The Malta Independent on Sunday
Fgura put Zebbug in further trouble with first half goals
Football - BOV First Division
Zebbug R Fgura U 1 2
Zebbug’s second half revival proved to be too little too late as the Greens failed to save the match after suffering a twogoal deficiti in the first half.
Zebbug are still in search of their first win this season as yesterday they suffered their second consecutive defeat.
It was a balanced affair but Fgura were more direct in their approach and most of all they were more sharp in front of goal, as they scored their goals in the few chances that came their way in the first portion of the game.
The match had a very slow start with both sides practically risking nothing upfront.
The first attempt at goal came from Zebbug with Charles Ikenna Kean’s effort hitting the side netting.
Five minutes later Zebbug again went close when a Shaun Borg header from close range was well saved by the Fgura goalkeeper.
On the half hour in their first real danger Fgura forged ahead. Josef Dalli and Joseph Chetcuti had a very exchange of the ball with the latter slotting home from close range.
Zebbug had a good reaction to this setback and another attempt from Ikenne Kean went slightly over the bar.
Four minutes from the break Fgura doubled the score when Hugo dos Santos was floored in the area by Kurt Zammit and from the resultant penalty Rafael Defex Marriaga made no mistake.
As expected Zebbug went in full force in the second half and after barely two minutes from the restart they were back in business when Ratko Mandic managed home.
This was the tonic Zebbug needed as they continued to press forward.
This left Fgura some open spaces and Fgura almost sealed the issue with a third goal on 74 minutes when a Marriaga effort was brilliantly saved by the Zebbug goalkeeper Azzopardi.
On 77 minutes the Rangers’ hopes were dealt a severe blow when they were reduced to ten players when Keith Vella received a second booking.
Although with a man less Zebbug continued to attack but Fgura should have wrapped the game up when a Joseph Chetcuti header was stopped by the crossbar.
Żebbuġ R: J. Azzopardi, C. Ikenna Kean, R. Mandic, K. Zammit, I. Meli (C. Pace), R. Bajada, S. Borg, D. Tabone (O. Rababah), Z. Trebovac, M. Gauci (A. Curmi), K. Vella.
Fgura U: M. Camilleri (B. Bartolo), D. Aquilina, C. Fenech, E. Uzeh, M. Caruana, G. Chircop, R. Spiteri, J. Chetcuti (C. Ciantar), J. Dalli, V. Hugo dos Santos (M. Sota), R. Marriaga.
Referee: Stefan Pace Senglea A Mqabba Sirens Pieta H Fgura U Gharghur Vittoriosa S Melita Lija A Naxxar L Zebbug R Rabat A Marsa Qormi to head PW D 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 0 3 2 0 3 2 0 3 2 0 3 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 3 0 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 the ball L F A Pts 0 12 4 7 0 4 0 7 1 8 5 6 1 5 2 6 1 3 4 6 1 5 8 6 1 6 4 4 1 2 5 4 1 5 2 3 1 1 2 3 2 1 3 1 2 2 6 1 2 0 4 0 2 1 6 0