Boro and Juanfri both got on the score-sheet in St Joseph’s 3-1 win over Boca this afternoon.
After a nearly fifteen-minute delay which saw a Boca player removed from their team-sheet due to testing complications, the game got underway on a sunny afternoon at the Victoria Stadium.
It took eighteen minutes for St Joseph’s to take the lead, Domingo Ferrer Lopez latched onto a through ball and fired his shot past Jack Atkinson. Saints finished the half strongly with Boro and Juanfri scoring to make it 3-0 to Saints.
Boca was awarded a penalty on the 75th minute which Luke Wall dispatched to make it 3-1. Saints held on for the remaining fifteen minutes and secured themselves the three points on the opening day of the season.
Lineups:
St Joseph’s: J. Robba; Serra, Boro (Juanma, 61), Nano, Hernandez, Pecci, Juanfri (Guirado, 61), Villar, Pons, Ferrer (Loren, 61), Mouelhi
Part One of our Gibraltar National League preview sees us take a look at College 1975, Europa, Europa Point and FC Boca Juniors.
Name: College 1975 FC
Next game: Lincoln Red Imps (19/10/2020)
2019/20 League finish: 12th
It’s been a quiet summer for College as expected. Signings have been kept on the low and we will have to wait until their first game to see what type of team College bring out.
After only recording one point last season, drawing 5-5 against Europa Point, College can find positives in their Intermediate team which will hopefully be given a chance in the top flight.
Name: Europa FC
Next game: FCB Magpies (18/10/2020)
2019/20 League finish: 1st
Dayle Coleing’s departure to Glentoran will be a huge loss to Europa. Javi Munoz had a good run-out during their European campaign but all eyes will now be on Jesús Romero Correa “Gato Romero” who was signed from Algeciras CF.
The only change in defence will be Ethan Jolley returning to the side following Sergeant’s move to Lincoln. The Greens defence only conceded eight goals last season and Escobar will be hoping for the same solidarity this season.
The Greens’ midfield was what made their season as good as it was. Carrascal, Walker, Rosa, Juampe just to name a new who stood-out through the season and new signing Polaco, Blas and Badr will give Rafa plenty of options this season.
Adrian Gallardo will hope to stay injury-free this season and Europa might need him to also with Manu Dimas and Labra departing the club.
The talk of the town is Europa’s lack of locals being an issue, with the club only have 5 seniors, but we could see other players like Evan De Haro, Dylan Borge and Mitch Gibson make a name for themselves.
Name: Europa Point FC
Next game: Lynx (17/10/2020)
2019/20 League finish: 8th
After a positive start to 2019, Europa Point finished the league in a respected 8th position – a hard task for new manager Daniel Amaya who takes over from Ian Hendon.
Local players have been an issue for Europa Point over the years and losing Jason Pusey & Jeremy Lopez will hit the team hard. All eyes will be on Omar El Yettefti again as he pushes his side through on what could be a long season.
Name: FC Boca Juniors
Next game: St Joseph’s (18/10/2020)
2019/20 League finish: 10th
A possible banana skin for many teams this season, Boca have upped their game on and off the pitch and will be interesting to see how they fare this season.
Stephen Vaughan and Luke Purcell have been very busy bringing in what looks to be a whole new squad – a mix of players known to them from their previously managed teams and young Gibraltarians like Max Cottrell, Didi Peacock and Leon Clinton.
Boca could definitely be a team to keep an eye out for this season.
With the Gibraltar National League halted due to COVID with the Gibraltar FA’s decision to null and void the league after a 2-month suspension – here is our early review of the Challenge Group.
Mons Calpe – 1st
In truth, Mons would have found themselves very disappointed to end up in the Challenge Group in the first place – they must have fancied themselves to finish above Lions and enter the Championship Group.
However, a much-changed and improved Mons had a good 2020, which culminated in reaching the semi-finals of the Gibtelecom Cup and all but securing the top spot in the Challenge Group before the season terminated. The challenge for Mons is to try and settle some of their off-field issues and try to build on their progress in 2020.
Europa Point – 2nd
Compared to their 2016-17 season in the top flight, Europa Point can find plenty of positives especially from January onwards. Ian Hendon and his team hard work reaped its rewards but a 5-5 draw against College 1975 before the suspension, would have left a sour taste in their mouths.
Europa Point will be keeping hold of Hendon and his players but most importantly, finding a good nucleus of HGP’s, the lack of which let them down for most of the season.
Manchester 62 – 3rd
Things were always going to be hard for Manchester, but third in the Challenge Group perhaps reflects where they were in terms of strength in the league. They would have perhaps hoped for Jeff Wood to last longer in the job but struck well in getting David Wilson, another former national manager, as his replacement.
Their commitment to local talent showed in the HGP tally, and Kian Ronan especially impressed, even as a makeshift striker – however Manchester will hope an 11-1 loss to Mons Calpe in their final game was not a sign of things to come next season, and was merely a one-off.
FC Boca Juniors – 4th
An underachieving team, if you look at their squad in the summer. Their lack of funds was their main downfall with most of their players leaving as a result. Boca announced Juan Carlos Camacho as their new head coach in November which lasted until January and following him out the door was their technical team.
Credit to them, the changes made in January were swift and were a competitive side for their level. Europa’s loanees Daniel Tudela and Elias Juel-Saleh were ones which impressed us over a short period of time.
Glacis United – 5th
Glacis suffered from a very stunted start to the season, where they had issues getting players registered in time for the opening games – meaning their Intermediate squad had to fill a lot of the gaps especially against Magpies and Lincoln. This gave them no chance of finishing in the top six, but in the Challenge Group they at least showed they were on the level of the teams around them.
One of Gibraltar’s more well-known teams, Glacis will hope they can get off to a better start next season – as second-bottom of the league will no doubt disappoint them massively.
College 1975 – 6th
After 18 games, College managed to pick up one point in a 5-5 draw against Europa Point – a game which they led 4-0 at one point. 17 straight defeats came previously, a tough lesson learned.
A worrying stat would be finishing bottom and having the least amount of minutes given to HGP’s outside of the top three.
The Gibtelecom Rock Cup quarter-finals brought no surprises as Mons Calpe, St Joseph’s, Europa and Lincoln Red Imps progress into the next round.
Mons Calpe 3-1 Europa Point
Mons rushed into an early two-goal lead against Europa Point, with Diego Diaz and Andre Dos Santos scoring in the first ten minutes before things settled down a bit more.
Europa Point was out of the traps early in the second half and got a goal back thanks to Diego Vera’s header, but their chances of a comeback were ended after Samuel Vermeeren’s own goal, and captain Antony Moulds late red card.
Mons is the only Challenge Group team left in the cup, and while they are now rank outsiders, they will look to make the cup final for the second time in three years.
St Joseph’s 1-0 Brunos Magpies
If last weekend’s encounter was anything to go by, we expected a fiery contest and certainly got it. With the level of football being played below par, both teams didn’t hide away from any strong challenges.
Juanfri scored from the penalty spot to send 10-man Saints, who had Angel Guirado sent off, into the semi-final since 2017 but it was the altercation after the final whistle which was the main focal point.
An altercation between Kelvin Morgan and Juanma Gonzalez spurred on a brawl between both teams which took quite some time to calm down – a situation which you’d believe the Gibraltar FA will investigate further.
Europa 2-0 Lions
The Rock Cup holders went safely through to the semi-finals thanks to goals from Fernando Velasco and Manuel Dimas. The Green found it tough to break the well-organised Lions defence, an improvement from their 7-0 defeat last weekend.
Europa will need to be much better for Saturday when they come up against St Joseph’s – a doubt for that match could be Olmo who came off early with a suspected groin injury.
Lincoln 6-0 Boca
As expected, Lincoln beat Boca, by a score of 6-0 on Sunday afternoon. Boca made them work for it, but Pibe’s brace and Jamie Coombes first-half goal meant at the break the game was all but done.
Boca gave Lincoln a slight scare in winning a penalty, but they missed from 12 yards, and that led to Lincoln making sure there was to be no hint of a comeback – Oli, Gato, and Blas Alvarez all scored in the second half to put an end to a spirited Boca side, who before the game may have been fearing a bigger scoreline.
With the first round of fixtures complete and the league split into two groups – here’s our team by team review of how each has performed so far this season.
Europa FC (Position: 1st – Championship Group)
Full of confidence from their Pepe Reyes Cup victory, Europa started their league campaign with an emphatic 4-1 win over rivals Lincoln – who they had beaten for the Pepe Reyes Cup, just five days prior.
Apart from their fortunate draw against St Joseph’s, and a couple of minor wobbles against Glacis & Lions, the Greens have rarely looked troubled this season and would arguably be favorites to win the league this season.
St Joseph’s (Position: 2nd – Championship Group)
Seen by many as the “team to beat” this season – Saints have really pushed on from their success in the Europa League and become very strong title contenders.
Juanfri & Boro have picked up from where they left off last season with 27 goals so far between them and will be hoping to carry it on into the Championship Group.
Lincoln Red Imps (Position: 3rd – Championship Group)
An injury-plagued first few months has left the current league champions in third, four points off leaders Europa and two behind St Joseph’s – both teams which the Imps have recorded losses against this season.
With a replacement of manager on the horizon and the January transfer window opening in a few weeks – the Imps will be looking to spend big and try to turn their current deficit around.
Lynx FC (Position 4th – Championship Group)
Unbeaten in their opening five games, Lynx has turned a lot of heads this season by what may be seen as overperforming this season (considering when you look at how much clubs around them are spending).
The Croatian trio of Bukvic, Kokorovic, and Marcius gave Albert Parody the foundation to build a team that he has cleverly done. With his star man Marcius gone, Albert would need to find an ideal replacement quickly, while also find a full-back, which we have singled out as a weak point in his team.
FCB Magpies (Position: 5th – Championship Group)
There was a lot of promise surrounding Magpies at the beginning of the season. Last season’s Second Division champions had already been planning for the National League from early this year and looked to be putting a strong squad together.
Any promise was quickly dashed when Magpies were hammered 6-0 by Europa which then followed two straight defeats and the sacking of head coach David Wilson in-between.
The replacement with the experienced Alfonso Cortijo was a great choice and will now see how he fares in January when he is able to clear the deadwood from his squad and bring in his own style of players.
After a slow start, Lions managed to pick the pace at the end of October and since then, recorded 4 wins from 5 games to secure a spot in the Championship Group on the final round.
As expected, it will be difficult for Lions to compete against the top three but will be using this opportunity as a time to give valuable experience to Ferri’s younger players – while this is also a great chance to entice sponsors and help the club gain some revenue in the process.
Mons Calpe (Position 7th – Challenge Group)
This season has definitely been one to forget for Mons Calpe, compared to others. After competing at the top. the team found themselves scrapping against Lions which they would end up missing out on.
With their financial problems rising up once again, questions have been raised about whether Mons will even put out a team for the second half of the season.
Manchester 62 (Position: 8th – Challenge Group)
It looks like a choice between Mons or Man62 for the winner of the inaugural Challenge Group trophy. After Jeff Wood and Juanfran Fernandez Perez, the club appointed David Wilson as their new head coach – one which we feel is the right choice to take this young squad forward.
Wilson would already have an eye on a number of players he’d like to bring in, but one player which he may have trouble trying to hold down is Gibraltar U21 international Kian Ronan who has been excellent so far – we will be surprised if his competitive nature will see him wanting to play in the bottom group.
FC Boca Juniors (Position: 9th – Challenge Group)
After pulling together a squad at the expense of Gibraltar United – things looked quite promising for Boca with the squad which they were putting out in pre-season.
But, the lack of team gelling was clear to see, and the wrong choice of manager to go with it – Boca found themselves dropping lower and lower down the table – when you throw in a lack of funding by the final month or two of the season, it’s a good thing they didn’t move up group.
Europa Point (Position: 10th – Challenge Group)
The heights which Europa Point once found themselves seem like an eternity away. Now, they find themselves struggling at the bottom of leagues while scratching at results.
Credit to them though, they have found a number of good players, such as goalkeeper Conor O’Keefe, who has been their standout performer while also giving some valuable game time to experienced striker Jeremy Lopez, and 17-year old Omar El Yettefti; we sure clubs will be keeping an eye out on the teenager in the next few years.
Glacis United (Position 11th – Challenge Group)
From the glory days of Glacis in the past, the club has been hit with a prime example of how money has changed football. From winning trophies, Glacis now find themselves fighting in the bottom half for most seasons with very little hope of ever returning to what they used to be.
The club has been a stepping stone for players such as Michael Ruiz to get regular action in the top flight, while using the experience of Jonny Di Toro and Michele Di Piedi to pass on their knowledge to their young squad.
College 1975 (Position 12th – Challenge Group)
Unfortunately, College has turned out to be the league’s whipping boys with a goal difference of minus 62 and recording heavy defeats on six occasions.
It is quite bizarre when you see 18-year old Zayne Da Costa rarely featuring in the National League, yet he is top goalscorer of the Intermediate League with 10 goals – maybe we will something different from College in 2020.
With nearly two-thirds of the first round
of fixtures already taking place, and only 24 matches left before the National
League splits in two at Christmas, we look at where each of the 12 teams are,
and their chances of reaching the top 6 by Christmas and the end of the first
round.
1st Place – Lincoln Red Imps –
18 points – 4 games left
100% they will be in the Championship
Group. Lincoln’s opening-day loss to Europa has been forgotten about by the
side, who have won their next six in a row. The only major challenge left
before Christmas will be against St Joseph’s – three points would be important
as well as set a market to the rest of the league.
2nd Place – St Joseph’s FC – 17
points – 4 games left
Like Lincoln, Saints will be in the top
six. The late draw vs Lynx wasn’t ideal, but St Joseph’s have been good this
season and are threatening to make the title-race a three-team affair. As long
as they keep the front two of Juanfri and Boro fit and firing, Saints are a
match for anyone – a result vs Lincoln before the New Year would be a massive
statement of intention.
3rd Place – Europa FC – 16 points
– 5 games left
Again, Europa are one of the teams
definitely going to the Championship Group. Bar a dramatic draw vs St Joseph’s,
Europa have rarely looked troubled all season and if they see through the game
vs Lynx with no hiccups, they are likely to be top come the split. January will
be interesting for Europa – do they stick with the squad that has served them
so well so far, or add one or two players in the window who may potentially be
the difference between a title and no title?
4th Place – Bruno’s Magpies –
15 points – 3 games left
Magpies should really be safe now. A little
wobble with three defeats in a row raised some doubts over the side, but the back-to-back
wins vs Europa Point and Boca means they should get over the line at Christmas.
They have hard fixtures vs Lincoln and St Joseph’s to come, but by the time
they face Manchester in their last game, we’d be surprised if their top six
spot wasn’t mathematically secured. The challenge will be whether they invest
even further on new players in January, especially with new manager Alfonso
Cortijo undoubtedly wanting some of his own players in.
5th Place – Lynx FC – 14 points
– 4 games left
Lynx have a fairly nice run-in in which to
accumulate points before the Championship Group, which they seem certain to get
into. If they can ensure 7 to 9 points against Manchester, College and Glacis,
then Albert Parody’s side will be in a healthy position post-Christmas – the draw
vs St Joseph’s showed they can make life difficult for the top three as well
and teams won’t necessarily want to play them.
6th Place – Mons Calpe SC –
11 points – 3 games left
Having points on the board is traditionally
better than games in hand, as the cliché goes, but it looks like going to the
wire for Mons Calpe. Two of their last three games are against St Joseph’s and Europa,
making the match vs Manchester 62 a must-win. Even then, 14 points isn’t
guaranteed to be enough. They were stubborn vs Lincoln though, and there is
every chance of nicking a result against one of the current top 3, but if they
don’t, it will be a nervy end to the year for Leo Vela’s side.
7th Place – Manchester 62 – 7
points – 5 games left
Looking purely at the table, you’d say
Manchester have the best chance of jumping into the top six from the bottom six
sides. However, only one of their last five games is versus a team below them,
which make new manager David Wilson’s task that bit tougher. The big two games
will be against Mons Calpe and Europa Point – especially the game against Mons –
if they can beat the team above them on the 30th November, and
follow it with a win vs Europa Point, then they may have a chance of top six,
depending on other results.
8th Place – FC Boca Gibraltar
– 6 points – 4 games left
Boca aren’t in a bad position table wise,
but the fixtures are not too kind to them, given they face Europa and Lincoln
in their next two matches. After that though, they’ll need to beat Glacis in order
to set up a tantalising final round game vs Lions. Talk of off-the-field issues
at the club will need to be shaken off as soon as possible if the club wants to
take that sixth spot and work from there in 2020.
9th Place – Lions Gibraltar –
6 points – 4 games left
Whisper it quietly, but Lions could have a chance
of sneaking into the top six while no one is watching them. The win against
Manchester was vital, not just because it was their first of the season, but
because it kept their Championship Group hopes alive. Three of their remaining
four games are against fellow bottom six sides, including matches vs Glacis and
College, while their final game against Boca could be a winner-takes-all
fixture depending on how Mons finish. Albert Ferri has made his team more
resolute defensively; if they can improve on their poor scoring form so far,
then we may see last season’s 9th place team end in 6th.
10th Place – Europa Point FC –
5 points – 3 games left
Despite only being a point behind Lions and
Boca, and only two off Manchester, the lack of games left for Europa Point
means that a top six finish in truth seems unlikely. To achieve this, the side
would have to beat Manchester and College, while most likely also getting a
surprise result against St Joseph’s too. Even then, they would still be relying
on other team’s results going in their favour – it isn’t looking promising for
Allen Bula’s side.
11th Place – Glacis United FC
– 3 points – 5 games left
Glacis have slowly built themselves back up
after a heavily disrupted start to the season, and while qualifying for the Championship
Group does seem beyond them, they could still have an influence on who does
make the top 6. Games against Boca and especially Lions will be tight affairs
and if Glacis can take points off those teams, the likes of Manchester and Mons
Calpe would be the most likely beneficiaries.
12th Place – College 1975 FC –
0 points – 4 games left
Although mathematically still possible, it
is safe to say College are not qualifying for the top 6. Without so much as a
point yet this season, they have been up against it from the first gameweek,
and realistically these last four games should be used to try and improve where
possible ahead of going into the Challenge Group, where hopefully they won’t be
on the end of results such as the 12-0 and 9-1 they have suffered in recent
weeks.
The newly reconstructed Gibraltar National League season is upon us, kicking off today when Lynx take on Mons Calpe at 20:30, so read below our preview, where we attempt to predict the outcome of the league.
Who will win the title? Lincoln Red Imps are looking to retain their crown again, but will face stiff competition from Europa once more, while St Joseph’s, Mons Calpe and newboys Brunos Magpies have all spent heavily to reinforce their squads and try to close the gap.
Who will finish in the top eight? The new inclusion of the “Championship Group” sees the league split and the top seven seperated and battle it out between themselves for the league. The winner particpates in the UEFA Champions League, while the two runners-up move to the UEFA Europa League (depending the outcome of the Gibtelecom Rock Cup).
Your easy choices would be Lincoln Red Imps, Europa, St Joseph’s and Mons Calpe. Gibraltar Phoenix & Gibraltar United’s withdrawal leaves more empty spots to join the aforementioned four teams. We would expect Brunos Magpies to take advantage of this, while joining them would be Lynx and Lions.
The Challenge Group? Manchester 62 should be favourites and will provide tough competition with Lynx & Lions in the Championship Group. Leo announced a host of good signings earlier on in the season and led by Dani Amaya, could be favourites to win the group. College 1975 have been very quiet throughout the summer and if the signing of ex-St Joseph’s & Lions striker Jose Luis Romero is anything to go by, they could be real underdogs to even sneak into the Championship Group.
Europa Point have had a strong finish to their preseason, their only problem would be finding enough HGP’s – they will be hoping they can pick up some from Phoenix & Gib Utd. Boca have been relatively quiet this summer, apart from the announcement of their new head coach Christian Ressa, it’s been a ‘hush hush’ transfer window so it’ll be interesting to see the team they put out on Tuesday night.
Glacis will be hoping their financial troubles behind them and try to reach the heights they did back in 2016, but with players still reportedly stating they are missing wages from the second half of last season looks like it’ll be another long season for them.
Last but not least FC Olympique, a team which looks to be struggling to get a full squad together. However, with their game against Gibraltar United expected to be cancelled, it could actually be a blessing in disguise to give the club more time to bring in much needed players and compete at this level.
The Gibtelecom Rock Cup second round kicks off tomorrow evening and here are our predictions.
St Joseph’s vs FC Hound Dogs (Wednesday 6th February – 8:30pm)
Saints come into the game on the back of a 8-0 thrashing of Glacis and would be expected to continue that goalscoring form against the side which sit bottom of the Second Division. Raul Procopio’s squad isn’t the biggest so we could see him putting out a strong squad.
Prediction: St Joseph’s win.
Mons Calpe vs College 1975 (Thursday 7th February – 6:15pm)
Just like the St Joseph’s game, this one will probably end up in a quite heavy scoreline. College got beat 5-1 by Manchester 62 in the Cup last weekend, while Mons Calpe will be looking for a confidence booster after their defeat to Gibraltar United. With a bigger squad, Blanco could use certain players from his Intermediate squad for some valuable minutes.
Prediction: Mons Calpe win.
Lincoln Red Imps vs Europa (Thursday 7th February – 8:30pm)
It was raining goals for Lincoln last weekend as they shipped eleven past Boca – Giovanni Rodriguez and Hector Figueroa have impressed since joining in January while ex-Europa forward Kike got himself a hat-trick on his debut. The holders will be hoping to try and get one over their rivals after losing 3-2 earlier on in the season but could see defeat as a blessing with more focus being put into winning the league.
Prediction: Lincoln win.
Manchester 62 vs Gibraltar United (Friday 8th February – 8:30pm)
It has been a difficult few months for Gibraltar United but last week’s win over Mons Calpe could be the turning point needed and they’d hope to continue it against Manchester. The Red Devils invested well in January and it showed in their Cup win against College with ex-Gib Utd striker Robert Montovio getting on the scoresheet but their number one keeper Christian Lopez saw red which will give them a problem going into the game.
Prediction: Gibraltar United win.
Lynx vs Gibraltar Phoenix (Saturday 9th February – 4pm)
This one could be a very interesting tie; two sides doing well at the moment with Phoenix slightly edging it with more goals scored. Lynx have proved to be a tough test to Lincoln and Europa in the last couple of weeks so their opponents should not take them lightly.
Prediction: Phoenix win on penalties.
Glacis United vs Lions (Saturday 9th February – 6:15pm)
Lions will be looking to exact revenge after their 3-1 loss in January, it was quite an even game until conceding an own goal just before half-time which ultimately changed the game. Glacis will be hoping to welcome Alan Parker and Nacho Fernandez back into the squad while Mariano Pereira and Courtney Lewis miss out through suspension.
Prediction: Lions win on penalties.
Europa Point vs FC Olympique (Saturday 9th February – 8:30pm)
Another interesting encounter -, both teams in good form and in with a good chance of progressing. Europa Point will be happy to welcome back their main man Cristian Nunez Chaves from suspension while their opponents come into the game off the back of a whopping 12-3 win over Leo in the 2nd Division Cup.
Prediction: Olympique win on penalties.
FC Boca Juniors vs Brunos Magpies (Sunday 10th February – 4pm)
Magpies did take a heavy hit to their squad in January but with a front three of Assumpcao, Wyatt & Cuesta – it doesn’t really matter what is behind you, they are that good. Yet to be properly tested in the Second Division, Dave Wilson’s men will be looking at the Rock Cup as a idea of where the club is going ahead of next season. It will be another difficult task for Boca and one which we don’t see them winning.
