Pembroke Vs St.Venera      14/01/09

Our formation:  Ruth Debono,  Dorianne Bonello, Jannelle Galea, Shana Debono, Justine Zammit,  Lilian Cremona,  LeeAnne Wood, Brenda Cutajar, Kristine Magro , Kaylie Mifsud, Naomi Borg

Subs: Sarah Caruana, Simone Daccache, Emma Fenech Soler, Dorita Agius

St.Venera Team Formation - To be added soon

The sixth match of the women mfa 2nd division football league offers a very interesting match between Pembroke Athleta and St Venera YB.
The match starts off at a very good pace, in fact in the 4th minute Pembroke open the score when Striker LeeAnne Wood dribbled St Venera' s goalkeeper and deposited the ball into the empty net to make the score 1-0 for Pembroke.

Just 3 minutes later in the 7th minute Pembroke were awarded a freekick just outside the penalty area, which Pembroke`s Skipper Shana debono struck over the bar. In the 12th minute St Venera started showing some good skills and agility, when Yanika Debono did a solo run down the left flank and managed to skip Pembroke`s fullback with a good turn to delivered a good cross to the middle which was very well collected by St Venera`s captain Therese Briffa who tried her luck with a good strike but the ball finished wide on the right hand side of Pembroke`s Goal bravely defended once again by Pembroke`s goalkeeper Ruth Debono.

Three minutes later this being the 15th minute, Pembroke`s right fullback Dorianne Bonello delivered a good cross which left everyone stand still and no one from either side able to pick the ball which ended up over the line for a St Venera throw in.

In the 19th minute Pembroke`s Goalkeeper Ruth Debono was again called into action after a cross-shot from St Venera`s skipper Therese Briffa.
In the 22nd Ruth had to leave her goal position and clear far away with good kick. Two minutes later Naomi Borg tried a personal run on the right flank for Pembroke but was closed down by St Venera`s defence who managed to clear the ball.

In the 26 minute St Venera`s Jessica Celeste found herself face to face with Pembroke`s Goalkeeper Ruth Debono who adventurously once again left her goal position to disrupt  St Venera`s Attacker who`s shot ended wide.

In the 36th minute Naomi Borg Tried her luck once again after a wall pass from Lilian Cremona but unfortunately for Pembroke Naomi`s shot ended up wide, not far from the right post defended by St Venera`s goalkeeper. Just four minutes before half time in the 41st minute, St Venera were very unlucky after hitting the post the ball ended up cleared off the goal line by Pembroke`s midfielder Janelle Galea.

In the 43rd Janelle Galea cleared badly, the ball seemed to be going over the line for a corner but Pembroke`s keeper Ruth managed to keep the ball in play, she also delivered a wrong pass and the ball ended in St Venera`s feet once again. Somehow Pembroke`s defence managed to recover but conceded a foul in which a freekick for St Venera was awarded. The freekick was well struck but Janelle Galea managed to clear off the line once again. Also we have to mention that in this Pembroke`s received their first yellow card of the season which was shown to Janelle Galea for the ill timed tackle.

This was the last action which ended a very well battled first half very well played by both sides.

At the beginning we had the first substitution of the match Pembroke`s striker Kaylee Mifsud being replaced by Youngster Sarah Caruana.
Just 2 minutes into the second half we had another good save by Pembroke`s goalkeeper Ruth Debono after a good shot-cross from St Venera`s left winger Yanika Debono. Five minutes later in the 52nd minute Yanika Debono delivered a good shot which ended up in Pembroke`s goalkeeper`s hands.

The Equalizer for St Venera arrived in the 66th minute when Pembroke`s central defenders had a lack of communication, Yanika Debono took advantage of the situation got the ball and ran towards Pembroke`s goal and placed the ball into the net to make the score 1-1. In the 68th minute another substitution done by Pembroke Athleta`s coach Charles Borg, this time Kristine Magro being replaced by Emma Fenech Soler.

In the 73rd Minute St Venera took the lead after a wall pass between Therese and Yanika which managed to cut out Pembroke`s defence and made it easy for Yanika to deposit the ball behind Pembroke`s goalkeepers back for the second personal goal and make the score 2-1 for St Venera. Just a minute later St Venera did it again, this time exchanging roles, Yanika doing the through pass and Therese Briffa increasing their score to 3-1.

 In the 76 th minute St Venera tried to round up the margin of the score but Yanika`s shot went just over the bar. Another substitution was done in the 79th minute this time Brenda Cutajar being replaced by Dorita Agius. In the 80th minute another remarkable save by Pembroke`s Goalkeeper Ruth Debono who cleared with her feet after leaving the penalty area once again.

Last remark, in the 90th Minute St Venera had a player booked for bad language.

Player of the Match: Justine Zammit