by Birkirkara and Lija Athletic will close off today’s double-header at Mgarr Ground, kicking off at 16:30. Vince Galea and Jethron Azzopardi gave their take on the international window proceedings for their teams. Birkirkara’s Galea dismissed league table talk, insisting on a match by match approach, while Jethron Azzopardi admitted his team go into it with further injury woes but with a young fighting spirit nonetheless.
Switching Gears
The defending champions will be chomping at the bit to earn three more points this afternoon in search of a return to the top of the table, following Hibernians’ defeat to Mgarr United yesterday.
Birkirkara went into the international break on the back of a commanding victory against San Gwann, albeit with a reduced scoreline. Vince Galea commended the performance by his team, “I asked my team to finish the game with three points professionally after a very good first half and that’s what we did. It was very important to keep with the momentum before the international window.”
Meanwhile, Lija Athletic suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Valletta, courtesy of a penalty conversion in a match that featured unruly behaviour from both sets of players.
Questioned about dealing with discipline in his team, the Lija Athletic coach Jethron Azzopardi tore into the officiation, “The game was conditioned by bad decisions from the referee. It’s frustrating when you get the same referee four times in a row, it conditions the game before kick off. The game against Valletta is always tight and some episodes are really difficult to interpret including what happened.”
Probed about having several opportunities to go forward in the match and the mentality within the team to pursue them, Azzopardi replied, “At the moment we are missing key players that were present only in the first two matches. Then it was a continuous rotation in the squad which conditions our game play.”
Milestone Moments & Youth Call-Ups
Birkirkara had four players called up to the Malta senior team selection, with Charlene Zammit captaining Malta on her 100th appearance, joined by club-mates Alishia Cassar, Gabriella Zahra and Mariah Cardona.
The Stripes boasted four more call-ups at U19 level, for breakout players Amelia Vassallo and Stella Francalanza, also joined by goalkeeping duo Erika Muscat and Emma Cortis. A total of seven players were selected at U17 level, with two of them already making senior team appearances this season in Maia Gauci and Lara May Azzopardi. Mariah Micallef, Krista Sacco, Shanneil Farrugia, Kristina Zammit and Kay Axiak were also among those selected for the training camp.
In this regard, Vince Galea had less players at his disposal, but questioned about the utilisation of the international break, the Birkirkara coach was positive on the work done, “During the break, we increased the training session days as we wanted to make sure that those staying with us keep and improve the physical condition after a frantic first part of the season. It was a great opportunity to have some players born 2010, 2009 and older to train together with the senior team. They did very well and we are happy with their progress.”
While Lija Athletic did not have players called up at senior national team level, the team featured call-ups at U19 level for Milena Stagno and at U17 for goalkeeper Julia Zarb. Jethron Azzopardi beamed at the selections, while underlining the work carried out at club level, “It gives me joy seeing players from our team being called up. It means a lot to the club and myself as a coach.”
The Lija Athletic coach suggested the international break was welcome to push the team in their conditioning, “We worked more on the physical aspect to avoid future injuries.”
Match Expectations
The two sides were separated by just one goal in their first meet this season, in a match which saw the Stripes create plenty, but ultimately frustrated enough by Lija Athletic.
Vince Galea noted the limited time between the international window and the match will put the Stripes in a race against time to get things ready but is backing his team to show up with a positive mentality, “We had only two days to get the squad together and assess the players’ condition. Decisions on team will be done on match day and we will ask the players to go for the game with lots of energy and intensity.”
However, questioned about the impacts of the result on the table, the Birkirkara coach continues to suggest he is focused on a match by match basis, “We will not look at the table but instead stay focused on the immediate target; winning next game.”
Questioned whether the team is ready to put up a similar fight this afternoon, Jethron Azzopardi tempered expectations but is backing his team to show up with a fighting mentality, “It will be a different story. We are missing four key players and have to dig deep in our U19 squad. Will try to do our best and limit the damage from the champions.”
The two sides will conclude the weekend at Mgarr Ground, with the match beginning at 16:30, following the encounter between Valletta and Swieqi United (14:00).
Lead Image: Elise Bajada
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