Match Preview: Europa F.C.

Match Review brought to you courtesy of Turicum Private Bank and Quantocoin

Record versus Europa F.C.

Played: 8
Won: 1
Drawn: 0
Lost: 7

Last Result: 2 – 0 (06-04-2018)

Manager: Juan Jose Gallardo
Captain: Javier Muñoz Arevalo
Top Scorer: Enrique Carenño (19)

It has all come down to the wire and the last game of the season. 90 minutes away from a spot in the Europa League. A win over Europa guarantees United the third spot in the table and with Europa’s win the in Cup Final last Sunday that spot gives access to Europe next season.

United have our last game versus Europa to serve as extra motivation, a match which we won 2-0. However much has changed since then. Juan Gallardo has retaken the reins of the team and he has scored two specatcular wins in the league and won the Rock Cup in his three games in charge. United for their part recover Bosio and Carrasco from suspension and Baio for injury for this shootout at 20:00 Saturday 2nd June

Vi et Animo, Ad Victoriam

Premier League Review: Round 26

 

The penultimate Round of the season saw United and St Joseph’s continue their personal tussle for 3rd place as both sides scrambled 2-1 wins versus Phoenix and Lynx respectively. Lincoln celebrated their first game as champions by defeateing a severely weakend Mons Calpe side, the Calpeans no doubt with more than half on eye on the Rock Cup Final. Lions and Glacis fought out a 0 – 0 draw that had all the trappings of an end of season dead rubber. Europa’s game against Manchester 62 is postponed due to Sundays Rock Cup Final.

The last round of the season has two outstanding fixtures; Lincoln vs St Joseph’s and Europa vs United. They are great games in themselves but whether or not they will have a say on who goes to the Europa League will be determined by the result of the Cup Final. Should Europa be successful then United will go into that game knowing exactly what to do as St Joseph’s play Lincoln just before we kick off. The rest of the final day fixtures are as follows: Phoenix vs Lions, Lynx vs Man 62 and Glacis United vs Mons Calpe.

Round Twenty Six Results

Mons Calpe S.C.	0   6	Lincoln Red Imps F.C. (Vallejo 2, Merida, Macarro 2, Ruiz)
St Joseph’s F.C. (Molina, Comino)	2   1	Lynx F.C. (Seatory)
Lions F.C.	0   0	Glacis United F.C.
Gibraltar United (Meireles, Elghobashy)	2   1	Gibraltar Phoenix F.C. (Narvaez)
Europa F.C.	P   P	Manchester 62 F.C.

Round Twenty Seven Fixtures

Gibraltar Phoenix F.C.	Vs	Lions F.C.
Lincoln Red Imps F.C.	Vs	St Joseph’s F.C.
Europa F.C.	Vs	Gibraltar United
Lynx F.C.	Vs	Manchester 62 F.C.
Glacis United F.C.	Vs	Mons Calpe S.C.

League Table as of 27-05-2018

Gibraltar United vs Gibraltar Phoenix F.C.

Match corresponding to the 26th Round of the Gibraltarian Premier Division and played on Saturday 26th May 2018 at 16:00. Match report brought to you courtesy of Turicum Private Bank and Quantocoin.

Gibraltar United 2 – 1 Gibraltar Phoenix F.C.

Meireles
Elghobashy

Gibraltar United

1   Kyle ‘Chino’ Goldwin (C)
8   Filipe Aguiar
6   Brad Power
5   Erin Barnett
23 Andre Farinha De Oliveira
17 Marco Meireles
15 Aymen Mouelhi
39 Leo Pereyra
20 Michael Negrette
16 Daniel Ponce de Leon
9   Ayman Elghobashy

SUBSTITUTES

Alberto Del Rio Fernandez on for Michael Negrette
Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho on for Daniel Ponce de Leon

Manolo fields a team for the last but one time this season knowing that after St Joseph’s won their game on Thursday there is no option but the three points. With Bosio, Baio and Carrasco still missing their is a slight change of formation and personnel as Negrette comes into the starting XI to the detriment of Pipo who drops to the bench where his joined by youngster Max Cottrell who is called up to the senior squad for the first time.

Phoenix once proved to be a very tough opponent in the sweltering heat and the fight they put in today makes one wonder at last week’s 8-0 drubbing at the hands of Europa F.C. United’s goal was clear, 3 points to jump ahead of St Joseph’s once again. As such, United started the stronger, moving the ball around well and patiently waiting to seek an opening.

Phoenix were tightly knit and had moved Pusey into midefield to add some height next to Moreno, and though United had plenty of the ball there was little penetration. Phoenix were hard in the tackle but also quick to moan about every little decision and scuffle which made the initial stages of the game stop and start as thier incessant heckling of referee, Mr Warwick, did allow for the flow of good football.

The one time it did, Marco struck a sweet opener of a goal. He played a clever one-two with Aguiar on the wing and cut inside the defender’s blind side. He set up the shot with a toe poke of his left foot and curled one past Morales and into the top corner with his rigth. An outstanding finish with great quality that left the keeper with no chance. A just reward for our opening 15 minutes or so.

Phoenix shoulders, however did not drop and the match descended into a pitched battle. Mr Warwick was forced to dip into his pocket a number of times as several tackles came close to the line. There was little goal mouth action however and the only clear chance before half time fell to Dani who was left with the keeper to beat only to have any clear and obvious advantage denied by the referee who called play back to an earlier foul, in our favour!

The second half kicked off with Alberto replacing Negrette and as the heat began to take its toll the match began to open up. Morales twice thwarted Ayman on two successive occasions as the Egyptian was begining to find his stride and range. As usual the defenders sought to constant fouling and both centre halves were soon in the ref’s book. Ayman’s persistance paid off around the hour mark. Some good work from Alberto in the middle of the park saw Dani benefit. The latter then threaded a ball of immense quality that put Ayman through. As the defence was left in his wake he rounded the keeper and tapped in his 12th league goal of the season.

Our opponents however took this as cue to press further up the field with abandon. Sub Hernandez had opened their left wing and was carrying substantial danger forward. Chino was increasingly called into action though most of it came in via floated balls and crosses. Credit to Gibraltar Phoenix for wanting to get back in the game and the glimmer of hope sparked into life from the boots of German Narvaez who scored a frankly spectacular goal from almost the same spot that Marco had given us the lead earlier.

As Ferri threw on Gallardo, Manolo subbed the flaking Ponce for Pipo. Nerves were frayed and tensions were running high. As Phoenix continued to press United had two gilt edged chances to put the game to bed. First it was Morales who again saved from Elghobashy and then Pipo whose effort was ruled offside following some sterling work from Aguiar. The game had the potential to turn nasty as Gallardo saw a straight red for punching Farinha following a coming together for a ball.

United also had to survive a very late penalty scare when Chino and the aforementioned Hernandez collided in the area and it looked as if Phoenix had a solid case. Ultimately the incident proved moot as Mr Warwick waved off appeals and motioned for a goal kick, to which he quickly followed with the final whistle. 3 more points and its sets up a final day shoot out with St Joseph’s for third place. Both clubs, however, await the outcome of tomorrow’s Rock Cup Final to see if we move into the final weekend of the season with the third place still alive in terms of a Europa League Place.

 

Manchester 62 F.C. Reserves vs Gibraltar United Reserves

Match corresponding to the 16^th Round of the Gibraltarian Reserves Division and played on Thursday 24^th May 2018 at 18:15

Gibraltar United Reserves 10 – 2 Manchester 62 F.C. Reserves

Ramalho (2)
Carrasco
Cantelmi (3)
Minni
El Ouahabi (2)
Bosio

Gibraltar United Reserves

13 Alvaro Perez Pichardo
2   Alberto Del Rio Fernandez
22 Jamie Pratts (C)
12 Ahmed El Hana
18 Max Cottrell
24 Jamie Bosio
40 Carlos Carrasco
27 Tito De Torres
10 Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
11 Yassine Idouaziz
14 Javier Cantelmi

SUBSTITUTES

Ilyias El Ouahabi on for Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
Tarik El Hlou on for Max Cottrell

Back Row (l to r): Perez Pichardo, Alberto, Cantelmi, El Hana, El Ouahabi, Carrasco, Avellano Front Row (l to r): Cottrell, Minni, De Torres, Bosio, Ramalho, El Hlou, Pratts (C)

Match Preview: Gibraltar Phoenix F.C.

Match Review brought to you courtesy of Turicum Private Bank and Quantocoin

Record versus Gibraltar Phoenix FC

Played: 4
Won: 2
Drawn: 1
Lost: 1

Last Result: 1 – 0 (02-04-2018)

Manager: Alberto Ferri
Captain: Francisco Moreno Jimenez
Top Scorer: German Cortes Narvaez (11)

Phoenix come into the game on the backs of an 8-0 drubbing by Europa F.C while United will seek three more vital points after the 3-0 win over Glacis last weekend. Both teams come into the game missing key players in key positions and the team who copes better with these absences might come out on top.

This is United’s penultimate game of the season and the stakes riding on it are high. Our last game against Phoenix proved a tough encounter and all efforts are being made to get the team ready for a tough and uncompromising match. Kick off Saturday 26th May at 16:00

Premier Division Review: Round 25

 

Lincoln Red Imps finally crowned themselves champions on Saturday evening after an emphatic win over Lions. They are well deserved Champions having been the most regular side throughout the season and well deserved congratualtions are in order. St Joseph’s kept the fight for third place going after beating Mons Calpe 4-2 despite the Calpeans taking the lead in the first minute. Gib Utd did what they had to do and saw off Glacis United in the Friday Night Football. Elsewhere Man 62 were mathematically relegated after the game against Phoenix while Europa surprisingly went down to a resilient Lynx F.C. in perhaps the result of the round.

We enter the last but one round of fixtures as the sesaon draws to a close. Cup Finalists Mons are the first side to face Lincoln as Champions while Europa face relegated Man 62; the Green and Blacks play their game in hand against Phoenix on Monday. Gib Utd subsequently meet Phoenix on Saturday afternoon while St Joseph’s face Lynx F.C. Glacis vs Lions closes the Round. Incidentally the Rock Cup Final is played this Sunday as well in what is going to be a weekend jam packed of football.

Round Twenty Five Results

Gibraltar Phoenix F.C. (Narvaez, Ramos)	2   0	Manchester 62 F.C.
Europa F.C. (Kike)	1   2	Lynx F.C. (Gargiulo, Pumetti)
Glacis United F.C.	0   3	Gibraltar United (Ponce de Leon 2, Elghobashy)
Mons Calpe S.C. (Pibe 2)	2   4	St Joseph’s F.C. (Molina, Martinez, Verdejo, Delgado)
Lincoln Red Imps F.C. (Casciaro 2, Hernandez, Monterede, Merino 2, Cabrera)	7   1	Lions F.C. (Consigliero)

Round Twenty Six Fixtures

Mons Calpe S.C.	Vs	Lincoln Red Imps F.C.
St Joseph’s F.C.	Vs	Lynx F.C.
Lions F.C.	Vs	Glacis United F.C.
Gibraltar United	Vs	Gibraltar Phoenix F.C.
Manchester 62 F.C.	Vs	Europa F.C.

League Table as of 21-05-2018

Gibraltar United Reserves vs Glacis United Reserves

Match corresponding to the 14th Round of the Gibraltarian Reserves Division and played on Sunday 20th May at 18:15.

Gibraltar United Reserves 1 – 2 Glacis United Reserves

Hidalgo Calvente

Gibraltar United Reserves

13 Alvaro Perez Pichardo
38 Ahmed El Hana
24 Jamie Bosio (C)
40 Carlos Carrasco
18 Max Cottrell
20 Michael Negrette
11 Yassine Idouaziz
27 Tito De Torres
10 Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
14 Javier Cantelmi
28 Ilyias El Ouahabi

SUBSTITUTES

Pedro Hidalgo Calvente on for Ilyias El Ouahabi
Jorge Avellano on for Alvaro Perez Pichardo

Glacis United F.C. Vs Gibraltar United

Match corresponding to the 25^th Round of the Gibraltarian Premier Division and played on Friday 18^th May 2018 at 20:30. Match report brought to you by Turicum Private Bank and Quantocoin.

Gibraltar United 3 – 0 Glacis United F.C.

Ponce de Leon (2)
Elghobashy

Gibraltar United

1   Kyle ‘Chino’ Goldwin (C)
23 Andre De Oliveira Farinha
6   Brad Power
5   Erin Barnett
8   Filipe Aguiar
15 Aymen Mouelhi
39 Leo Pereyra
17 Marco Meireles
16 Daniel Ponce de Leon
10 Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
9   Ayman Elghobashy

SUBSTITUTES

Michael Negrette on for Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
Javier Cantelmi on for Ayman Elghobashy
Tito De Torres on for Daniel Ponce de Leon

With Carrasco and Bosio missing due to suspension and Baio out through injury it is a rather different midfield 3 that take the field. Aymen steps into the defensive midfield role he usually played in last season while Marco takes a more withdrawn role than usual. Brad comes into centre defence while Pipo just edges out Negrette on the right wing.

All photos used in the match report are credited to William Gracia.

Back Row (l to r): Farinha, Barnett, Power, Chino (C), Elghobashy, Mouelhi Front Row (l to r): Meireles, Pereyra, Aguiar, Ramalho, Ponce de Leon

United were fully aware that nothing less than 3 points today would do if last weeks win over Lincoln was to serve any purpose. The interest in the match was heightened by the presence of Andorran referees on the pitch as part of a referee exchange between the Andorra and Gibraltar FAs. Fans were curious how these officials, one being a woman, compared to the local referees.

Glacis United started the stronger of the teams as it took United’s misfit midfield some time to adjust. They had the early ball and the first few chances with former United player El Andalussi heading over the bar and Glacis also hitting the crossbar with a thundering volley. Indeed things were lookig dire early on with the Clarets in the ascendancy.

Chino the busier keeper in the opening exchanges

As the game progressed however United began to get a solid grip on the game. Manolo swapped Aymen and Leo’s position on the pitch and the latter began to put in a stellar performance regaining possession regualrly and breaking up play to release Dani and Marco on the ball. Aymen also went on to have a very good game in unfamiliar territory and often getting into very forward positions. As United got the ball chances began to arrive.

Pipo blasted one over while the ever active and often mishandled Elghobashy was pinging shots in. Indeed he turned provider once again after a quick exchange with Dani saw the latter drift in to the central area, cushion the ball with his left peg to set up the shot and blast the ball past Gonzalez with half an hour gone. Though the goal did not technichally come against the run of play it served to clam nerves and settle the team down.

Dani opens the scoring

To their credit Glacis fought back hard. They once again pressed our midfield but hit a resolute white wall and there was no way through. Occasionally shots and crosses were pinged in but nothing the keeper or defence could handle. Hoyos and the deadly Cerezo were taking the danger forward but in Barnett and Power they found their equal. Once again Leo excelled in shielding the defence and frankly put in a masterclass performance in defensive midfield play. As Mr Da Costa Carvalho called time United could feel happy they were in the lead and had contained Glacis’ forrays.

The second half kicked off with a sub as Negrette replaced the quiet Ramalho. One player who was not quiet was Elghobashy. The striker has been somewhat of a revelation in Gibraltar and he has amassed a cult following due to his power, style of play, personality and goals. Glacis’ central defenders have been no differet to others and resorted to the dark arts to stop him. However he nabbed his goal following a powerful shot from edge of the box just after the hour that finally saw the fight drop out of Glacis. 2-0 up and heading to the desired 3 points.

Ayman charges

The goal had come shortly after Barnett made Gonzalez pull of a spectacular save down low following a corner routine, he soon followed it up with another great save from the subsequent corner. Glacis were under the cosh and despite the introduction of the battling Ruiz, they knew the match had escaped them. Farinha also had a golden chance as he turned the keeper but the covering defender meant he could not capitalise on some excellent work. A mention as well to Filipe Aguiar, playing out of position but there is yet to find a gustier, more dedicated left back in the league!

Farinha glides past Gonzalez

Marco put the final touch of class to the match by putting Dani through with a classy ball from deep. Ponce finished with the class and poise that characterises his play to seal the deal and deliver a priceless three points. The match finally ebbed out, though Glacis were to end with 10 following the sending off of Tyson Ruiz, with United 5 points clear in third. With Mons Calpe facing St Joseph’s this evening it may well be a key weekend in the push for third place.

Dani seals the three points!

Match Preview: Glacis United F.C.

Match preview brought to you courtesy of Turicum Private Bank and Qunatocoin

Record against Glacis United F.C.

Played: 8
Won: 4
Drawn: 1
Lost: 3

Last Result: 4 – 1 (15-03-2018)

Manager: Mariano Marcos Garcia
Captain: Daniel Guerrero Heredia
Top Scorer: Antonio Cerezo (9)

 

United come into the game with morale sky high following the win over Lincoln. It came at a price however with Bosio and Carrasco picking up costly bookings. Marco has resumed full fitness and the squads morale was further bouyed by news of Roman’s quicker than expected recovery from injury and he may rejoin the fold soon.

Glacis also come into the game in good form after getting 6 past Man 62. Cerezo bagged himself 4 in that game but both Sidi and defensive stalwart Cano will be absent due to suspension. A win is a must to keep third place; kick off Friday 20:30.

Lynx F.C. Reserves vs Gibraltar United Reserves

Match corresponding to the 8^th Round of the Gibraltarian Reserves Division and played on Monday 14^th May at 18:15.

Gibraltar United Reserves 2 – 3 Lynx F.C. Reserves

Alberto
El Ouahabi

Gibraltar United Reserves

31 Jorge Avellano
2   Alberto Del Rio Fernandez
6   Brad Power
21 Pedro Hidalgo Calvente
12 Ahmed el Hana
18 Max Cottrell
7   Cecil Prescott
27 Tito De Torres
10 Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
11 Yassine Idouaziz
14 Javier Cantelmi

SUBSTITUTES

Ilyias El Ouahabi on Filipe Da Cruz Ramalho
Tarik El Hlou on for Alberto Del Rio Fernandez