Match corresponding to Round 2 of the Gibraltarian Second Division. Match played at the Victoria Stadium on Monday 29th September 2014
Gibraltar United Football Club 1 – 0 Gibraltar Scorpions Football Club
Andrew Lopez
Gibraltar United Football Club
1 Kyle ‘Chino’ Goldwin
2 Adrian Lopez
5 Aaron Collado
4 Jared Buhagiar
3 Kenneth Chipolina
7 Justin Collado
6 William Gracia
8 Dylan Mañasco
16 Stefan Cumbo
11 Aiden Victor
9 Andrew Lopez (C)
SUBSTITUTES
Damian Rocca on for Stefan Cumbo
Philip Villalta on for Aiden Victor
Dean Debono on for Justin Collado
Gibraltar United played their second league game this evening versus Gibraltar Scorpions FC, a name more familiar in FUTSAL circles. Due to injury the defence was much changed from our last match with Aaron Collado and Adrian Lopez coming in to cover the absences of the injured Shane Crisp and the missing Daniel Wahnon. Carl Thomas was serving a one match suspension after his red card in the previous game. Jared Buhagiar was played in a more withdrawn position while Kenneth Chipolina was in his familiar Left Back berth. Manager, Randal Aldorino, also rotated in goal with Kyle Goldwin getting his chance. Stefan Cumbo got a start following his goal versus Phoenix while Aiden Victor got a run out in the left wing.
The match itself was a dour affair with both teams being quite physical at times. The early period of the game saw the Scorpions keeping good possession of the ball but lacking in any serious penetration. United’s lines held strong with Willy and Dylan in centre mid, backed by a solid pairing of Aaron and Jared at the back. It was United that got the first sniff at goal with a driven cross that was missed by our attacking players. A pattern was established whereby Scorpions passed the ball just by their half way line and United held back their ineffective attacks. However, there was a tension in the game with tackles going in and some accusations of play acting on the part of the Scorpion’s players. Ref,Gordillo, was in no way shy in dishing out yellow cards to both sides.
A lot of midfield action in the early stages of the game.
The match was more or less 15 minutes old when, after a scare at the other end, United broke out in a swift counter attack that saw some lovely interplay between our players. Quick feet and sharp minds saw the ball at the feet of Stefan Cumbo. Goal scorer in the previous match became provider as he laid the ball to captain, Andrew Lopez, on the edge of the area. Some clever play by Andrew saw him create some space for himself and with a powerful, yet placed shot beat Medina in the Scorpion’s goal to put United into the lead. Tempers were quick to flare on the pitch following the goal, but United’s defence held firm despite the Scorpion’s dominating the possession of the ball. A flurry of yellows, and talking tos by the ref saw him blow for half time. The tension off and on the pitch was palpable!
Captain and goal scorer Andrew Lopez applauds Stefan Cumbo for his assist.
Aldorino made his first substitute at the start of the second half when veteran Damian Rocca was sent into the fray for Stefan Cumbo, who’d picked up a yellow in the first half. If truth be told the second half belonged to Scorpions. They dominated possession and had the most chances, yet only one required Kyle Goldwin to pull off a save; and what a save it was. With cat like reflexes he palmed the ball away and bellowed at his defenders to shore up and fight back. Fight back they did. As energy levels dropped, United’s lines got deeper and deeper, but for all their possession Kyle’s goal was not really under any real threat. Our only outlay was a quick ball to the flank for Justin Collado to run down the line with. Following a typical mazy run he dropped a shoulder, cut inside and let loose a belter of a shot. Scorpion’s keeper Medina was equal of the effort and pulled off a dramatic save when the crowd was on its feet cheering a goal!
Medina saves Justin Collado’s powerful shot.
Philip Villalta came on for a tiring Aiden Victor to make his first appearance of the season and injected some pace into our front line as Andrew Lopez was shifted to the left wing. Both our full backs were kept very busy yet the gate remained firmly shut. Though Scorpions had a headed goal rightly disallowed for offside they really didn’t have any clear cut chances despite some good approach play. Perhaps some of their forward players, more used to a FUTSAL pitch sought an extra touch that was not needed. Not that United cared one iota. The ref’s whistle brought proceedings to an end and as manager Aldorino said the three points the most important thing to get from the game. Surely a better performance is on the cards in our next game against Europa Point FC. 6 points from 6 and the only defence in the division yet to concede a goal
Table from GFT’s great website (http://gibfootballtalk.com/)
gibraltarunitedfc 