by Birkirkara will welcome Valletta for the first time tonight at 20:15 the Centenary Stadium. Jose Borg’s team will continue the hunt for points in search of rising to the top of the table, before the league breaks for another international window. However, Denis Guerra’s side come into the match with their own agenda, while battling a congestion of fixtures that sees the same group of players play four matches across ten days.
Previous Form & Match Congestion
Birkirkara will be heading into their fourth match of the season with the unbeaten streak still intact and having yet to concede a goal in the league since the start of the campaign. They come into the match fresh off the win against Hibernians on Friday.
On the other hand, Valletta enter the encounter following a defeat to Swieqi United. To add further woes, much of the team competing in Valletta’s colours in the Assikura Women’s League is also mounting a title challenge in the U19 Assikura Women’s Youth League. This will see the same group of players compete in a total of four matches across ten days, alternating between the two leagues. In the senior’s league, the team started the run of fixtures against Swieqi United and will meet Birkirkara later today.
Sandwiched in between was the U19 match against SKMM that was played on Tuesday, which they won by 3-1. It means that those featuring in both squads have just one day to recover until their senior’s league match against the Stripes.
The final match of the week will pit them against B’Kara’s U19 which will be played on Sunday at 15:00. Having this fixture on the weekend is a first for the league this season, which was moved to weekday matchdays at the beginning of the campaign. Noting this, it will be interesting to see how this affects the fatigue levels of the squad, injuries, and how much rotation their coach Denis Guerra is able to do depending on player availability.
One notes that the Stripes’ youth team also played on Tuesday, in a 2-0 defeat to Swieqi United. However, there is less overlap in players between the senior and youth squads of Birkirkara.
Match Expectations
Questioned whether he believes the team can win and maintain another clean sheet against this threat of Valletta, Birkirkara’s Jose Borg said, “The match against Hibernians was a difficult one and it was positive to get the win without conceding goals. However, we are always looking toward the next match and the important thing is to get three points. If we manage this without conceding a goal then it is even better, but our focus is the win.”
Speaking about the upcoming adversary, Borg said, “Valletta have their own strength and this will not be an easy match. It is important that we close down their attack creation and do our best to bring home another win.” In reference to the unbeaten run, Borg continued, “We are not focused on this, our aim is to win the league. If we manage to do that while remaining unbeaten then it will be great, but the aim is to win the league in whichever way it unfolds.”
Meanwhile, despite the loss against Swieqi United last Friday, Valletta found a way to get themselves on the scoresheet through a corner-kick, which continues the streak of goals from set-pieces.
Questioned on whether he believes that they can get points from the match, Valletta’s coach Denis Guerra said, “We are working on positioning and to be tactically as perfect as possible to close the spaces, because you need this to get something against such strong teams. It was working against Swieqi, but of course the injury to the goalkeeper meant we had to sacrifice Sabrin Blihi in goal and also shift Michela Bonello Ghio to centre-defence which changed the game-plan.”
The coach was questioned about whether he believes the team can build on the momentum in front of goal to overthrow any fear factor that B’Kara may possess. This in addition to the fact that, last year, many of the players donning the Valletta shirt managed a draw against Birkirkara as Raiders Lija.
He replied, “Birkirkara are at a 90-match unbeaten streak so they are the team to beat, there is no doubt. Last year, we did quite a miracle to get the draw, where we scored early and held the lead until the final minutes of the match. Physically they are superior, have power and they have more experience in the squad. Of course, we have to be tactically intelligent and try to get the best out of the match by playing to our own strengths.”
Two Contrasting Selection Headaches
Jose Borg has not been one to be afraid of making early substitutions, even prior to half-time, something that a few may deem harsh. This season alone he made this decision against Zurich in the UWCL and most recently last week against Hibernians. The team reaped strong benefits against the latter, as the substitutes were crucial in tipping the scales in Birkirkara’s favour.
Questioned about making such decisions in search of results, Borg noted, “It is not a pleasure of mine to make changes in the first-half because it limits you from being able to make tweaks in the second-half, due to the number of stops. I also understand that it is not easy for a player to be substituted so early. I do not do this often, however, throughout my coaching experience I’ve learned that sometimes you have to make an immediate decision, because delaying exposes you to a goal or you lose the opportunity to score.”
Elaborating on the decisions and the potential effect on his players, Borg continued, “My players know that you need to perform every minute that you are on the pitch. If a player is having a bad day, then of course I must make the change for the good of the team, these things happen. Additionally, they are also aware that if we need to make changes tactically to be able to get the result, no player is going to take it personally because they know that I am doing it for the good of the team.”
Dovetailing on this, Borg was asked about the importance of his squad depth, not just in terms of having the numbers, but also of having players with different attributes which provides different options to tactically unlock a game. He weighed in, “I am happy to have a squad which has a good mixture of youth and experience. We have had a different first eleven for every match and for us coaches having to select between around fifteen players who are ready to go into the first eleven is a nice headache to have.”
This is a different kind of headache for coaches, compared to when one is struggling to make the numbers due to injuries. However, Borg noted that it brings its own challenges, “It is not easy to keep everyone motivated because of course each player will want to start the match, but this is the kind of healthy competition that I want to have in the team, where each player fights and earns their place in the first eleven. Those coming on from the bench have been doing extremely well in changing games in our favour, so those in the first eleven always know that if they lower the bar they’ll be risking the place in the starting line-up.”
On the other hand, Denis Guerra has had to deal with a very different kind of selection problem, in getting a fit squad ready for each of the matches mentioned above, while also addressing the mounting injury problems.
Questioned about the return of goalkeeper Andressa de Souza Ramos following the injury sustained against Swieqi United last Friday, the coach said, “She’s recovering and the ankle is much better now, but we will see closer to the match.” Kayleigh Vella Barberi is another goalkeeper who could be chosen and is often in goal for the U19 team, however the youngster is also just returning from injury. Speaking about Vella Barberi, Guerra said, “She still feels some pain so she is not yet at a hundred percent. We will see closer to the match.”
Depending on their availability, there still could be a scenario where Sabrin Blihi is fielded between the sticks against Birkirkara. Last year Blihi was called into action against the Stripes and had a superb match against them.
Questioned about the effect that her different goalkeeping style brings to the team, including her good distribution, Guerra said, “To play a central defender with the qualities of Sabrin in goal gives you more chances to play the ball from the back. This is something we always focus on doing and having her there gives us more options to play out. However, of course to have her there means that we miss a player in the defensive line. She is ready to give her best to the team and go in goal if needed, but it’s a big question for now.”
Whatever the scenario, the show must go on. The two will meet at the Centenary Stadium tonight, with kick-off at 20:15.
Lead Images: Lara Schembri
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