vs
2	-	1
58' John Camilleri 60' Rodney Buttigieg

Date	Sunday 18th September 2011
Time	1700
Venue	Gozo Stadium
Competition	Independence Cup Semi Final
H.T.	0 - 0
Line-up	Joseph Grima, Carlton Mifsud (Elton Vella), Manuel Xerri (Paul Rapa), Martin Hrubsa, Joseph Cefai (c), Franklee Grima, John Vella, Chris Camilleri, Joseph Azzopardi (Christian Bugeja), Rodney Buttigieg, John Camilleri
Unused Subs	Darren Pace, Shaun Mizzi, Gennaro Hili, Fabian Xuereb
Remarks	Martin Hrubsa, Joseph Cefai
Referee	Kevin Azzopardi

Xewkija Tigers continue their positive run with another win, this time against SK Victoria Wanderers, to reach the Independence Cup Final.  The final appearance in the final of this competition goes back to the 2003-04 season.  The match was well contested and both set of teams gave their best to reach the final of the first honour of the season.  As a result the final score remained uncertain till the final whistle, where the Wanderers pursued their search for the goal despite having two players sent off.

In the early stages the Wanderers were more adventurous and went close to score on two separate occasions with their Guatemalan striker Estrada.  Xewkija's first reply arrived on 20 minutes when Frank Lee Galea's header was cleared off the line by Eman Bugeja.  Xewkija opened the scorline on 35 minutes but had their goal ruled out for offside, when Rodney Buttigieg skipped past goalie Vella and placed in an empty net, but John Camilleri's touch on its way in was judged offside and therefore the goal was not valid.  Five minutes Xewkija's goalie Grima was called to make a difficult save turning Kenneth Mercieca's effort in a corner.

Xewkija tried to be more in command of play in the second half, however the first real threat on goal came on 58 minutes by the Wanderers when an overhead kick by Ajibade Adesina was deflected on the crossbar with difficulty by goalie Grima.  SK were punished and one minute later, the Tigers opened the score when Rodney Buttigieg headed in goal a corner by Elton Vella.  One minute later the Tigers added their second goal when an angled shot by Buttigieg was partially saved by goalie Franklin Vella, and from the rebound John Camilleri deposited in an empty net to give the Tigers a double lead.  On 65 minutes, SK's captain Joseph Refalo was sent off for retaliation, however Xewkija failed to make the numerical advantage count, as by time, the Wanderers settled down more.  They managed to re-open the tie on 71 minutes when Edison Estrada netted with a low shot from outside the area following a personal action from the left.

Two minutes later Franklin Vella kept his side into contention with a good save on Christian Bugeja and on 81 minutes SK's Eman Bugeja had his free kick deflected into a corner by the Xewkija wall, with goalie Grima rooted to his spot.  The Citizens insisted for the equalizer but the Tigers managed to defend well their line until the final whistle, when in the fifth minute of stoppage time Chris Sciortino was the second player sent off for SK for a late tackle on Chris Camilleri.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 September 2011 14:32 )