by Lija Athletic will welcome Birkirkara as the two finalise the double-header at Dingli Ground at 15:30. Birkirkara’s Jose Borg weighs in on the legacy of the unbeaten streak, while setting sights on the future targets, starting with the upcoming fixture. On the other hand, Lija Athletic’s Jethron Azzopardi says the team are braced for a better showing this time out.
On The Unbeaten Streak
Birkirkara’s feat of 92 games unbeaten sets a record for teams to aim for. In previous pre-match interviews, when probed about the streak, Jose Borg always maintained that it had to end at some point. Despite this, the side managed to extend it to 92 games.
Speaking about the fact that the streak had to end at some point, Jose Borg said, “I always said that it is impossible to keep winning all the matches and that at some point the team was going to be defeated. I think this year it became even more expected as all the teams strengthened and so that makes it impossible to keep on winning. I alluded to the streak ending even last year, however we managed to sustain it until this year. It arrived against a strong team, despite perhaps the goal coming against the momentum of the game.”
Asked about the legacy of all the personnel involved to make this happen he said, “It is the fruit of a lot of people’s work, including coaches and technical staff who were here before me, and a committee who was here before too. Our aim was never to break a record, but it was always to win the league. The aim remains to win the league, irrespective of how it may come.”
One imagines that being the team who is unbeatable for so long, gives a sense of confidence that is unparalleled. At the same time, the coach was also probed on whether the pressure of maintaining the streak had started to weigh heavy on his players and the technical staff.
He said, “The team no doubt felt the loss. There are players who had never lost a league game in their playing career yet until last Tuesday. So, of course this was a new experience for them and a teaching one. I always told my players that at some point the loss had to come, even if some believed that they could remain unbeaten. However, one has to always balance between setting realistic expectations and what you wish to happen. I have always tried to be realistic with them and with myself. We must look forward.”
Match Expectations
Jose Borg was probed on how he expects the team to react in the upcoming match against Lija Athletic. The reverse fixture was one that the Stripes won by a staggering 11-0 margin. He said, “On paper this match is a bit of an easier one so it gives me the opportunity to rest a few players. It has been a tough month between direct encounters and also several players taking on international team commitments. It also gives an opportunity to try some new things out.”
Meanwhile, Lija Athletic’s Jethron Azzopardi was probed on whether he believes that the fact that Birkirkara lost the streak so recently gives them an edge to do better or if he fears an even stronger showing by the Stripes. He replied, “Birkirkara is no doubt the strongest team we have played so far. From our side we are now more experienced and we are showing consistency game after game. We expect to give a better challenge this time round.”
Lija Athletic come into the match following an encounter against Swieqi United, who dealt a loss of 6-0. During the match there were instances were Azzopardi’s side dropped into a rather park-the-bus approach. Questioned on whether this is a tactic they intend to adopt or if they will look to be more positive, Azzopardi replied, “With teams that are at the top of the table we tend to be more cautious in our offensive phase, we need to pick the right moment when pushing forward.”
Team News
Lija Athletic’s ultra-defensive approach against Swieqi United may have had to do with the fact that they were missing their central striker, Vanessa Honorio Carneiro. Probed about her appearance against the Stripes, Jethron Azzopardi replied in the affirmative, “Vanessa is fit and available for the game.”
On the other hand, the Stripes suffered a major loss in their defensive line against Swieqi United, as Charlene Zammit had to be substituted out following a collision. Asked about her situation, Jose Borg replied, “Things luckily do not look too bad, but it is still early to be certain and we are still awaiting some results to be truly in a position to evaluate how serious her injury is.”
Additionally, as hinted above, there were clear signs of several players nursing injuries throughout the match against Swieqi United. Speaking about this, Jose Borg said, “We are coming into the match from a few intensive games and also several players having international duty. As I had said in other pre-match interviews (here and here), several players come back from these international fixtures tired and with a few injuries. We did not have a chance to give players to recover from because of having limited days to recover before the next fixture.”
Borg elaborated on the matter, “Since the last international break, the players came back directly into an intensive direct encounter against Mgarr United who we knew were going to be a tough opposition and they had only one day to train with me. To make things worse the officials did not interfere with rough challenges, which I did not agree with and made this clear. My players then went into the match against Swieqi United three days later, clearly with all of this taking a toll physically, which was evident in the match against Swieqi United.”
All of the above promises an intriguing match with a different look. The two kick-off at 15:30 at Dingli Ground, following the encounter between Mtarfa and Swieqi United (13:00).
Lead Images: Lara Schembri
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