by Birkirkara and Breznica Pljevlja will conclude today’s UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final spectacle at the Centenary Stadium, with kick-off set at 21:15 CET. Miljana Rondovic and Vince Galea will both be new coaches in the dugout, aiming for their teams to earn a spot in Saturday’s final. Galea is urging focus from his team while rallying the local support, while Rondovic is looking for her young side to make an impression on the European stage.
Same Teams, Different Battle
Breznica Pljevlja and Birkirkara may be exactly the same two names that took to the Centenary Stadium last year in the competition, but there’s plenty of change in both squads that sets up a fresh encounter tonight.
Breznica Pljevlja’s new coach, Miljana Rondovic, is familiar with her team, having come up the ranks as a player before taking over as coach this summer. The club also brought in several new signings, continuing the trajectory of developing young players.
Eyeing this year’s match, Rondovic said, “There are a lot of changes in both teams. We have eight new players, six of which are young girls who are very talented and have a bright future ahead of them. Our goal is to do our best and to perform well, as well as for these matches to help us gain new experience and lessons.”
Among the signings is also club returnee Jelena Vujadinovic. Having found the net before, Miljana Rondovic is backing her to bring the team stability through her experience in the competition, “Jelena Vujadinovic is certainly one of our best players, and she has experience playing in the Champions League. We expect her to help the team a lot.”
On the other hand, Vince Galea will also be making his debut in the competition as coach of Birkirkara. Probed about the holistic goals, Galea chose to focus on tonight’s match, “We will focus on the first game and put all our efforts to be as competitive as possible, with the aim to win this game. We will turn our attention on the second game on Thursday morning.”
The Stripes’ coach is not underestimating any of the opponents in the group, but backs his team to come out fighting, “We expect all teams to be very strong and well prepared but we believe that so are we.”
Match Expectations
The Montenegrin team was narrowly edged out last year by Birkirkara, by a very late winner. Coach Miljana Rondovic is expecting another tight battle tonight, “I expect a tough game. Birkirkara is an excellent team and it will certainly not be easy for us to play against them, and we will have to do our best. Surely it will be interesting, I hope there will be excitement, and let the better team win.”
Birkirkara’s Vince Galea expects that the changes on both sides will add a different flavour to the match, but is expecting a hard-fought contest nonetheless. He said, “New season, new game, so its a new fresh story, but yes we expect a tight match.”
On the other hand, Birkirkara’s coach has full faith in the game plan for his team to earn a spot in Saturday’s final for the second year running, “We are aware that they have improved some areas, but we trust our players to follow our game plan. We need to be disciplined, playing with confidence and maximise our strengths throughout the game.”
As hosts, Birkirkara are expected to enjoy the majority of support tonight, with encounters having to be decided on the night, thus possibly treating spectators to extra-time and even penalties, should neither side be able to hold an edge.
Birkirkara’s Vince Galea called on his team to utilise home advantage, “We know the pitch and the environment we will play in. We already played one of the league games last week at Centenary Stadium, so that will help especially the new players who joined us this season.”
Indeed, Maya Cachia, Luana Vitoria Cabral, Yuna Hazekawa and Calista Schechinger could all debut in the competition, amongst a side packed with plenty of experience including the defensive duo Stephania Farrugia, Charlene Zammit, Gabriella Zahra, Raina Giusti and Alishia Cassar.
The Stripes’ coach and former Malta U17 coach, finished by rallying the troops for the European showdown, “We will count on the Birkirkara supporters and the local followers of women football to get behind our team from minute one until the very end.”
The two teams will take to the pitch under the lights at the Centenary Stadium at 21:15 CET. The encounter follows the other match in the group, which will pit Belgian champions RSC Anderlecht against Serbian champions and debutants, Red Star Belgrade. That match begins at 17:45 CET. Tickets are available for purchase online. Both matches will be live-streamed on TVM Sports+.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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