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[2010-02-23] After yesterday's fixtures, Naxxar are joint leaders in the 3rd Division League Section B with Zejtun Corinthians, with both
teams on 11 games. Naxxar started the game with high hopes of deleting their two points deficit from league leaders Zejtun
Corinthians after the latter featured in a goaless draw in the previous match against Attard.
Naxxar started with an offensive 3-5-2 formation and dictated play throughout the first half, keeping a lot of possession
and trying to penetrate the Santa Lucia defense. In fact, Naxxar defense was never under threat in the first half. On the
5th minute mark, Adrian Fenech had a shot over the cross bar, while Gilbert Camilleri had a nice shot saved by Santa Lucia's
goalkeeper. In the 9th minute, Santa Lucia guardian had to divert Adrian Fenech's powerful shot to a corner and save a Gilbert
Camilleri free kick in the 14th minute. A minute later, a Mario Debono cross from the right was met by a first timer by
Justin Zammit which was again saved by the goalkeeper. Naxxar kept on pressing and had a shot by Kevin Fenech and two other
shots by Adrian Fenech from outside the penalty area just before half time. Despite the Naxxar dominance, the first 45 minutes
ended in a goaless draw and once again Santa Lucia proved to be a hard opposition for Naxxar.
After the break, Naxxar continued where they left and immediately started attacking. The first opportunity arrived after just
one minute when Darren Falzon shot high after receiving a cross from Mario Debono on the right. 3 minutes later, St Lucia were
dangerous on the counter attack and it had to be a Matthew Spiteri Gonzi's sliding tackle to deny them from opening the score.
30 minutes from time, Simon Muscat replaced Justin Zammit and was immediately effective in the attack. Naxxar protested for a
penalty when a Santa Lucia defender fouled Simon Muscat, but the referee ordered a free kick just outside the penalty area.
From the resulting free kick, Gilbert Camilleri passed to Darren Falzon whose shot ended at the back of the net to give Naxxar
a deserved lead. After this goal, Santa Lucia got better and tried to press Naxxar, but it was Naxxar who created more opportunities.
First, it was Gilbert Camilleri whose shot was blocked in the 68th minute and then it was Darren Falzon who missed from close range.
In the 78th minute, another cross from Mario Debono resulted in a header by Adrian Fenech and in the last minute of the game,
Gilbert Camilleri had his shot saved by the goalkeeper.
With this win, Naxxar are now on 27 points, with a goal difference of +21, the same as Zejtun Corinthians and with a better chance
of claiming top spot at the end of the season. Another thanks and well done goes to the ever increasing Naxxar supporters who once
again were of great support to the team.
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