Swieqi United Land Maiden Trophy

Swieqi United emerged victorious in front of a boisterous crowd yesterday, after beating Hibernians FC by 2-1 in the final of the Assikura Women’s Knockout at the Centenary Stadium. Dorianne Theuma and Rebecca Atinga gave the Owls a strong lead, while Alexis Espitia got the consolation goal for Hibs late on. The match report is accompanied by a few words from Swieqi United coach Judith Kuipers and captain Dorianne Theuma who sum up the team’s journey to the historic moment.

Team Line-Ups

Judith Kuipers named an unchanged defensive set-up for Swieqi United FC, with Cynthia Konlan as goalkeeper behind a back four of Jade Schembri, Rafanny Abache Mendoza, Tammy Falzon and Emma Xuereb. Jessica Dimech sat in front of the defence, as an anchor to Dorianne Theuma and Shona Zammit who stood further afield. Mariah Sciberras and Rebecca Atinga occupied the left and right wing respectively. The only change in the line-up was in the central forward role as Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney was given the nod.

Meanwhile, Keith Gouder set up a back-four to protect Raisa Costantino in goal. Chloe Ellul started on the left, while Alessia Caschetto settled in the right-back role. Emma Zammit and Amy Busuttil retained their partnership at the heart of the defence. Nicole Sciberras and Kayleigh Chetcuti occupied the midfield roles, behind captain Martina Borg. Yolande Attard and Cristina Hili provided the width, while Alexis Espitia was the striker up top.

The Owls Set the Tone

Swieqi United were the first to settle on the ball and get into a rhythm in midfield. Dorianne Theuma and Shona Zammit both fired from distance within the first ten minutes of the match and though the strikes were slightly off target, they made Swieqi’s intentions clear.

In fact, Dorianne Theuma landed the first punch in the 22^nd minute with a strike from distance. Jessica Dimech laid a short pass towards Theuma, and the veteran displayed excellent vision to spot Hibs’ Costantino off her line, striking a looping ball that landed in the net despite the goalkeeper getting something on it.

Led by Martina Borg, Hibs attempted to fight back but could not fashion chances to truly threaten the Owls’ lead in the first half. Nicole Sciberras made a couple of darting runs up the field, to inspire some attacking movement. However, crosses into the box were not supported by enough bodies to threaten Cynthia Konlan’s goal. Cristina Hili and Martina Borg did manage to combine to get Alexis Espitia behind the defence, but the strike was wide of the mark. Meanwhile, aware of the pace Alexis Espitia possesses, Rafanny Abache Mendoza and Tammy Falzon each took turns to tightly mark the striker, denying her from having a free run at them on the counter-attack at various points in the match. As a result, Swieqi kept coming away with the ball and piling pressure on Hibs’ goal.

At the other end, Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney was played behind the defence before Amy Busuttil recovered well to block her from having a run at the goalkeeper. Having converted one strike, Dorianne Theuma launched another from distance around the 37^th minute but this time was denied by the crossbar. However, Swieqi did not have to wait too long and doubled the lead in the 41st minute, thanks to Rebecca Atinga. The number twenty-one drove a low ball into the box which ended in the back of the net. Dorianne Theuma’s presence at the near post aided the attack and seemed to have been enough to put off Hibs’ back-line, who in a rush to close in on the skipper failed to deal with the incoming strike and let the ball creep into the net.

Half-Time Score: Swieqi United 2 – 0 Hibernians FC

Hibs’ Response

Keith Gouder made one change at half-time, bringing on Sarah Urpani in a straight swap with Cristina Hili. Despite this, Swieqi still managed a couple of almost chances early in the half. Tatiana Hawkins-Dabney fired a volley but was wide of the target, before being played behind the defence by Jade Schembri, but Hibs did enough to deny her the time to control the ball.  

The attacks prompted a second change from Gouder around ten minutes into the half, with Nyorah Celeste coming on to the pitch as a right forward, in replacement of Yolande Attard, which pushed Sarah Urpani to the left forward role. The changes gave the Whites more energy, while the side also attempted to press higher up the pitch.

A ball launched by Raisa Costantino around the sixtieth minute got Martina Borg behind the defence but Cynthia Konlan was happy to sweep. However, Hibs grew in confidence and Alexis Espitia hit the side-netting from a ricocheted ball in the sixty-third minute. By this point, Hibs’ number thirty was drawing in the two Swieqi centre-backs consistently, which allowed Sarah Urpani space on the left wing. Kayleigh Chetcuti displayed good awareness to spot this but unfortunately, Hibs’ number seven hobbled off the pitch shortly after with an injury following a clash in midfield, prompting Thea Difesa to make an appearance from the bench.

As the half dragged on, and with a two-goal lead in hand, Swieqi United were happy to take the ball towards the corner flag, while staying compact in midfield. Despite this, things still got pretty heated when the officials made a couple of decisions in awarding free-kicks to Hibs, which landed more than one of Swieqi’s players in the book.

Hibs kept plugging away and finally found the consolation goal in injury time. The strike came following a loose clearance from an initial short corner orchestrated by Sarah Urpani and Chloe Ellul. Alexis Espitia headed the ball into the net, while captain Martina Borg grabs the assist for having initially looped the loose ball into the crossbar from the edge of the box. Unfortunately for Hibs, the goal came too late to truly threaten Swieqi’s victory.

Full-Time Score: Swieqi United FC 2 – 1 Hibernians FC

Champions At Last

The Owls erupted into celebrations shortly after as referee Jo-Anna Vassallo sounded the full-time whistle. Swieqi’s fans, who had made their voices heard throughout the match, found the next volume level as the players lifted the trophy.

The Sporting Fan spoke with Swieqi United’s coach Judith Kuipers about the victory, “We walked a difficult and tough course to get to the final. The first half against Hibs was very good, the second very hectic but that was to be expected. In the end, I think we are the rightful winner. Very proud of the staff and the team.”

Asked about the effectiveness in dealing with the danger of Hibs from counter-attacks which had troubled them earlier in the season, the coach said, “When playing positional and attacking football, the danger of a counterattack lurks especially when you are playing against a side with a lot of speed up front. We paid attention to this, applying consistent pressure, and covering the space when we lose the ball. The team handled this well.”

Meanwhile, The Sporting Fan also spoke with captain Dorianne Theuma about scoring and leading the side onto the pitch in the historic win, “Although we didn’t have the best of games, I am happy to have scored in the final and ultimately having closed off the season on a positive note.” The captain also spoke about the mental resilience of her teammates to put any disappointments related to the league aspirations and maintain focus on landing the first piece of silverware. The skipper said, “For the team, it was not only about winning the final, we knew we had probably the toughest knockout draw possible. After losing the league it was not easy to find motivation, but we all kept showing up and with dedication and perseverance we managed to reach the final. As a team, we have been working to win a cup for four years and finally, we all got a little taste of victory.”

Coach Judith Kuipers echoed the sentiment and heaped praise on the players and staff, “I’m very proud of the girls. The entire staff and team has worked hard all year and this is a well-deserved reward. We were hoping for more this season but it is admirable how the team has dealt with this and was able to motivate itself at the end of the season.”

Indeed the side arguably overcame their biggest hurdle in beating Birkirkara FC in the quarter-final to whom they had yielded the Super Cup and the league title earlier in the season. However, following the quarter-final the side still had to put in the work to find wins against Raiders Lija FC and then Hibernians FC in the final. The victory marks the end of the team’s search for the first piece of silverware, allowing them to finish the season on a high while instilling belief for future success.

Photo: Jeffrick Cachia