Birkirkara & Mgarr Promise An Open Battle At The Centenary

Birkirkara and Mgarr United will be back on the pitch tonight at the Centenary Stadium in an early evening kick-off, at 18:30. Vince Galea & Ryan Vella were unwilling to divulge much about tonight’s gameplan, but promising an open battle as the two teams head to the match with just one point between them and a target to close the gap to Hibernians.

Looking To Up The Conversion Rates

Birkirkara & Mgarr United will initiate an evening of Assikura Women’s League football at 18:30, with the two sides promising another exciting battle as the league heads towards the latter portions of round two. The two teams sit at third and fourth in the table, with Mgarr United leading with 24 points, while Birkirkara trail on 23 points.

Although things at the top of the table are tight, a win would allow one of them to close the gap further to Hibernians who sit on 27 points. Whatever happens between the two, Swieqi United could end the evening on top of the table with 28 points, if they get the better of San Gwann.

The first encounter between Birkirkara and Mgarr United tossed up plenty of drama, with a red card for Mgarr sending the Greens into a counter-attacking strategy. Ultimately the side successfully held off the threat from Birkirkara, while the Stripes’ back-line fended off the attempts from Mgarr’s forwards, sending the two teams home with a point apiece.

Birkirkara head into this one with a boost in confidence following a draw against Hibernians which kept the Paolites from extending things at the top and sent Birkirkara back on an upward trajectory following their Super Cup defeat the week before.

However, Birkirkara’s coach Vince Galea was still eyeing three points against Hibernians, despite rotations in the team. He said, “Honestly, while its true that unfortunately we are having important absentees, we are focusing and preparing every game with the players available, including the young ones. We are disappointed we did not win the game because we believe we had the best share of the chances created.”

Still, the Birkirkara coach saw positives in the performance, “However, the team reacted well from the (Super Cup) final and had a big mentality to come back in the second half. This game also was a ‘win’ for us as we fielded Lara May (Azzopardi) from the start, who played a solid ninety minutes at the back.”

Meanwhile, Mgarr United secured a 2 – 1 victory against San Gwann on Friday, in their first match back following the November international break. The Greens had heaps of chances created, with coach Ryan Vella probed about the relevance of this in view of winning with a larger margin.

However, the Mgarr coach does not seem to be worried about the conversion rate, “To be honest no, it doesn’t concern me as we’re creating a lot of chances and being in the right places at right times. Sometimes luck plays a part in scoring as well. Unfortunately, we hit the crossbar three times and San Gwann’s defence made a lot of last-second blocks to deny us increasing the lead. If we keep creating those kind of chances in other matches, I’m sure that the conversion rate will get better.”

Although dominating the majority of the match from a possession and attacking point of view, the side conceded a cheap goal late in the game. Questioned about dealing with such instances in matches where play is mostly focused in one area of the pitch, Ryan Vella said, “These things can happen at any time in football, but yes for sure in a game where a team is ‘comfortable’, sometimes it’s easier to make mistakes. We’ll make sure to learn from it as a team and move on.”

Injuries & Key Returns

Birkirkara deployed a few young talents against Hibernians, while Vince Galea was happy to also welcome back the contributions of the all-time women’s team club top scorer Raina Giusti, however evaded giving detail on the absence of forward Francesca Chircop, “We are happy to have Raina back available and we look forward to have all our players available.”

It is unclear whether the duo could feature tonight, but the Stripes will also have the possibility to field experienced centre-back Charlene Zammit who served her one match suspension.

Meanwhile, Mgarr United were forced to withdraw Yulya Carella early against San Gwann. Ryan Vella was unwilling to confirm on whether the youngster will be available for selection tonight. “Yulya suffered a heavy hit during last game. A decision regarding her availability will be made at the last moment. We’ll continue to assess the situation closely and prioritise her well-being above all.”

Cards Up Sleeves As Battle Heats Up

Hosted at the Centenary Stadium instead of Dingli Ground, this second encounter will allow both teams to stretch play further. The initial fixture started off rather balanced in play, although things changed following the red card.

Birkirkara’s Vince Galea declined to comment on whether he believes Mgarr United will deploy a counter-attacking strategy, but backed his team to be ready for the challenge, “We will see on the day how are counterparts will face the game on Tuesday. Both teams will look to take advantage of their strengths. We will be ready.”

Meanwhile, Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella was clear on the impacts that playing with ten had on his team’s gameplan, “Having a player sent off so early in the game meant that we had to concede possession and focus more on our work without the ball which we did superbly.”

Asked a similar question on the tactic that he believes Birkirkara will deploy, Ryan Vella suggested that this second encounter will also throw new things into the mix as both sides bring forth new strategies developed since. “This time it’s a different game. Both teams will look to learn from the mistakes of the previous encounter and surely it will be a close battle as it always is against Birkirkara.”

However, like his counterpart, Mgarr United’s coach suggests his side is ready to find the way past Birkirkara’s defences this time, “As always we’ll look to try to implement our style of play against all opponents, but we’ll always be ready to adapt if needed during the game.”

The two sides will kick things off at 18:30 at the Centenary Stadium, with the match to be followed by the encounter between San Gwann and Swieqi United (KO 20:45).

Lead Image:  Lara Schembri

Make sure to never miss an Assikura Women’s League match by syncing your calendar here.

Stay up to date by following The Sporting Fan on social media: Instagram ~ Facebook ~ X