B’Kara Sink Breznica Pljevlja With Late Goal To Seal Final Against Zurich

The Stripes emerged victorious by a late goal from substitute Edith Garcia Falero, despite falling to ten players. Birkirkara’s coach Jose Borg expressed his pride in the team and the supporting crowd, as did his counterpart, Breznica Pljevlja Zoran Vukovic. Birkirkara’s Janice Xuereb, Edith Garcia Falero, Caitlin Rogers and Arianna Del Moral noted their joy in achieving this victory and the hunger for Saturday’s challenge against Zurich.

Line-Ups

Breznica’s Zoran Vukovic started with Svetlana Milicic in goal. The back-four consisted of Anja Simonovic, Majda Dresevic, Anastasija Bulic and Jovana Vucinic. Ana Grujic and Svetlana Becic protected the defence, with captain Milica Sebek orchestrating in the number ten role. Katarina Cadenovic and Tatjana Osmajic occupied the wings, while Jelena Petrovic was the central striker.

Birkirkara’s Jose Borg started Janice Xuereb in goal, who was protected by Valentina Rapa, Stefania Farrugia, Charlene Zammit and Ann-Marie Said. Caitlin Rogers partnered Gabriella Zahra, while Veronique Mifsud was more advanced. Alishia Sultana and Raina Giusti provided the width, while Marta Grosso led the line.

How It Unfolded

A Cagey Opening

The two teams were locked level for long durations of the match. As expected, the weight of the game was evident in the opening minutes, with both teams struggling to keep the ball under the pressure of expectation.

Breznica started growing in the match in the first ten minutes, with captain Milica Sebek looking to release Jelena Petrovic behind the defence. However, Birkirkara’s defensive pair of Stephania Farrugia and Charlene Zammit were sharp in reading play, which set the tone for the experienced duo throughout the match. It lay the foundation for the side to start working their way up the pitch with good link ups on the wings.

Neither side were able to capitalise on a number of set-pieces in the opening half. The home support held their breath as a long ball from Breznica almost caused some miscommunication in the back, but Janice Xuereb made the ball hers. Around half an hour into the match, Birkirkara fashioned a chance on the right wing with Valentina Rapa and Alishia Sultana linking well with Caitlin Rogers, who released Marta Grosso. However, Breznica’s goalkeeper Svetlana Milicic was equal to it.

Half Time Score: Breznica Pljevlja 0 – 0 Birkirkara

Birkirkara opened the second half stronger in possession, but despite this it was Breznica that came closest to the net in the 51^st minute. Milica Sebek tried her luck from distance but was unfortunate to see it skim the roof of the net.

Birkirkara responded a few minutes later, when Ann-Marie Said crossed the ball toward Veronique Mifsud who made the run toward the near post. Although she controlled the ball well, her strike was wide of the mark. A few minutes later Raina Giusti tried her luck from the left wing, but was also off target. The Montenegrin champions responded with Jovana Vucinic who drove up the field and curled a ball toward Jelena Petrovic. However, Charlene Zammit was quick to intercept and clear to safety.

Birkirkara Down To Ten

The game’s intensity lulled toward the 70^th minute which saw Jose’ Borg opt to freshen things up by taking off Gabriella Zahra and Valentina Rapa, bringing on Edith Garcia Falero and Arianna Del Moral. The changes saw Alishia Sultana drop in defence but her time at the back was short. She was booked for a foul, and her dissent toward referee Frederikke Lydia Sokjaer for her decision prompted a straight second yellow, reducing Birkirkara to ten players for the final twenty minutes. Coach Zoran Vukovic reacted by taking off Katarina Cadenovic and bringing on the experienced Sadja Nedic.

Despite falling down to ten, Birkirkara fashioned a chance shortly after. Edith Garcia Falero released Grosso on the wing, who cut inside for the strike, but once more goalkeeper Milicic was equal to it. The Montenegrin champions responded with Petkovic who released Tatjana Osmajic behind the defence but her attempt to chip the rushing Janice Xuereb was off target. Shortly after, Jose’ Borg adjusted for Sultana’s absence at the back by sacrificing Raina Giusti and instead bringing on Mariah Cardona.

As the clock ran down, Breznica started pressing higher up the pitch in attempt to make the extra player pay and almost succeeded multiple times. The 77^th minute saw a three pronged attack unleashed on Birkirkara but Janice Xuereb was quick off her line to sweep and makes it hers. Shortly after, both Svetlana Becic and Sanja Nedic tried their luck but could not find the net. Meanwhile, Veronique Mifsud and Caitlin Rogers attempted to control the midfield and get Birkirkara further up.

Xuereb’s Saves Swing The Momentum and Garcia Falero Wins It For Birkirkara   

Milica Sebek came closest for Breznica Pljevlja with two separate strikes but Birkirkara’s Janice Xuereb made two top-drawer saves to keep her team in it. An 83^rd minute strike from distance saw goalkeeper palm it over the crossbar, following which she needed some medical treatment. The corner was taken short and Sebek tried to curl another one into the top corner but was once again denied by Birkirkara’s number one.

Xuereb’s heroics invigorated the Maltese team to push forward, as substitute Mariah Cardona linked well with newcomers Arianna Del Moral and Edith Garcia Falero. Their first attempt to get Marta Grosso behind the defence was read by goalkeeper Milicic. However, the Stripes kept pushing into the injury time. Breznica’s coach Vukovic brought on Mia Baturan in injury time, in replacement of Anja Simonovic, and potentially in anticipation of the looming extra time.

However, Birkirkara had other ideas as the match went into injury time. A ball launched into Arianna Del Moral saw the American possess a deft touch to control, before lobbing the defence to get Edith Garcia Falero behind. The Uruguayan kept calm and slotted home with a low finish into the left corner to cap of her debut in the competition, sending the home crowd into ecstasy.

Jose Borg brought on Francesca Chircop instead of Veronique Mifsud for the final throes of the match. Breznica’s captain Milica Sebek kept her resolve and tried to fashion an attack but was halted by Caitlin Rogers, who then released high up the pitch. Unfortunately Milica Sebek felt the effects of the tackle and had to be taken off for the final few minutes. Andela Savovic took her stead. Birkirkara ran down the clock until the final whistle which was followed by a rapturous roar of celebration from the home support who stayed on to celebrate the team’s historical achievement.

Full-Time Score: Breznica 0 – 1 Birkirkara

Post-Match Reactions

Breznica Pljevlja were very close to opening the scoreline on a number of times, however it was not to be for the Montenegrin champions. Speaking with The Sporting Fan, Zoran Vukovic noted the fight put up by Breznica Pljevlja’s team and the pride in their spirit saying, “We are proud of the girls. We put up a good fight, but luck was not on our side today. We came a long way and we thank our supporters for making it possible to come to Malta. We also offer our congratulations to our opponents and hosts Birkirkara FC.”

The Sporting Fan asked Birkirkara’s goalkeeper Janice Xuereb for her first comments following the victory. She said, “It was a special match because of it being in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, but even more so because we kept believing in ourselves, even after falling down to ten, that we could achieve the victory and we did.” Asked about those two crucial saves late in second half, the goalkeeper said, “It is my job as a goalkeeper. In the end, all of the team pulled their weight to achieve this victory and it is the result of all the hard work we do every day, year after year.”

Meanwhile, goalscorer Edith Garcia Falero was probed about what went through her mind as she locked in on a one versus one against the goalkeeper. She said, “I just approached the opportunity and stayed calm on the ball focused on placing it in the corner.” Questioned about the feeling of grabbing the winning goal Edith Garcia Falero said, “It is amazing to be able to finish the game in those last moments.”

Assist provider Arianna Del Moral was another standout for the team. Probed about how confident she was in taking players on in the match, she said, “I feel like I was confident in my abilities which helped me today on the pitch.” She said, “I’m very grateful to have gotten that opportunity. I know how much this means to the team so it was about giving my all to help the team capitalize on the chance.” Asked about the encounter against Zurich she said, “We are trying to be the best we can and that means to win as much as we can. We know it will be a challenging match but it is one we are looking forward to.”

Caitlin Rogers was in the engine room throughout the match. Asked about wrapping the debut with a win Rogers said, “There’s a lot of emotion. Thankfully, the weather was a lot better than expected but, in the end, I am really proud of the team. We’ve been working for this for the last twelve weeks and you never know if you will get another opportunity like this, so the aim is to give it the best shot to go out with a win. I really think everyone did and it showed in the pitch.”

Asked about staying solid and pushing for the victory despite going down to ten, Rogers said, “It was about waiting for the right moment because I thought as a team we were still quite strong despite this. So I thought it was about being solid defensively and then taking the chance when it came. Thankfully Edith did, which was fantastic to see.”

Birkirkara’s coach Jose Borg was asked to provide his first comments after the team managed to make it back-to-back victories in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and also a first victory on home soil. He said, “I am very happy with the team and the staff’s work. I think it merits the work that has been done by all involved.”

Questioned about adjusting after going down to ten just as he had introduced two substitutes, Borg said, “Yes, I had just made a change to go more on the offensive as I believed we could get the victory. Losing the full-back meant that we needed to adjust accordingly, which took me some minutes because I also had to adapt to what the adversary was doing. We adjusted accordingly, but I believed that even though we were down to ten we could handle the match’s physicality and kept going to achieve our target.”

Asked about the outlook for the next few hours and days as the match against Zurich looms, the coach said, “We will celebrate together tonight as a team, with our committee. However, tomorrow we will be back to work, to recover and prepare for the match against Zurich. It will not be an easy match but we will do our best.”

Finally, the coach hailed the support from the crowd saying, “I thank everyone who came and also the committee who really worked in the buildup to this. I think it was a great crowd for women’s football, especially when you consider that the weather was not favourable. I hope that those who came enjoyed this match and that we will see an even bigger crowd next Saturday as we bring the fight to Zurich. I cannot promise that we will win but having that support will surely help the team.”

The final of Round 1 will be played between Birkirkara and FC Zurich this Saturday 9th September at 18:00 at the Centenary Stadium.

Lead Image: Lara Schembri

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