Matchday 1

Xewkija Tigers - 0 vs Nadur Youngsters - 1

By Saviour Attard -

Nadur Youngsters started their new league campaign with a close win over Xewkija Tigers yesterday at the Sannat Ground. The decisive goal was scored by debutant striker Fabiano Bassi 15 minutes before the first half. The game should have provided more goals as both teams had golden opportunities of scoring. Xewkija’s goalie Joseph Grima was on song during the match, keeping his team’s hopes alive with some fine saves. Nadur could have added to their tally but at the end they settled for a minimal win that give them the three points.

Despite having Charles Mercieca and Saviour Attard missing, the Whites played a good game, completely dominating the first half and defended the lead well in the second.Xewkija made a very good reaction in the second part  and came close several times of the equaliser.The first period saw Nadur continuously attacking and created several scoring opportunies. After ten minutes of play Nadur’s Captain Anthony Portelli collected a pin-point pass from Claudio Antunes, entered the area from the right side, but his shot was easy prey for the Xewkija goalie. The Tigers quickly replied when Rodney Buttigieg dribbled Peter Buttigieg and shot the ball out from a very good position.

In the 27th minute Nadur scored the winning goal. Claudio Antunes ran past the Xewkija defense after a perfect long pass by Mario Portelli and unselfishly crossed the ball in the area where Fabiano Bassi was in the right place to deflect the ball on goal. This shocked the opponents and on the 40th minute Nadur should have doubled the score.The Xewkija rearguard failed to clear an inviting corner by Alex Simuncic with the ball falling on Antunes’s territory. The Brazilian youngster shot past the goalkeeper but saw his shot clear off the line and of the crossbar.Nadur were again dangerous few minutes before the interval when Bassi was again fed by his Brazilian compatriot and forced the Xewkija’s extreme defender to pull another of his great saves.

Xewkija were more effective in the second half of the game ..However it  was Nadur who again came close of the second goal.Bassi passed to an unmarked Josef Buttigieg who shot well from an angled position but Grima was well placed to neutralize the ball.Grima was again protagonist in the 56th minute when he rushed out of  his area and brought down Bassi.Surprisingly he was only shown the yellow card in what appeared to be a clear scoring opportunity for the goalscorer.On the hour mark Xewkija had their best opportunity of score when Joseph Cefai lobbed over the Nadur defense and found Rodney Buttigieg who alone in the area concluded poorly in the keeper’s hands. One minute later Andreas Fotso headed high from a free kick by Dolce after that Buttigieg had been brought down on the edge of the box. The Egyptian midfielder who was also on trial with Nadur in the pre-season was booked soon after as he dived in the Nadur area after a slight contrast with Peter Buttigieg.Xewkija continued attacking and on the 80th minute Rodney Buttigieg marched towards the Nadur area after a true pass from Christian Bugeja but was blocked by Nadur’s goalkeeper Steve Sultana. The Xewkija Striker had another good chance near the end but Sultana was there again to keep the clean sheet for an important opening victory for the whites.

Sunday, 20th September 2009 at 17:00 p.m.
Referee: Glenn Tonna
Skorers: Fabiano Bassi 28'.
Nadur Formation: Steve Sultana, Mario Portelli (Robert Hili), Peter Buttigieg, Charles Hili, Jeffery Mejlak, Josef Buttigieg, Anthony Portelli, Paul Camilleri, Alex Simoncic, Claudio Antunes, Fabiano Bassi (Shaun Muscat).