Swieqi United Complete The Double Over Lija Athletic

A brace from Shona Zammit split by a long-range effort from Jessica Dimech gave the Owls a confident 3-0 win against Lija Athletic in their final league encounter this season. Both teams were denied by the woodwork in the second half.

Team Selections

Swieqi United’s Patricia Araujo retained her place in goal. There was one change in defence, with Aisha Micallef partnering Tammy Falzon instead of Rafanny Abache Mendoza. Jade Schembri and Jessica Dimech retained their places in the full-back positions. Shona Zammit captained the side and was in the company of Michaela Cachia and Ema Micallef in midfield. Kaysia Micallef and Mariah Sciberras started on the flanks, while Karima Abdulai was the central attacker.

Lija Athletic’s Christiana Pisani retained her place in goal. Sarah Caruana was partnered by Nell Zarb Cousin in defence. Katryna Grech started in the right-back role, while Mariah Schembri retained her place on the left. A centre-midfield trio of Amy Galea Gingell, Shakira Bugeja and captain Simone Buttigieg were flanked by Elisa Xuereb and Edera Marmara’. Vanessa Honorio Carneiro was the lone attacker.

Two Long-Range Efforts

The Owls started off brightly, with Shona Zammit picking out the offensive run of Jessica Dimech. Swieqi’s number five darted infield and attempted to cheekily nutmeg the goalkeeper but Christiana Pisani was quick to shut the door for a corner. The goalkeeper was then alert to punch the delivery to safety.

Meanwhile, Lija Athletic were keen to try to catch Swieqi United in transition. A combination between Elisa Xuereb and Vanessa Honorio Carneiro was thwarted by Swieqi’s Tammy Falzon before Lija Athletic’s attempt to trouble the Owls from a free-kick was also dealt with.

Having had joy down the left flank, Swieqi United continued to exploit it which worked well for them to find the opener. Kaysia Micallef released Shona Zammit who darted into the left flank. Noticing the goalkeeper between two minds and in no man’s land, Zammit chipped it home from the tight angle to break the deadlock in the 8th minute.

The Owls kept searching for more with more joy down the left flank. Jessica Dimech was picking out runs for fun, before Kaysia Micallef attempted a low cross which Sarah Caruana intercepted to deny Karima Abdulai an easy finish.

Not finding the goal from close range did not trouble Swieqi as instead they settled into another stellar finish, this time from Jessica Dimech. The defender fired a shot home from just outside the box to find the bottom left corner of the goal for Swieqi’s second in the 13th minute.

Lija Reluctant To Shoot In Opportunities, Swieqi Extend

With two goals in hand, Swieqi United settled into their rhythm in possession. Lija Athletic did not apply too much pressure on their midfielders, who were allowed to take their time and pick their passes to breach the defensive line which they did with aplomb. On the other hand, the finishing did not quite hit the mark or the team was denied in the final ball.

Karima Abdulai had a major opportunity to make it three just before the 20 minute mark but Christiana Pisani made the save to deny the Ghanaian from finding the far corner. The striker had opportunities to convert from several corners, but could not find the accuracy on the night. Her closest attempt came in the latter stages but she was denied by the woodwork from a header.

On the other hand, Lija Athletic picked their spots to try the counter. Happy to launch forward balls for Vanessa Honorio Carneiro, the Brazilian did well to hold up play but appeared to be reluctant to go for the shot.

Patricia Araujo swept well in a one on one situation against the striker in the 20th minute. Simone Buttigieg also grafted in midfield to win possession before releasing her striker behind just five minutes later. However, the Honorio Carneiro attempted one too many dribbles and was crowded out on the edge of the box.

The Brazilian was again reluctant to release a shot just before half-an-hour of play where a ricocheted ball landed at her feet in acres of space. However, with Patricia Araujo scrambling to get into position, Lija’s striker was still reluctant to go for the shot despite her teammates’ pleas.

Although Lija Athletic had sparing opportunities, Swieqi United still dominated the ball with their midfielders taking it in turn to pick up the ball and craft the attacks.

In the meantime, Jessica Dimech was still pinging deliveries from left-back and delivered another weighted ball for the Owls to find the third. She picked out Shona Zammit’s run on the left flank. The captain on the night still had plenty to do but cut inside for the shot effectively. Although she had the first attempted saved by Christiana Pisani, she converted the rebound for her second of the night and Swieqi United’s third.

Half-Time Score: Swieqi United 3 – 0 Lija Athletic

Lija Strike The Woodwork, Swieqi Unable To Extend

There was fantastic defending at either end on the restart, with Tammy Falzon making a crucial interception to deny Simone Buttigieg from picking out Vanessa Honorio Carneiro’s run behind, while at the other end Nell Zarb Cousin intercepted a cross from Mariah Sciberras.

However, Elisa Xuereb still came close to getting a goal back for Lija Athletic three minutes into the half. The winger’s run behind the defence was picked out by Christiana Pisani before Xuereb darted inward and fired into the crossbar at the near post. Patricia Araujo may have gotten something on it on its way to the post, before Aisha Micallef diffused the situation.

Swieqi took their time but had one of their many glorious opportunities to extend close to the 55th minute mark when, Jessica Dimech released Mariah Sciberras behind. However, the number seven’s central finish was gobbled up by Christiana Pisani. Dimech also teed up Ema Micallef at the edge of the box a few minutes later, whose shot had power but lacked the accuracy.

The team continued racking up chances to no avail. Jade Schembri and Mariah Sciberras also worked the ball well on the right flank, before Karima Abdulai forced Christiana Pisani into a diving save from the cross. However, the Ghanaian was off target from the resulting corner delivery. Kaysia Micallef was also found by Jade Schembri who darted up the byline for the cross, however Micallef was also denied the goal with Christiana Pisani at full stretch. Meanwhile, Shona Zammit was still running at full throttle, picking out a few passes while also attempting a long-range effort in search of completing her hat-trick to no avail.

Both coaches looked to freshen things up from the bench, with Leanne Micallef, Hailey Micallef and Rohanne Zahra all making appearances for Lija Athletic. Meanwhile, Maria Vella came onto the field in the right wing role for Swieqi United, while Chanelle Borg in made an appearance in goal for the final ten minutes of the match.

The substitutes looked to make their mark. Leanne Micallef was almost released by Simone Buttigieg but Tammy Falzon shielded the ball well to relieve any pressure for Swieqi. At the other end, Maria Vella put in a good shift, winning a few corners and also forcing Christiana into a save from a cross. The forward was also denied a free shot on goal by a crucial interception from Mariah Schembri who read the cross from Mariah Sciberras.

Lija Athletic’s Samira Bouzid replaced Amy Galea Gingell in the team’s final change of the night, with Bouzid slotting into the heart of defence while Nell Zarb Cousin pushed into midfield. Swieqi United’s Leanne Frendo and Thea Ida Scicluna made late appearances from the bench.

Swieqi United looked to finish on a high but could not convert successive corners while long-range efforts by Karima Abdulai and Michaela Cachia were saved by Christiana Pisani.

Final Score: Swieqi United 3 – 0 Lija Athletic

Standings & Next Matches

Swieqi United conclude Round 2 with 33 points, while Lija Athletic remain on 7 points. The meeting marked the final encounter between the two in the league this season as Swieqi United will next contend the top-4 section of the table in their bid to lift the title. Lija Athletic will compete in the lower section with the aim of taking their tally into double digits in their maiden season back into the league under the namesake.

There’s still more action this weekend, with tonight’s top of the table encounter between leaders Birkirkara and Mgarr United at the Victor Tedesco Stadium (20:30). Tomorrow concludes Round 2 fixtures at Mgarr Ground, as Hibernians take on Mtarfa (14:00), followed by the mid-table clash between San Gwann and Valletta (16:30).

Lead Image: Michael Azzopardi (Swieqi United FC)

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