by RSC Anderlecht & Birkirkara secured a place in this Saturday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League round 1 final in very different manners, while Red Star Belgrade & Breznica Pljevlja both succumbed to red cards which diminished their chances for the spot. Coaches Dennis Moerman, Vince Galea, Bojan Macesic & Miljana Rondovic provided their assessments of the semi-final matches played on Wednesday, with tactical approach, mentality and game management dominating the discussions.
Taking The Bull By The Horns
The UEFA Women’s Champions League round 1 will culminate in two matches tomorrow at the Centenary Stadium, as CP-Group 4 comes to a close. Breznica Pljevlja and Red Star Belgrade will fight for third place in the group, with kick-off at 17:45 at the Centenary Stadium. The match will be followed by Anderlecht and Birkirkara, who contest the final at the same stadium at 21:15, for a spot in round two of the competition.
Anderlecht & Birkirkara secured the spot through victories against Red Star Belgrade and Breznica Pljevlja, respectively, last Wednesday. However, the two teams managed their wins in very different manner.
Anderlecht had a quick start, immediately exploiting a very early sending off for Red Star Belgrade. Coach Dennis Moerman praised the reaction from his team, “I am very happy. It’s not an exaggeration when one says that there’s always going to be some nervousness in the first match in the Champions League. So, having the odds a bit in your favour with the red card and scoring the first goal within the first ten minutes, always helps to release some tension and bring calm into the team. I think following that we managed the game well, kept pushing for more goals and maybe we could have scored a fifth and a sixth. So, of course very happy.”
On the other hand, Birkirkara’s Vince Galea acknowledged the team knew what to expect, but had to show character after falling behind, “In a sense, the game developed in the way we expected it to from a tactical standpoint. We knew that we would be strong in possession, but that Breznica has very pacey and physical forwards. We had some good combinations in the first half, but lost a few opportunities and then a defensive miscommunication cost us the goal. It shocked the team a bit because it was against the run of play. However, there was a strong character to dominate going forward and get back into it.”
Birkirkara’s coach praised the team’s ability to regain control and get the job done, “However, in the end, these matches are decided by moments. We kept pushing until we got the goal and did our job to avoid penalties and get the win.”
Tactical Approach & Mentality
Despite having had a player less on the pitch, Red Star Belgrade still managed to get a goal by the end, courtesy of Nina Matejic. Anderlecht’s Dennis Moerman made clear the threat that the team knew the young striker brought to the match, “We knew that Belgrade’s Nina Matejic has a very particular type of weapon. She can occupy a whole defence with her hold up play and her speed. Her goal shows her capabilities perfectly. Our game plan was to cut off every feed into her.”
However, probed about areas for improvement, Moerman reflected on the importance of mentality. He said, “Unfortunately, we had around three fifty-fifty situations where we were not, in my view, fully committed to clearing it. Perhaps we were already thinking about the next game, or not getting injured. It’s something I don’t like but it’s normal, and you see that she had a half chance and she’s capable of scoring that. So, I’m glad that the team was able to cut off most of the feed into Matejic, because if we did not succeed it would have been far more difficult to manage the result.”
However, Anderlecht’s Dennis Moerman praised the team’s ability to control the match for large portions, “I think in the end our success is not only what we did out of possession, but firmly believe that our best defensive tactic was to hold on to the ball at certain moments. I think the more possession you have, the less chance the opponent has to create chances of their own. So, from that perspective, we did okay with game management. They had chances, but we could have also scored a fifth, sixth and seventh.”
There was a stark contrast in the control that Anderlecht displayed to secure the victory, to the way Birkirkara achieved their result. This was reflected in Vince Galea’s assessment of how his team navigated certain moments in the match, “The team settled a bit more in the second half, however, I am still not very happy because we wasted good possession at times and fell into the trap of Breznica as they targeted to break our rhythm. We were not mentally composed and wasted good chances. I understand there’s emotions and I am sure that my players can play even better.”
Referees Not Hesitant For The Cards
The two matches were subject to stacks of bookings, while Red Star Belgrade and Breznica Pljevlja were on the end of sending offs. While it may not have been the end-all-be-all of the outcomes of the matches, playing more than an hour with ten players certainly has an impact on the game.
Red Star Belgrade’s Bojan Macesic did not mince his words about the impacts of going down to ten so early in the match, “It was a beginner’s mistake. If that didn’t happen we would have had a better chance to win or at least balance Anderlecht.”
Bojan Macesic admitted that the occasion and the moment was exploited well by Anderlecht, “I would say the girls struggled to adjust to the sending off and the first goal initially. We were late and lacked the concentration, and they made it pay.”
Breznica’s Miljana Rondovic reflected on the match, “We started off well. We knew it was going to be a tough match against the great team of Birkirkara, but I think today maybe luck was not on our side.”
However, asked about the impacts of so many bookings and eventually going down to ten players for an entire hour in the match, Rondovic refused to comment on the impacts of such decisions.
On the other hand, Miljana Rondovic praised the team’s ability to concentrate against a rowdy home crowd, “We knew that we would face a tough atmosphere, we had prepared our girls against this. I don’t think it affected them in the end.”
Different Stakes, Same Targets
Saturday’s matches will have been already looming in coaches’ heads as they prepared for the first game. At the same time, the matches themselves offer a new challenge for players, which enables coaches to assess their players’ trajectories and adjust.
Red Star Belgrade’s Bojan Macesic acknowledged that the side will focus on recovery, but that the aim remains to end the tournament on a high. He said, “We will do everything to get a first victory in the competition in our history as a club. We have a couple of days to cool down, refresh the team and go for it on Saturday.”
His direct opponent, Breznica Pljevlja’s Miljana Rondovic, echoed the sentiment, “We want our team to recover from the match because we played full ninety and also extra-time. We did not make so many substitutions so the first focus is for our players to recover and be healthy for the game on Saturday.”
Probed about the decision to make early changes in the match, Anderlecht’s Dennis Moerman replied on the desire to improve the quality of play, as much as to balance the load in view of Saturday’s match.
He said, “We were already two up at half time. There were some changes due to quality as we were not one hundred percent satisfied, despite being in the lead. I think we can still see a better Anderlecht hopefully in the next game. Besides adapting to improving the quality on the pitch, there were also some fitness concerns, players feeling something here and there. The moment you are three or four up, then I believe it is the point that you can manage the load in view of the fatigue and these small injuries. So, it’s a variety of reasons.”
Meanwhile, Birkirkara’s Vince Galea praised the efforts of his team to push for the win despite it going the full distance. He said, “I am very happy with the contributions of the players involved. We had a few injuries in the past weeks to Yuna (Hazekawa) and Erica (Bispo). Yuna played one hundred and twenty minutes and was impeccable in midfield. Luana (Vitoria Cabral) was fantastic too. In the end, it was a strong team effort. As a team we knew we had to leave it out all on the pitch and I felt we did that. It was not only players who started the match, but also players like Martina (Fenech), Amelia (Vassallo) and others, who gave us a strong injection once they came into it.”
Having achieved their result in very different circumstances to Anderlecht, Birkirkara’s Vince Galea acknowledged that his team’s race to recover will be different, “Main focus is for our players to recover, assess what we did right and what we want to improve. The match against Anderlecht will probably be the toughest match we play all season, even when you consider we played 120 minutes.”
However, Galea is rallying the troops for a strong showing, “We know that we are the underdogs. However, we are Birkirkara, we will always play to win.”
Red Star Belgrade and Breznica Pljevlja will kick-off proceedings for the third-place in the group on Saturday at the Centenary Stadium at 17:45. Their encounter will be followed by the final between RSC Anderlecht and Birkirkara, starting at 21:15. The match will decide the team progressing to round two of the competition.
Lead Images: Lara Schembri (Red Star Belgrade, RSC Anderlecht), Elise Bajada (Breznica Pljevlja), Brandon Bonett (Birkirkara).
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