MALTA MASTERS (REPORT)
By Timothy Spiteri
The 2nd Malta Masters took place in Valletta at the Malta-China Friendship Society, out of the 9 possible participants, 7 took part. Joseph Borg Bonaci and Stefan Pace were the two players who did not take part. The format chosen was that of two groups of 3 with one player playing one of the second placed players of the groups for a place in the semi-finals.
Group 1 was made up of Massimo Cremona, Samuel Bartolo and Hansel Mallia. In the first match Massimo Cremona emerged victorious in a very exciting match against Hansel Mallia which he won 1-0, in this match there were many chances but Massimo Cremona turned his into a goal, therefore winning the match. U19 startlet Samuel Bartolo did magnificently in the group stage where he managed to obtain 2 draws; 3-3 against Massimo Cremona and 2-2 against Hansel Mallia, therefore finishing second in the group, and also Top Scorer (5 Goals).
Group 2 was made up of Derek Conti, Patrick Pace and Joseph Mifsud. The opening match was an exciting 1-1 draw between National Team members Derek Conti and Joseph Mifsud. Patrick Pace lost his first match 2-0 against the in-form Derek Conti, the match proved to be very one-sided as Derek Conti was willing to do whatever it takes to finish first in the group. Then Patrick Pace got an excellent draw against Joe Mifsud where he defended superbly and worked greatly with his goaler leaving Joseph Mifsud with second place in the group.
The barrage proved to be a nerve-wrecking match between Joseph Mifsud and Charles Aquilina which at full time was all square at 1-1, however a golden goal from Joseph Mifsud secured him a place in the Semi-Finals.
Semifinal number 1 was between Massimo Cremona and Joseph Mifsud, this was a clash of the titans where both players played a great match but Cremona had more chances and in the end prevailed by two goals to none. The second semi-final saw the meeting of two great friends, from Valletta SC, Derek Conti and hot prospect, Samuel Bartolo. This match, was very balanced and Conti emerged victorious with a 2-1 win.
The final was an excellent one, the great form of Massimo Cremona shined once again when he defeated Derek Conti 3-1, this is the second Malta Masters and as was the case last year, Massimo Cremona is the champion once more!
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