Hotspurs lose to Oratory Youths

Hotspurs lose to Oratory Youths

GFA BOV Gozo Football League Division I (MD 13) – Sun 13 Feb 2022 – Gozo Stadium
Victoria Hotspurs FC – FT (2-3) – Oratory Youths FC

13’ (1-0) penalty Olimpio Gabriele Fernandes
85’ (2-3) penalty Henrique De Souza Maciel

Oratory Youths turned a defeat into a win in their match against Victoria Hotspurs and moved away from the red zone by leaving three other teams behind them on the table for the first time this season. With this result Oratory also moved to just two points from the same Victoria Hotspurs and are therefore in a position to make sure of their first division status before the last matches of the championship.

This was an important match for the two sides as they both needed a win. The Hotspurs were aiming to consolidate their lead over the teams involved in the relegation zone while the Youths needed a win to move away from the bottom of the table. Play was quite balanced during the first half but Oratory managed to be more effective in their play and scored two goals which practically paved the way to the win. The Hotspurs were shocked and only managed to reduce the deficit with a goal that arrived very late in the match when there was not enough time to save the result.

Timeline
The Hotspurs tried to take command of play from the early stages but the Youths managed to produce a good reaction after conceding an early penalty so that play became well contested during the second part of the first half.

10’ (1-0) penalty The Hotspurs were awarded a penalty for a foul by the goalkeeper on Henrique De Souza Maciel and Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes opened the score with his shot from the spot-kick.

19’ Oratory replied through a free kick from a long distance by Pablo Vinicius Ferreira that ended just over the crossbar.

25’ (1-1) penalty Oratory levelled the score when they were also awarded a penalty for a foul by Etienne Xiberras on Goncalves Barbosa and Pablo Vinicius De Moraes Ferreira converted from the spot-kick.

34’ Oratory’s Pablo Vinicius Ferreira had another attempt from a free-kick that missed the target.

41’ (goal disallowed) The Hotspurs had a goal by Olimpio Gabriel Fernandes that was disallowed for an offside.

HT (1-1)

Second Half

After the break Oratory seemed more determined and as time passed by they became much more dangerous in their play. The Youths took a deserved lead and gained confidence for the rest of the encounter so that they also made sure of the win by scoring a third goal.

12’ (1-2) Oratory were rewarded for their efforts and turned the result in their favour through an excellent direct free kick by Pablo Vinicius De Moraes Fereira that ended in the upper corner of the net and out of the reach of Victoria’s keeper.

Victoria tried to increase their efforts in an attempt to produce a reaction but they found it difficult to create serious scoring opportunities on Oratory’s goal.

23’ The Hotspurs went could have created more danger but a strike by Henrique de Souza Maciel from a free kick by Jason Pace ended away from goal.

26’ Oratory’s Goncalves Barbosa had an attempt through an overhead kick following a corner action that missed the target.

30’ (3-1) Oratory practically put their minds at rest from the win by scoring the third goal that arrived from a through ball from the midfield that released Pablo Vinicius De Moraes Ferreira who entered the area and netted with a low drive.

32’ The Hotspurs replied through an effort by Christina Vella from a good position that ended just over the crossbar.

40’ (2-3) penalty The Hotspurs were awarded another penalty for a foul by Samuel Azzopardi on Andre Azzopardi and Henrique De Souza Maciel reopened the issue by placing n goal his shot from the spot kick.

FT (VH 2 – OY 3)