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In a well attended match, Naxxar started the last fixture of the first round tactically determined to offend against a 10-men defense Xghajra Tornadoes.
Despite pressing Xghajra in their defensive third, Naxxar found it very difficult to penetrate the defense. Both the wingers and the midfielders tried every way to reach the goal and unblock the result.
In the first 10 minutes, Xghajra's goalkeeper blocked twice on Gilbert Camilleri and Mario Debono. Naxxar kept on pressing and created several opportunities from a Gilbert Camilleri shot which was blocked on the line, a Kurt Farrugia shot and a direct free kick from Gilbert Camilleri which were all saved by the Xghajra rear guard. Xghajra had two isolated chances throughout the first 45 minutes with no real problems to Naxxar Lions and so the first half ended in a goaless draw.
Naxxar started the 2nd half knowing that they had to score to keep up with their league challenge. They started on the wrong foot when they conceeded a goal after the 1st minute from the restart, when a combination on the left resulted in a shot from the Xghajra captain. Naxxar took some time to recover from this shock and although they had several opportunities from Adrian Fenech and twice from Gilbert Camilleri who hit the cross bar, they had to wait until the 59th minute to score. It was a cross from the right by Mario Debono which Gilbert Camilleri ended with a nice header. Naxxar kept on pressing and while dribbling, Glen Magri was fouled in the penalty area. From the penalty spot, Darren Falzon scored to give Naxxar the lead.
After this goal, the game was ended for Xghajra Tornadoes and Naxxar kept on pushing forward and creating chances. Mario Debono had a shot from the right, Glen Magri had a shot saved by Xghajra goalkeeper and Darren Falzon missed by a blink when he lobbed over the goalkeeper.
In the 81st minute, Andrea Farrugia dribbled several players and saw his shot hit the upright. From the rebound, Darren Falzon score his 12th goal of the season and his 2nd in the match. In the 84th minute, Adrian Fenech scored with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area and had a second shot in the 89th minute hit the cross bar.
With this win, Naxxar are back on top and in the race to win the league. One must note and thank all the Naxxar supporters who once again gave all their support to the team.
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