by The league leaders Birkirkara will welcome Mgarr United at the Victor Tedesco Stadium at 20:30. Neither Jose’ Borg nor Matthew Muscat made any excuses for the defeats last time out, amid a season that continues to throw up all possibilities. While both seek the points tonight, Birkirkara’s Jose’ Borg underlined the importance of winning the encounter to edge closer to the twelfth title.
Reeling From Defeat
The two sides enter the final round in search of bouncing back from defeats. The league leaders Birkirkara fell to Hibernians for the first time since the Paolites’ return to the league, following an injury-time penalty, in a match that they dominated in possession.
Birkirkara’s Jose’ Borg was sharp in his assessment of the match, “Last week’s defeat against Hibs was not an expected one but it was perhaps one of our worst performances this season, although we did have the majority of possession and Hibernians were hardly ever in the game. I thought we had two clear penalties which the referee decided not to give, while then they were awarded the penalty in one of the few times they went on the attack. Those are match instances, we all do mistakes and we move on. I am not blaming any decisions that changed the game, the defeat is all up to us and ultimately we have to shoulder responsibility for our poor performance. Hopefully we bounce back strongly to get the four points needed to win this twelfth league.”
Birkirkara still enjoy the seat at the top of the table, but last week’s results reduced their lead to five points at the top ahead of the final three matches of the season.
On the other hand, Mgarr United were unable to make inroads against Swieqi United, thus remaining in fourth place with eleven points adrift of Hibernians. Asked about whether he deems the defeat a result of the key absentees or whether the team on the pitch could have still made more of the match, Mgarr United’s trainer Matthew Muscat replied, “Last week’s 3-0 defeat against Swieqi United was indeed disappointing. While it’s true that we were missing several key players, which undoubtedly had an impact, I still believe we had the potential to achieve a better result with the players we had on the field. In football, it’s important to adapt and rise to challenges, even when key players are unavailable. We will take this as a learning experience and focus on how we can improve and adapt in similar situations in the future.”
Injury Assessment
Summer signing Caitlin Rogers was a key absentee in the match against Hibernians in front of the defence. Asked about her absence coach Jose’ Borg confirmed that the American was withdrawn due to injury, “Yes, unfortunately she was injured. She has been a regular in the matches throughout the season. It was felt a bit that she did not play and we are working on her recovery to hopefully make it for the match against Mgarr United.”
On the other hand, Gabriella Zahra and Nanako ‘Nano’ Kobayashi were rotated in the position and deemed to have done well in her absence according to the coach, “Nano did well when she came on in the second half, so did Gabriella in the midfield. Of course, the defeat (to Hibernians) was not due to Caitlin’s absence. I still believe we had a solid team and still believe in the first eleven. However, unfortunately we did not play to our methodology. It was a one off game but after the international break, with just two days with the players, we did not have enough time to mentally prepare for the match.”
Meanwhile, the Greens withdrew captain Maia Debono midway through the match against Swieqi United, which Matthew Muscat confirmed was a forced substitution, “Maia was withdrawn from last week’s game due to an injury. It wasn’t a tactical decision.”
She joins a long list of absentees for the team. Muscat continued, “Her absence, along with injuries to Luana (Vitoria Cabral), Joelma (Alves Gabriel), Amber (Grech), Chantelle (Grech), Kelsey (Vella) and Giulia (D’Antuono) certainly affected our team dynamics. We are closely monitoring their recovery and looking forward to their return to the squad.”
Beginning The Final Stretch
The two teams ended the previous meet in a 1-1 stalemate, which was the first time that Mgarr United took points from the Stripes. As noted above Birkirkara are still leading the table and will go into the match hungry to bounce back and edge closer to the title despite last week’s setback. They will start by aiming to restore the five point advantage at the top, following Swieqi United’s victory over Hibernians yesterday.
Asked to give some insight on the team’s mental preparedness for the task against the Greens, Jose’ Borg was clear, “I think this game is coming at the right time. Hopefully, the team is mentally strong enough to bounce back. We know we lost points against Mgarr three weeks ago and again last week against Hibernians. Hopefully, the team is aware of the importance of grabbing the maximum points and I am more than positive that we will do so.”
Meanwhile, Mgarr United are buoyed by having grasped their first points against the Stripes the last time out. Asked about managing to dock points from the league leaders once more, Matthew Muscat replied, “Our previous encounter with Birkirkara, was a testament to our team’s capability, even in challenging circumstances. We are aware that facing Birkirkara is always a tough challenge, requiring complete physical and mental preparation. Despite our recent struggles for points and considering Birkirkara’s own situation coming off a defeat, I believe we have the potential to secure points again.”
Nodding to the mental aspect of the game, Muscat concluded, “We expect a highly motivated Birkirkara side seeking to bounce back, but we are equally determined to rise to the occasion and aim for a positive outcome.”
The two teams will meet tonight under the lights at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, with kick-off set at 20:30. The match will be aired delayed on TVM Sports+.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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