Birkirkara With Slim Victory Against Lija Athletic

Birkirkara secured a second victory by just 1-0 against a hard-headed Lija Athletic, despite feeling they should have converted more on the night. Alishia Cassar got the winning goal, while Lara May Azzopardi was denied a senior debut goal by the crossbar late on. Lija Athletic will be invigorated by their best ever result against the champions since returning, but have injury woes as captain Leanne Micallef was stretchered off the pitch.

Team Selection

Lija Athletic’s Christiana Pisani remained in goal. Nell Zarb Cousin started in a pairing alongside Ylenia Azzopardi, while Samira Bouzid and Shakira Bugeja started on the flanks. Kylie Pantalleresco and Rachel Mifsud continued to partner each other in midfield, while Daniela Camilleri and Edera Marmara’ occupied the widths, often dropping deep to help the defence. Captain Leanne Micallef supported Vanessa Honorio Carneiro further forward.

Meanwhile, Maya Cachia remained in goal for Birkirkara, protected by an unchanged defence in Valentina Rapa, captain Stephania Farrugia, Charlene Zammit and Mariah Cardona. Gabriella Zahra supported Luana Cabral and Stella Francalanza in midfield. Alishia Cassar led the attack, flanked by Raina Giusti and Calista Schechinger.

How It Unfolded

Birkirkara had the onus on them but drew blanks for the first forty-five minutes as chances went begging. To their credit, Lija Athletic stuck to their park-the-bus approach in search of thwarting the champions.

The Stripes earned their first corner within three minutes but Lija’s defence cleared twice before Christiana Pisani collected the scraps. The first real opportunity arrived as Raina Giusti dove toward the byline and clipped a ball onto the head of Alishia Cassar, who got underneath the header. Gabriella Zahra set up Calista Schechinger in identical fashion, but the latter was also wayward. Calista Schechinger also picked out Valentina Rapa at the far corner, with the defender following the same pattern with the finish.

It set the tone for the rest of the half, with Birkirkara piling shots but wayward with the finishing. On the other had, Lija Athletic were focused on being as compact as possible, with a defensive line of six players, protecting Christiana Pisani in goal. At the other end, Maya Cachia was effectively a spectator.

Birkirkara’s Vince Galea’s voice grew louder as the half-hour approached, as his team started squandering the attacks, falling directly into Lija Athletic’s trap to frustrate them. Birkirkara’s Luana Cabral had a glorious chance to open the scoring after the half-hour mark, released in transition, but pulling the shot wide when facing Christiana Pisani.

The Stripes found the net for the first time at the 38th miute, as Raina Giusti found Alishia Cassar with a cross, but it was cancelled by the offside flag. This before Christiana Pisani made a major save in the 40th minute to deny Giusti’s low shot heading toward the bottom right corner. The goalkeeper expertly shuffled to get a palm at full stretch, before reacting to Gabriella Zahra’s rebound, keeping the teams deadlocked.

Birkirkara’s chances kept piling with Stephania Farrugia forcing a save from Christiana Pisani from a dead ball, before Alishia Cassar got underneath the rebound from close range. Calista Schechinger also picked out Charlene Zammit from a corner delivery, but the defender was wide of the mark with the header.

Half-Time Score: Lija Athletic 0 – 0 Birkirkara

The two teams came out with renewed intentions of following their gameplans. Charlene Zammit kicked things off for the Stripes with a strike from distance, before Luana Cabral attempted to curl one at the far post from a tight angle, which just fizzed on the wrong side of the post.

However, Alishia Cassar managed to score the all important goal in the 51st minute. The forward was released in transition by a header from Raina Giusti, with Birkirkara’s number nine picking a low shot from a tight angle to beat Christiana Pisani who was coming out to meet her.

Vince Galea made the first change soon after, bringing on Amelia Vassallo in a direct swap with Stella Francalanza.

The Stripes managed another big chance in the 57th minute, with Luana Cabral playing an intelligent and perfectly-weighted pass to release Alishia Cassar. However, she did not manage to open enough of an angle, with Christiana Pisani coming out on top.

Jethron Azzopardi responded with a double-switch, bringing on Mariah Schembri instead of Samira Bouzid, while Katryna Grech replaced Rachel Mifsud. Grech was released in attack, while Vanessa Honorio Carneiro retreated.

Amelia Vassallo picked out Mariah Cardona who was keen to dart forward throughout the match. Cardona shifted inside, before riding out a challenge and firing a left boot from close range but seeing it rise above the crossbar.

Despite coming under fire, Lija Athletic’s defence continued to rise to the challenge. Nell Zarb Cousin and Ylenia Azzopardi were often seen putting in the hard tackles to deny the Stripes chances to strike, while happy to concede the corners.

Vince Galea handed Lara May Azzopardi her debut in the 68th minute as a left-winger, replacing Calista Schechinger. Martina Fenech also took to the pitch in the right-back role, while Valentina Rapa shifted to the left and Mariah Cardona occupied the centre midfield role vacated by Gabriella Zahra.

The Stripes had a second goal chalked off for offside in the 75th minute, as Alishia Cassar linked with Raina Giusti, who placed into the far corner.

Although the stands were far from full, there was still plenty of voice as Birkirkara’s supporters urged their team to find more goals, while Lija Athletic’s faithful were willing them on to minimise goals by the defending champions. Raina Giusti struck from a free-kick but Christiana Pisani was there once more to make the catch.

Things took a sombre turn as Leanne Micallef was stretchered off the pitch in the 80th miute, replaced by the debuting Corinne Deguara. Meanwhile, Ruth Steer-Chetham replaced Raina Giusti, while Maia Gauci took to the pitch for her debut instead of Valentina Rapa.

Gauci combined well with Lara May Azzopardi on the left-wing, with the duo creating a good opportunity for Luana Cabral to strike from distance, but she was off-target with the finish. Shortly after Mariah Cardona delivered from a short-taken corner toward Charlene Zammit who was arriving at the far post completely unmarked but showing frustration at not getting the final touch to put the game to bed.

Lija Athletic continued putting in the blocks, before Lara May Azzopardi had one final strike from outside the box, rattling the crossbar, just before the final whistle.

Final Score: Lija Athletic 0 – 1 Birkirkara

Next Matches

The Stripes make it six points out of six, despite perhaps feeling they should have got more goals on the night. They will next set sight on the UEFA Women’s Champions League, where they face Breznica Pljevlja at the Centenary Stadium at 21:15, this Wednesday 4th September. Their match follows the clash between RSC Anderlecht and Red Star Belgrade (17:45 at same venue).

Meanwhile, Lija Athletic might have played a tedious match but one which earned them the best result against the defending champions since their return, to build on earning the first point against Valletta. They get a week off before facing San Gwann at Dingli Ground on Saturday 14th of September at 18:00.

The second weekend of the Assikura Women’s League continues tonight with the clash between Mtarfa and San Gwann at the Centenary Stadium at 20:30. Tomorrow presents a double-header at Dingli Ground, where Swieqi United meet Valletta (18:00), before the Mgarr United and Hibernians duel at 20:30.

Lead Image: Elise Bajada

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