Match Report

League Div. 1
25-04-2004
Nadur Youngsters 2 - Victoria Hotspurs 7
Gozo Stadium

match report by Charlie Grech

A disastrous, match for the champions. That was the saying after this game. It was a surprise, at least in the score line that does not really reflect the going of the match. Nadur, with Mark Buttigieg in charge of the team, had the better start and it took only 90 seconds from the start for Anthony Portelli to put the ball behind Vella from a C. Camilleri cross. Nadur were dominant and Simoncic saw Vella, in the Hotspurs goal, saving his shot with a spectacular dive. Nadur continued to dictate matters and their forwards Camilleri and Simoncic missed with their shots from outside the area.  Simoncic again saw his shot going just past the bottom left post from a free kick. Hotspurs, in their first real attack, on the 36th minute, were awarded a penalty when P. Camilleri handled the ball with his hands. Victor Egere made no mistake to level the score for his team. Nadur tried to regroup and J. Meilak saw his shot saved by Vella. A. Portelli’s shot went wide from a good position. The half time whistle found the two teams sharing two goals.  

The second half was a very different story. Nadur again went all out to regain the lead, knowing that only a victory was good enough for them to continue their challenge for the title. But on the 56th minute Ogbodo’s cross was met by Victor Egere whose header flew past Falzon, to give a surprise lead to the Hotspurs. The Youngsters missed a good chance to go level again, when first J. Portelli’s shot was saved miraculously by Vella and the rebound went to A. Portelli whose shot was saved on the line by defender Buttigieg. Hotspurs were more at ease, with the whites looking in disarray. Ogbodo escaped the offside trap but found B. Portelli saving on the line. On the 72md minute, Victoria increased the lead. Uwa Ogbodo this time took a poor back pass from B. Portelli to his goalie and made them 3–1.  Nadur were unlucky again soon after when Simoncic saw Buttigieg saving his line from what looked a certain goal. With Nadur all out to try to reduce the score, it was Hotspurs that kept increasing their tally. On the 76th minute Ogbodo from the right crossed to the unmarked Victor Egere, who found no difficulty scoring his third personal goal and Hotspurs fourth. Nadur were in total disarray now and were begging for the final whistle.  

A freekick by C. Camilleri on the 80th minute led Alexander Simoncic to score Nadur’s second goal. The hit and run play from the Hotspurs was giving good revenue when on the 86th minute Uwa Ogbodo again went undistracted to beat Falzon and made them 5-2. Four minute later exactly on the 90th minute mark, Uwa Ogbodo scored his personal third goal with a repetition of his second goal. Two minutes of injury time and Victoria hotspurs were celebrating their very important and vital victory with their seventh goal. And it came again from Uwa Ogbodo.  For Nadur Youngsters, this was a blow beneath the belt in their aspirations for the title. A good result for leaders Zebbug Rovers, who are now firm favorites to land the Gozo Championship for the first time. This is the second time that Nadur have conceded such a beating. A game to forget as soon as possible, and must not hamper the performance of the young players in the Nadur side.

Referee:  Kevin Azzopardi

The Nadur Youngsters formation: Justin Falzon; Jeffrey Meilak (Shaun Muscat); Kevin Buttigieg; Brian Portelli; Alexander Simoncic; Mario Bonello; Paul Camilleri; Charles Hili; Joseph (pb) Portelli; Anthony Portelli (Aaron Camilleri); Chris Camilleri.