Spartans Fail to Impress
Much was awaited from Hamrun Spartans after being crowned champions of the past season. However, the squad has failed to impress in any of the six games played so far. A negative record of four defeats clearly indicates that the dressing room atmosphere is far from what was witnessed last year. One must not forget that we suffered just one defeat in an entire season last year.
Today’s match could be described as a match of two completely different halves. In the first half, Gzira were unquestionably superior and were unlucky not to go ahead as early as the 2nd minute when a long range effort hit the crossbar with Sanchez totally beaten. This was a prelude of what was to come in the 1st half, where Gzira continuously applied pressure and Hamrun were never really offering any threat. Of worry is the fact that Hamrun lost their star player Soares who sustained an ankle fracture in the latter stages of the 1st half.
The 2nd half however was a totally different story. The Spartans were dominant throughout, but just like Gzira in the 1st half, they could not break the deadlock. The most dangerous chances came from a long range effort by N’Tow which was brilliantly saved by Curmi and a chip by El Bakhtaoui that beat Curmi but the ball was cleared by the Gzira defence before entering the goal. Contrary to the flow of play, Gzira managed to apply the killer blow when in the 83rd minute Messias headed the ball into the net from close range following a free kick which was slightly deviated by Corbalan.
As true Spartans, the fans will never surrender and will therefore continue to back the team in such difficult times. Similarly, as true Spartans, the players and technical staff need to keep on fighting and accept nothing less than the very best from each another.
Line-Up
- Sanchez
- N’Tow
- Gojkovic
- Micallef
- Corbalan
- Marcelina (55’ Guillaumier)
- Gambin
- El Bakhtaoui
- Mbong
- Soares (45’ Oyama)
- Sasere (81’ Sasere)
