Paolites come from behind to beat Balzan 3-1

This game kicked off 5 minutes late as the referee arrived at the venue at 0830 which was the scheduled time for the game to kick off.

Paola Hibs managed to turn defeat into victory after being a goal in arrears early in the first period. Following this game Paola Hibs are in fourth place on 12 points from 10 games while Balzan are in fifth position on 10 points from same number of games.

Balzan went straight on the offensive from the very first whistle. Miguel Busuttil released Gabriel Farrugia on the left flank and after advancing, Paola keeper Miguel Camilleri neutralised the ball from his high cross and a flag kick by Luca Zammit was partly cleared in the area and Camilleri had to dive to save the rebound shot by Busuttil.

In their next action in the 4th minute, they forged ahead when Farrugia served Eric Atkins in the area and he scored with a hard low drive.

In the 10th minute, Paola equalised through an own goal when Sheldon Briffa back-passed the ball to his keeper Beppe Micallef Moreno who was well out of his charge and the ball rolled over the line and into the back of the net.

Five minutes later, Paola scored a second goal when Owden Vella was fouled outside the area and the same player scored direct from the free kick with a rising shot.

Balzan then won a corner kick on the left flank which was welltaken by Zammit and was cleared away with difficulty.

In an action by Paola, Neil Buttigieg served Brite Ihuomah with a through ball. The latter was tripped on the edge of the area and after the same player’s free kick the Balzan keeper was fouled in the area by Luai Kassab.

The score became 3-1 in the 24th minute when Kieron Caruana dribbled past an opponent on the right flank, served Ihuomah with a high cross in the area and scored with a fine header.

In another action, Buttigieg dribbled past an opponent outside the area but he missed the upright from his hard low drive. Balzan created the last action before the break as Craig Borg served Atkins from a throw-in from the right flank and from his high cross in the area the ball was headed away.

Balzan created the first action after the restart as Sheldon Briffa dribbled past an opponent on the edge of the area and the ball missed the upright from his hard grounder.

Later Ihuomah released Buttigieg on the left flank and crossed the ball in the area, but Vella headed slightly out. Ihuomah then dribbled past an opponent on the left flank and after crossing the ball from the edge of the area the ball was cleared from over the line.

In a Balzan action, Atkins was fouled on the left flank and from the free kick by Briffa the ball was cleared away.

In an action by Paola, Luca Sapiano served Vella with a square pass outside the area and he missed the bar from the distance. Two actions were then created by Balzan.

A flag kick by substitute Jake Grech was cleared away with difficulty and Alistair Aquilina released Busuttil in the area and after Camilleri partly saved his shot, a defender cleared the danger.

The last action before the end was created by Paola as Ihuomah served Vella with a through ball in the area and after substitute keeper Isaac Scerri partly saved his shot, the ball was cleared away to safety.

Balzan: B.Micallef Moreno, S.Briffa, C.Borg, T.Cilia, R.Demicoli, S.Azzopardi (Capt), E.Atkins, L.Zammit, M.Busuttil, A.Aquilina, G.Farrugia

Paola Hibs: M.Camilleri, N.Buttigieg, A.Camilleri, K.Caruana, D.Caruana, M.Cassar, B.Ihuomah (Capt), J.Musu, L.Sapiano, O.Vella Referee: Rico Aquilina Player of the match: Brite Ihuomah (Paola Hibs)