by The Greens’ position at the top will be tested by Birkirkara in another eagerly awaited clash that could solidify Mgarr United’s position or re-shuffle the top places. Coming into it from the international break presents the coaches with an extra set of questions. The match will be played at Mgarr Ground at 16:30, following the battle for fifth place between Valletta and San Gwann (14:00).
Unbeaten Form & Preparation
The two sides will go into the match still unbeaten, albeit Mgarr United drew early on against Hibernians and against Swieqi United just before the break. Although the Stripes won all their encounters thus far, their final match before the break, against Valletta, proved a real nervous test which they ultimately passed.
The stakes of the match are clear for these teams. Mgarr United look to down the Stripes in search of solidifying their place at the top, while also staying ahead of Hibernians (overview of the league table here). Birkirkara will want the three points to rise to the top spot, ahead of another direct confrontation against Swieqi United on Tuesday.
The Greens’ start to the season has a real feel-good factor about it. Despite injuries, especially in the defensive line, the team has consecutively found points which contributes real value to their title challenge.
Questioned about the match ahead, Mgarr United’s Michael Mangion said, “We know that this is a challenging game but our main objective is to win it. The team is mentally and physically ready.”
Meanwhile, Birkirkara’s Jose Borg noted the grind to grab three points against Hibernians and Valletta. He said, “Unfortunately the last two games before the break, against Hibernians and Valletta, were not our best performances, so the break was welcome. I would not say they were negative, we still managed to grab maximum points and managed two clean sheets which is also good for us.”
Probed on whether he welcomed the international break as a way to regroup and prepare for the direct confrontation he said, “International breaks have their good and bad. The bad is that you don’t have control over the training sessions and it does not match our periodisation. Lately we’re working closer with the MFA and streamlining some sessions too. The good side is that those players who were called up were playing high intensity matches in an international setup for ten days with the national team. Hopefully their focus stays the same for the upcoming game and our busy November month.”
Injury Updates & Returning Players
Questioned about whether their captain, Maia Debono, will return for the match after being sidelined with injury, Mgarr United’s Michael Mangion provided a positive update but was non-committal to the line-up. He said, “She is training with the group but a final decision is to be taken on Friday.” Similarly, questioned whether Kelly Agius Pace could feature in selection against her former club, Mangion noted that the forward has been training with the group.
The Greens will also welcome the return of Moldovan international Anastasia Sivolobova and Malta internationals, Patricia Ebejer and Brenda Borg who would be expected to feature in the matches based on their previous form.
Likewise, Birkirkara’s had a number of players who were called up with Malta’s national team, including goalkeeper Janice Xuereb and Stephania Farrugia who played all minutes for Malta, while Ann-Marie Said also featured heavily. Alishia Sultana, Charlene Zammit and Veronique Mifsud also made appearances.
Probed about managing their minutes considering the quick-turnaround of matches, when factoring the upcoming mid-week encounter against Swieqi United, Jose Borg said, “A few of them played all of the games or almost, while others had a few minutes.” He continued, “It’s good for them to keep the tempo of the games, I cannot see that this affects them negatively. Of course you have to take into consideration that two players came back slightly injured from the international break and so we need to try to fix this at the earliest.”
Tactical Battles
Winning matches relies on an ability to score goals and also keeping the opponent out of your own net. Mgarr United have gotten their new forward line working together quite quickly and like Birkirkara enjoy a healthy goal difference. However, the two sides struggled in their final matches before the break and although Birkirkara managed to snatch two late goals against Valletta, Mgarr United drew blanks for the first time this season against Swieqi United.
Probed on whether he thinks that as the season rolls on there will be a need to reinvent the attack in order to avoid predictable patterns, Michael Mangion replied, “All games are different and as a team we are always trying to reinvent different attack methods.”
Meanwhile, Francesca Chircop could be facing her old club for the first time since making the switch to Birkirkara. Jose Borg praised the signing, “Francesca was a good signing for us, she was the only Maltese player to sign over the summer. I coached her in the past when I was with Hibernians. There’s no doubt that Francesca is a good addition to our already strong squad.”
He was also probed about whether the striker’s knowledge of her former team could be of an advantage in the match, or whether he deems the Greens’ approach to have changed significantly following the summer. Borg said, “I would not say she provided intelligence on how Mgarr United play and yes Mgarr have made a few changes too since last year. When it comes to the technical analysis we study our opponents and stick to our style of play not according to the opponent.”
The lines have been drawn for what one expects to be a highly absorbing encounter that is not to be missed. The two kick-off this afternoon at Mgarr Ground at 16:30, following the clash between Valletta and San Gwann (14:00).
Meanwhile, Dingli Ground will be playing host to two other encounters as Lija Athletic welcome Swieqi United (13:00), which will be followed by Hibernians against Mtarfa (15:30). All tickets may be purchased at the doors.
Lead Images: Neil Fitzpatrick / Lara Schembri
Stay up to date by following The Sporting Fan on social media: Instagram ~ Facebook ~ X
