than anything else?

That may be true but in dismissing the challenge of chief rivals Birkirkara yesterday, the Wanderers showed that they can also function as a compact unit.

Tenacity and tactical discipline Sliema possessed in abundance last night as they extended their unbeaten start to four matches and steered five points clear of their rivals in the table.

Birkirkara yet again flattered to deceive. Their on-going struggle to back up their attacking flair with defensive stability was pounced on by the expert Sliema who moved into a 2-0 first-half lead and weathered a late Birkirkara rally to make sure of the points.

Birkirkara's new signing Jonathan Holland received an appreciative applause from his new fans before taking his place on the subs' bench minutes before kick-off. Stephen Azzopardi, the Birkirkara coach, refrained from fielding the former Malta midfielder from the start of what promised to be a taxing clash against the champions.

Mark Anthony Bonnici, Antoine Zahra and Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza were also named among the substitutes yesterday.

Sliema coach Edward Aquilina also had a star-studded reserves list at his disposal as the likes of Alex Muscat, Noel Turner and Claude Mattocks did not feature in Sliema's initial 5-3-2 formation.

Sliema's gameplan was clearly designed to negate the threat of Birkirkara's roaming three-man forward line of Etienne Barbara, Mich-ael Galea and Matthew Calascione.

The opening 10 minutes were characterised by long balls and miscued passes as the two heavyweights looked to gain an early foothold in the match. In spite of their undisputed emphasis on defensive solidity, it was Sliema who capitalised on their first serious raid.

Receiving a pass from the back, Danilo Doncic advanced down the right before supplying a long ball towards the Joe Brincat who swept past William Camenzuli and drove the ball past Dave Simon.

In no time, Birkirkara threatened to redress equilibrium when Murphy Akanji, under pressure from Barbara, fumbled Camenzuli's corner but the action was stopped for a foul on Brian Said.

Sliema's breakthrough coming so early in the game had a positive effect on the contest in so far as attacking football is concerned.

Brincat swerved the ball dangerously from a free-kick but his effort was deflected away for a corner. At the other end, Mauro Di Lello broke down a Birkirkara attack with a timely tackle on Galea.

A potentially inviting attack for Birkirkara went abegging when George Mallia's cutback inside the box was easily intercepted by Orosco Anonam. Sliema instantly fed the ball to their strikers where Bogdanovic twisted and turned before crossing for Ivan Woods who shot over. Anonam's evening was curtailed by injury 12 minutes from half-time. His void was filled by Turner.

The tendency of the Birkirkara defenders to stray far off their goal when their team is in possession was clearly leaving them susceptible to Sliema's counter-attacks.

In one such instance, Doncic floated the ball over the backtracking Birkirkara defenders and towards Woods but the conclusion from the Malta striker ended high.

There was no such reprieve for Birkirkara two minutes later.

Another fluid Sliema move saw Turner and Doncic exchanging quick passes on the right before the ball was delivered to Woods. The latter avoided a tackle inside the box and squared the ball to the unmarked Bogdanovic who had a straightforward job in blasting the ball home.

Birkirkara may have reduced the arrears almost immediately after when Galea was denied by Akanji and a subsequent clearance from Bogdanovic... the former Marsaxlokk player was here, there and everywhere for Sliema in the first half, often dropping back to offer extra cover.

At half-time, Azzopardi withdrew Barbara and brought on Bonnici who took up his usual station on the right with Briffa moving to the centre.

Five minutes into the second half, Sliema could have increased their advantage as Woods burst through before releasing Doncic but the latter's chip sailed wide.

Birkirkara continued to defend like schoolboys, inviting Sliema to pile the pressure on them. On one occasion, Doncic's pass found Said unmarked at the far post but the shot from the Malta defender was saved by Simon.

On the hour mark, Birkirkara claimed a penalty when Bogdanovic dashed into his own area and made a strong challenge on Adrian Ciantar but the referee waved play on.

Ten minutes from time, Birkirkara grasped a glimmer of hope when Turner's tackle on Zahra inside the area led Lautier to order a penalty. Michael Galea scored to set up a thrilling finale.

Six minutes from time, Akanji preserved Sliema's lead when pushing away Zahra's curling free-kick.

Sliema W.: M. Akanji-6, J. Brincat-7, M. Di Lello-7, B. Said-6.5, D. Debono-6.5, D. Doncic-6.5, J. Chetcuti-6.5, I. Woods-7 ('90 A. Muscat), O. Anonam-6 ('33 N. Turner), S. Giglio-6.5, D. Bogdanovic-7.5 ('80 C. Mattocks).

Birkirkara: D. Simon-5.5, P. Monye-6, W. Camenzuli-6, M. Calascione-5.5 ('56 J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5.5), E. Barbara-6 ('46 M.A. Bonnici-5.5), M. Galea-5.5, R. Briffa-6, K. Scicluna-5.5, G. Mallia-5.5, E. Yanchev-5.5, A. Ciantar-5.5 ('64 A. Zahra).

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Scorers: Brincat 11; Bogdanovic 40; Galea 80 pen.

Yellow Cards: Giglio; Mallia; Doncic; Debono; Yanchev.

BoV Player of the Match: Daniel Bogdanovic (Sliema).