Gżira United upset Ħamrun Spartans

ĦAMRUN SPARTANS 0-1 GŻIRA UNITED
Thaylor 40

Substitute Thaylor gave Gzira a shock win over Ħamrun to dent the Spartans’ hopes to finish at the top of the Closing Round.

A win would have elevated Alessadro Zinnari’s side to the top of the table, but defeat saw them slip to fourth. Gzira climbed sixth and ignited a revival from a side many have already written off to the bottom six classification.

The defeat means that Ħamrun have lost two of their last three matches. Gzira’s success owed much to the tactical nous of coach Giovanni Tedesco whose decision past the hour mark to replace Stefan Denic with Thaylor had a decisive effect on the game.

The Spartans were without Marcelina and Ederson suspended but it did not stop Ħamrun to virtually dominating possession for the entire first half.  

Luke Montebello, predictably, was the major threat as the Maroons were forced to mount a lengthy rearguard action.

For Ħamrun’s supremacy, Gzira goalkeeper Giulio Mangano was well-protected throughout the opening period.

But when Raphael Lopes, past the half hour mark, had a ‘goal’ ruled out after controlling the ball with his arm before steering the ball into the net, Alessandro Zinnari might have sensed it was not going to be their day.

Five minutes later, Stefan Denic surged into the box from the right, but his cross-shot found no takers. But Giovanni Tedesco brought him off immediately for Thaylor and the new man, made immediate impact on the match as he broke the deadlock. The Brazilian released Diogo Barbosa with a throughball and Henry Bonello made fine save to deny the Portuguese striker. The loose ball fell kindly to Thaylor who hit the ball into an empty net.

For Ħamrun’s supremacy, Gzira goalkeeper Giulio Mangano was well-protected until he was forced into a fine diving save from Jovan Cadenovic’s freekick past the hour mark. It appeared a harmless freekick by the Montenegrin midfielder but the flight of the ball took on an unpredictable pattern by strong winds and the Italian goalkeeper tracked back to palm the ball away.

Gzira had shown great resilience to hang on. And their resilience underlined a growing belief that they could catch the frustrated Spartans on the break again.

Zinnari  threw on Alejandro Menacho, Abdoul Kairou and Redon Mihana . The Spartans gained a foothold in the game and at death Mihana brought a smart near-post save from Mangano.