by Another top-four clash will be played at the Centenary Stadium tonight at 20:00, as Swieqi United and Birkirkara meet for the first time this season. A win for Saviour Darmanin’s side would see them equal Hibernians at the top, but Jose Borg’s side are yet to drop a point this year and will seek a win to go clear at the top with a game in hand.
Beating The Seemingly Unbeatable
There is a growing sense that, despite much strengthening of various squads, Birkirkara could be unbeatable once more this season. Swieqi United will be the next to mount the challenge of breaking down the Stripes.
The Owls will be heartened by the fact that they were the only ones to manage a victory against them last season, in the Assikura Women’s Knockout, which they went on to lift themselves. They come into this match following last Saturday’s 6-0 victory over Lija Athletic.
Questioned about the morale in the team as they head into this next encounter, Saviour Darmanin said, “We controlled the game against Lija Athletic well and also there were solid contributions by various players within the team, including some young players who featured from the bench.”
Speaking about meeting Birkirkara for the first time this season, Darmanin said, “The matches between Birkirkara and Swieqi United have been anticipated encounters in recent years. Swieqi United has been developing as a side and last year beat Birkirkara in the Knockout, which the team went on to win. Of course, Birkirkara have continued to strengthen since then, while keeping much of the same squad from last year.”
Questioned on the importance of the match for the two sides he continued, “There’s no doubt that Birkirkara is the team to beat considering that they have not dropped points yet. Perhaps it is more important for us to win the match since we dropped points already. However, certainly putting these two things together serves as extra motivation for us to win the match.”
Birkirkara Eye The Top Spot
The fact that Birkirkara have won all the matches without conceding a goal this season is a feat within itself. Tonight’s game presents an extra incentive for the win, which would see them rise to the top of the table with a game in hand, prior to even finishing their first round of fixtures. They head into the match having also knocked Mgarr United off their unbeaten streak in this season last Saturday.
Questioned about the morale in the dressing room following the victory against Mgarr United, as they prepare for this upcoming fixture against Swieqi United, Jose Borg said, “Winning a direct encounter is always nice because it gives us a big push. We trained well and it is a step in the right direction to achieve our target to win the league. Unfortunately the match against Mgarr United was rather rough which means that there were a lot of incidents that could have been dealt with differently but unfortunately that is also a part of football. However, the morale is high following the victory and now we look forward to the next match against Swieqi.”
Jose Borg dismissed any idea of seeking revenge for last year’s defeat in the Assikura Women’s Knockout, “It’s not about revenge, we know that they beat us last year and that means that they can beat us. However, this gives us more motivation to play well and do our best to win, because we know that by winning each match we can lift the title.”
A Packed Schedule
The two teams played their matches on Saturday and find themselves gearing up for another after just two days. Probed about whether the fact that he had an opportunity to rest his players because of having a comfortable lead early in the match against Lija Athletic hands his team an advantage, Darmanin offered two different viewpoints.
He said, “I think in a way Birkirkara come into this match with an advantage because they played a high intensity match against Mgarr United. I would have liked to have a match of a higher intensity, but in our case the opponent was highly defensive. We tried to keep up the intensity nonetheless.”
On the other hand, the coach also noted that the tight schedule also increases the risk of injury, “The worst thing that could happen would be that you pick up fresh injuries which thankfully we did not have any new ones on Saturday.”
Speaking of injuries, Darmanin added, “In our case, one has to note that our captain Dorianne Theuma returned for the first match only last Saturday, while we are still waiting for established players such as Jade Flask to return from injury. We brought up a number of promising youngsters who have been doing well but are also working their way back from injury, such as for example Kaysia Micallef who could be one of those to establish herself as a regular in the first eleven. Ema Micallef is another promising player who is also sidelined unfortunately. Despite this, we have had other players do well on the pitch such as for example Michaela Cachia on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Birkirkara’s Marta Grosso and Edith Garcia Falero were both substituted early after picking up injuries on Saturday. Questioned about their recovery, Jose Borg said, “Yes, as I said the match against Mgarr United was quite rough. We suffered some injuries and this means that there are about three players who are a bit doubtful for the game. Luckily we have a deep squad with players who can come into the team and do a good job. I am still very confident that the team that we will field will be strong enough to have a good game and hopefully win the three points that we are working for.”
Tactical Battles and Meeting Twice In Ten Days
Encounters between the two have often been cagey affairs, but the change in head-coach for Swieqi United could present a different scenario. The two coaches were probed about whether they believe the match will be one of few chances or if they expect a more open contest.
Darmanin said, “The match has to be played with intelligence. I have no doubt that both I and Jose will be prepared to play our own game while also making tweaks to limit the opponent. In this regard, yes perhaps maybe there could be a lot gameplay in the centre of the pitch, but one episode could change the match drastically.”
Fielded a similar question Jose Borg said, “We have analysed Swieqi and know that this will be a tough game. There were some changes in players and philosophy since they have a new coach. However, as I have said previously we stick to our gameplan and in a way expect opponents to shift their style for us. We aim to dictate the game and hopefully we get the result we want.”
The two coaches will look to get the better of each other but there will be some tricks up their sleeves considering that the two sides will meet again in ten days.
Asked about how this affects preparations Darmanin said, “There will probably be a bit more caution from a tactical perspective going into this first match. However, considering that we have dropped points already this season, there is no doubt that we want the win. In a way considering that B’Kara have not dropped a point yet, maybe it would be already positive to get something from the match, but if we want to challenge for the title this is a game we need the maximum points from. The fact that we would be the first team to dock points from them serves as extra motivation.”
Meanwhile, his counterpart Jose Borg said, “We know we’ll be facing them again but we will first focus on this game. We do know that whoever wins these two games will have a better advantage in the table. Should we maximise points then it will put us in an even better position. If, Swieqi win both then they will put themselves in a better position to compete for the title. Obviously, they have a lot to lose but from our end we already have a comfortable lead and we’re going to work to extend tomorrow.”
The Supporter Turnout
The match will be the first encounter to be played on a Tuesday this season following the shift to Thursday to Saturday match-days. Probed about the support considering the weekday scheduling, both coaches conceded a negative expectation.
Darmanin said, “Considering it will be on a Tuesday makes it difficult to see large numbers, despite it being an important clash at the top of the table. One hopes that our supporters come to the stadium to show their support for the team and that Birkirkara’s supporters will too. I think it will be a good match with a good sporting spirit.”
Jose Borg replied, “It’s a mid-week game so I don’t expect a large crowd, even though it’s one of the top title clashes for the women’s football league. Despite this, our aim remains the same, to win the match and focus on winning the league.”
The match starts at 20:00 at the Centenary Stadium.
Lead Images: Michael Azzopardi / Lara Schembri
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