by Birkirkara continued their run of form with a win against Raiders Lija FC, thanks to goals scored by Brisa Campos and Marta Grosso. The reverse fixture was well contested, with each team coming away with a point. However, since then Birkirkara have bolstered their attack and consolidated their play under Jose’ Borg, which was enough to secure three points and remain unbeaten in the league.
Birkirkara Show Squad Depth
Borg made several changes to the team that faced struggling Mtarfa. Ann-Marie Said and Veronique Mifsud made a return to the midfield, whilst Marta Grosso was employed in the left wing. New recruit Brisa Campos made her first start for the club and capped it with a fantastic individual goal.
The forward looked hungry for goals right from the start as she made good runs behind the defense and was picked out by the midfield trio of Mifsud, Said and Zahra. The stripes had several chances as they unleashed a high press on the hosts, often retrieving the ball well into the opposition’s half.
Campos gave the stripes the lead in the 25th minute. Receiving the ball on the left wing, she did well to dribble past her marker, driving straight into the penalty box. The striker noticed the goalkeeper Giulia D’Antuono off her line and cheekily struck. The ball sailed above the clutches of the keeper and into the far corner of the net. Good awareness and vision from the striker.
Marta Grosso had a fantastic match out on the left wing and looked dangerous every time she got on the ball. She had the beating of her marker Gaia Antonelli on pace and had a couple of good chances at the final throes of the first half.
She did well to connect with the ball as it sailed in from a well-driven corner, but the shot was off-target. Ileana Farrugia then delivered a good cross into the box the ball bounced off the ground, just before Grosso’s leg stretched out to tap it in, taking away any possible touch from the number 19. However, her effort was rewarded in the 65th minute as she drove into the box against the byline and drove a low cross-shot which ended in the back of the net.
As expected, Birkirkara dominated possession and could have had more, but Raiders Lija FC did well to limit the damage. Midfielder Gabriella Zahra came closest to scoring the third in the match’s final minutes, hitting a sweet volley with her left foot, but was denied by the cross-bar.
Raiders Lija FC Rue Decisions in Final Third
The hosts faced a different side to the one they drew against in November, but were aware of their challenge. Georgiana Mifsud could be seen hassling and harrying at the back of Campos throughout the match and did well to thwart the striker off the goal scent as much as she could.
Raiders’ coach Denis Guerra started with a back three, but the pace of the Birkirkara forwards was too much to handle at times. In the second half, the hosts opted for a low block, which frustrated Birkirkara more. To their credit, Raiders were well drilled and disciplined and managed to drown out any significant attack as they crowded out any options.
The plan was solid, however, the transition play required a bit more from the forwards. Birkirkara starved them of the ball for most of the match, which meant that attacks needed to be deadly. Leah Ayres and Sarah Barberi had similar chances on the counter-attack, as they broke free from the defense. However, goalkeeper Mangion was quick off her line and ready to sweep the ball.
Unfortunately, in the other cases that Raiders managed to break away, forwards made questionable decisions to go it alone or choose the wrong pass, which took any chance of a goal away from the team.
B’Kara Continue Marching Forward
The stripes looked deadly even without in-form striker Sara Saliba. The win means that they stay 3 points clear off Swieqi United, who beat Hibernians thanks to a brace from leading goalscorer Jade Flask, thus keeping the stripes in check.
The loss for Raiders Lija FC means that they remain in fifth place, but still have the chance to close the gap to third place. Meanwhile, the bottom of the table clash between Mtarfa and San Gwann was played on Tuesday, with San Gwann coming out on top.
Raiders Lija FC will next face second-place Swieqi FC, while Birkirkara will fancy the visit to San Gwann. Elsewhere, fourth-place Mgarr United will look to earn three points against bottom-placed Mtarfa.
Photo Credits: Birkirkara FC
