Xemxija 2 - 2 Vorwaerts (384898986)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 51950 at Rdum-Rxawn-Stone Stadium today. Fiorenzo Scurati was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Silviu Bãlãceanu and Walt Brocaar. Xemxija had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Leclerc - Rymann, Hollfeld, Ory - Håkansson, Ventrella, Styger, Gasche, Ginferrer - Sierra, Naldi.

Vorwaerts started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Valdés - La Hoz, Zweig, Möllendorf - Pacheco, Brillard, Roccatagliata, Kosejk, Akburçak - Wöhrl, Wittwer.

Xemxija were very close to putting themselves one up after 18 minutes as G. Naldi got through on the left, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave L. Sierra from Xemxija a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 25 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! R. La Hoz of Vorwaerts had to be helped off the pitch as an injury meant he was unable to finish the game. R. Soyum came in to finish the match. C. Leclerc looked great 29 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' W. Wöhrl. Down the middle came E. Wittwer, making a fantastic play that nearly had Vorwaerts take the lead after 31 minutes, but C. Leclerc preserved the tie. 39 minutes in, Vorwaerts's G. Brillard received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A foul after 40 minutes resulted in a free kick. L. Sierra cannonballed it, giving the home team the lead 1 - 0. 42 minutes into the game Vorwaerts's J. Kosejk found a gap in the home side's central defence and scored with a fabulous shot, making it 1 - 1. Xemxija's V. Gasche left the field after 43 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was R. Blattmann. It was 1 - 1 at the break. Possession in this half belonged to Xemxija, who controlled the ball 53 percent of the time.

With 50 minutes played G. Naldi almost put the home team one ahead on a cross coming in from the right, but the shot went just wide. As the 60 minute mark approached, the Xemxija coach decided it was time for a substitution. M. Hollfeld reluctantly made way for S. Mohr on the pitch. The Xemxija captaincy was handed to S. Mohr. Xemxija had a chance to take the lead after G. Naldi's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 61 minutes. With 63 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. W. Wöhrl put the ball away for 1 - 2. The referee showed Vorwaerts's W. Wöhrl the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. 74 minutes into the match, Xemxija's L. Sierra maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 2 - 2. Xemxija claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 53 percent.

Xemxija's top performer was clearly R. Styger. R. Ginferrer was a disappointment, however. Most important Vorwaerts player was W. Wöhrl. However, R. Soyum made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 2.