by Swieqi United beat Raiders Lija FC by 4-0 in the teams’ final game of the Assikura Women’s League for this season. A strike from Shona Zammit and a brace from Dorianne Theuma gave the Owls a solid lead at half-time. Substitute Maria Vella completed the scoring in the latter stages of the match.
Team News
Raiders Lija FC welcomed the return of first-choice goalkeeper Giulia D’Antuono, while Denis Guerra opted for a back four of Eunice Micallef, Sarah Caruana, Georgiana Mifsud and Anna Aloisio. The midfield was occupied by Ylenia Grech, captain Monique Sultana and Laura Muscat. Meanwhile, Hannah Khatib, Alicia Mifsud and Sarah Vella Barberi completed the forward line.
Cynthia Konlan started in goal, while Judith Kuipers made one change to the defensive line, giving a start to Tammy Falzon in central defence. She partnered Rafanny Andreina Mendoza Abache, while Jessica Lee Dimech moved to the right-back position. Emma Xuereb retained the role on the left. In midfield, Rebecca Atinga supported Shona Zammit and captain Dorianne Theuma who took the more advanced roles. Jade Schembri and Mariah Sciberras kept their positions on the wing, while Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney made the start up front.
A Dominant Half from Swieqi
The Owls employed a high press and a determination to dominate possession from the start. On the other hand, the back-line of Raiders Lija communicated well to play out from the back. Sarah Caruana and Georgiana Mifsud were cool under pressure, but the pass to transition from midfield to attack was often thwarted which allowed Swieqi to keep piling the attacks.
The Owls broke the deadlock in the 20th minute thanks to Shona Zammit. The midfielder linked well Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney who persevered through Raiders’ challenge, before returning the ball back to Zammit who made the run behind the defence. Swieqi’s number 14 kept her head, dribbling past the rushing Giulia D’Antuono before rolling the ball into the corner of the net.
On the half-hour mark, Emma Xuereb picked out Dorianne Theuma who made an unmarked run on the right wing. However, Georgiana Mifsud recovered well to close the veteran and blocked the shot as Theuma shifted the ball inside to strike with her stronger foot.
Despite this, Theuma was not to be denied for long and she eventually doubled Swieqi’s lead in the 34th minute. The number six made an unmarked run to the far post and connected well with Jade Schembri’s cross from the right wing.
Jessica Lee Dimech had a chance to make it three in the fortieth minute, but she got underneath the cross from Dorianne Theuma. The number five played in Tatiana Dabney shortly after, but the forward could not capitalise on the position.
Despite the missed opportunities, Dorianne Theuma slotted home the third for Swieqi and completed the brace in the 44th minute, by firing a low shot into the far corner from the edge of the box, in what was her last action of the night.
Half-Time Score: Raiders Lija FC 0 – 3 Swieqi United
Substitutes Make Their Mark
Judith Kuipers made two changes at half-time, bringing on Mirayah Aquilina and Mandy Debono, in like-for-like switches to replace Jessica Lee Dimech and Dorianne Theuma, respectively. The two settled in well as Swieqi picked up where they left off.
Shona Zammit had the better chances in the early moments of the half, making late runs into the box and linking well with crosses from Emma Xuereb and Mariah Sciberras. However, the strikes were off-target or straight down the centre, letting Raiders off the hook.
On their part, Raiders had little to show for the first half in attack, except a hopeful shot from Sarah Vella Barberi. However, the young side had a good spell of play around the sixtieth minute, with substitute Francesca Bartolo linking well with Ylenia Grech. Good marking from Rebecca Atinga thwarted Grech’s effort on goal from inside the box. Eunice Micallef also released Sarah Vella Barberi on the wing, but Cynthia Konlan claimed her cross.
At the other end, Sarah Caruana made a vital interception to block Shona Zammit from having a free aim at the goal, while Tatiana Dabney’s attempt to lob the goalkeeper was wide of the mark.
Instead, it was substitute Maria Vella who rounded off the goals for the night in the 84th minute, by curling a shot into the far post from the left side of the box. She was rewarded for staying alert to the live ball as Jade Schembri was clipped in the box after she had made a good run from the right in between the defenders.
Denis Guerra brought on Lexine Farrugia in replacement of Sarah Vella Barberi in the 77th minute, however, Raiders’ number 7 was tightly marked by Swieqi’s back line. Despite this, she made progress against Emma Xuereb in the dying moments of the game, allowing her to fire a cross toward fellow substitute Leah Ayres. Despite this, Swieqi’s Rafanny Abache did just enough to force Lija’s Ayres backward from the six-yard box, allowing the Owls to recover before the referee sounded the full-time whistle.
Full-Time Score: Raiders Lija FC 0 – 4 Swieqi United
League Standings & Fixtures
The result means that Swieqi complete the league with a tally of 41 points in second-place, while Raiders Lija FC will settle for fifth with a total of 22 points. The two sides will next set their sights on the Assikura Women’s Knockout which starts next week on May 2nd.
In the meantime, there are still more games this week. Mgarr United will welcome Mtarfa FC for the teams’ final game of the Assikura Women’s League on Thursday 26th April at 8:30 pm at the Mgarr Ground. The Greens will be looking to secure the win to finish the season in third place, though Mtarfa will still be buoyed by their result against San Gwann earlier in the week.
The final league match will be played on Saturday 29th April, in a 2pm afternoon kick-off at the Centenary Stadium. Birkirkara FC, who will lift the trophy at the end of the match irrespective of the result, will face San Gwann FC.
