Spartans Stand Their Ground to Register 2nd Win

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Today the Spartans showed us what mettle they are made of. They showed discipline, determination, fighting spirit and focus in order to bring home the much needed 3 points.

The initial exchanges of the match were a balanced affair with both teams trying to keep possession of the ball while trying to reduce the dangers from the opposing side. However, following the first 15 minutes of play, the Spartans started gaining in stature and were taking the upper hand with continuous pressure applied to the Floriana rear-guard. It didn’t take much time for the Spartans to exchange this pressure into goals. N’tow, who was playing in a position which is different to what we are used to, unleashed a powerful ground shot that took the Floriana goalkeeper Kitanov by surprise, resulting in the 1st goal for the Spartans. Our lads were aware of their superiority and continued to attack even after gaining such an early advantage. It only took another 8 minutes for the Spartans to double their advantage. Sasere was brought down inside the area by Callegari and from the resulting penalty kick, the same Sasere scored his 1st league goal. At this point, the Spartan faithful could not help but shout and jump for joy.

As the match progressed further, our superiority started dwindling until Floriana started putting increased pressure on the Hamrun defence, especially in the last 5 minutes of the 1st half which were quite nervy for our team. Nevertheless, the Spartans managed to take a 2-goal advantage into the dressing rooms at half time.

The 2nd half started with a Lagzir powerful freekick which was centrally parried by Kitanov. However, in the 53rd minute, Floriana pulled one back. A quick break from Floriana caught us uncovered on our right flank with Camenzuli advancing and crossing into the area. Gojkovic, who until that moment was having a good game, had an erratic clearance with the ball ending in Caseres’ feet who slotted home past the blameless Bonello. At this point, every Spartan fan was wary of how our players would react to such a situation, but our support was continuous, especially at this delicate moment. Our players showed true fighting spirit and companionship. Every player fought for the ball, and when a player committed a mistake there were others who covered for him. As fans, we were surely delighted to see the same spirit that helped us become champi8ns last year. Our players had no easy task however, as our opponents started regaining the initiative and pressure was continuously increasing, although we still had our chances with Sasere missing a golden opportunity in the 78th minute after a pin-point cross from Soares who had a good game today.

The players and fans were elated at the final whistle. A deserved three points were celebrated when the Hamrun players went under their fans’ side to thank them for their ongoing support. The fans reciprocated by thanking the players for fighting like true Spartans.

Line-Up

  • Bonello
  • Oyama
  • Gojkovic
  • Micallef
  • Mbong
  • Marcelina
  • Gambin
  • N’Tow
  • Lagzir (67’ El Bakhtaoui)
  • Soares
  • Sasere