The Malta Independent on Sunday
Kooh Sohna punishes wasteful Sliema
Football - BOV Premier League
ing even squandered the chance to make the points safe earlier, they simply wilted to concede an equaliser that, not for the first time this season, denied them victory.
Pembroke can take heart from a point won with yet another diligent performance and a late equaliser that keeps them much alive in the relegation struggle.
When pegged inside their own half for long spells, they tried to hogg the ball but did not have the ingenuity to do much with it and were at times expensively sluggish.
Kooh Sohna’s late goal earned them a point that looked beyond them for most of the game.
The teams went into this match in contrasting fortunes. Pembroke had surprisingly beaten Hamrun Spartans with a Daren Falzon goal while Sliema Wanderers were beaten by Mosta the previous week.
Pembroke coach Artim Shakjiri made four changes to his side. Argyrs Roppas was back in goal while Paltemio Barbetti, Brooke Farrugia and Adrian Borg were all given the nod ahead of Owen Bugeja, Jawad and Levnaic.
Sliema gave a debut start to their new Argentine central defender Leonardo Incorvaia and were forced to substitute the injured Mark Scerri with Solomon Wisdom after hardly ten minutes play. Midfielder Peter Xuereb was suspended.
On 18 minutes a Wisdom low shot was blocked on the line by Attard.
Four minutes before the break a Wisdom effort was held out by Pembroke keeper Roppas and Farrugia’s shot on the rebound was blocked by defender Borg.
It did not take long for Sliema to make the breakthrough though. Four minutes after the restart, Denni played a low penetrating pass inside the Pembroke area which found Frank Temile unmarked at the far post to hit low past helpless keeper Roppas.
The Pembroke shot stopper was forced to leave the pitch with an ankle injury on the hour.
That made Pembroke defend with renewed nervousness, but no less commiment. Barbetti and Brooke Farrugia were tirelessly vigilant in front of the back four and that made it difficult for Sliema to score a second assuring goal.
Temile skied the ball when faced by reserve keeepr Calleja Cremona and Wisdom steered the ball wide on a Temile cross.
Pembroke offered rare moments of excitement in the late stages, that also brought them an unexpected equaliser. On 78 minutes Barbetti’s free kick was headed by Borg but the Sliema keeper Sarao held out at full stretch.
A Falzon shot from the edge of the area forced keeper Sarao into another difficult save before, with five minutes of normal time remaining, Sliema levelled matters. Raphael Kooh Sohna advanced inside the area from the right and managed to score from a tight angle to salvage a point.
That says a lot about how Sliema have underachieved this season.