Match Report | Birkirkara FC - La Fiorita
by Clayton Schembri - 9th July 2021
Birkirkara FC registered a winning start in the UEFA Europa Conference League, as a goal by Yannick Yankam was enough to beat La Fiorita of San Marino with a narrow 1-0 score at the Centenary Stadium.
The all-important goal arrived on the 14th minute when Yannick Yankam exchanged the ball with Falcone and the young midfielder kept his balance who slotted the ball from close range into the net.
The Stripes were clearly the better side, particularly given their territorial dominance throughout the 90 minutes and could have secured a more pronounced victory.
Birkirkara created the first scoring opportunity after just 30 seconds, when Federico Falcone hit a curling drive that was deflected into a corner. From the resulting corner by Bezzina, Falcone's header hit the upright.
Just before the half-time, Scicluna did well to find Falcone who nodded the ball towards Luke Montebello, but the latter was denied by goalkeeper Gianluca Vivan.
Birkirkara surged ahead on the 50th minute, when Falcone stormed clear but his attempt pass to Luke Montebello was neutralised by the goalkeeper.
On the 60th minute, Birkirkara coach Paus tried to add more flair to his team play when he handed a debut to new signing Diego Venancio who replaced Ryan Scicluna.
Venancio soon left his mark, when his through ball put Montebello clear but the striker was denied by Vivan.
Ten minutes from time, goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes came to the rescue, who denied Tommaso Guidi by a fine reflex save.
The second leg will be played on Thursday 15th July at the San Marino Stadium, kick-off at 20:45.
BIRKIRKARA Daniel Fernandes, Enrico Pepe, Yannick Yankam, Luke Montebello, Roderick Briffa, Kurt Zammit, Federico Falcone, Ryan Scicluna (59′ Diego Venancio), Cain Attard, Oscar Carniello, Johann Bezzina (65′ Claudio Bonanni).
LA FIORITA Gianluca Vivan, Andrea Brighi, Ivan Pedrelli, Roberto Di Maio, Matteo Prandelli, Simone Errico (78′ Riccardo Zulli), Andrea Grandoni, Danilo Rinaldi (65′ Simone Loiodice), Marco Gasperoni (6' Ramiro Martin Lago), Armando Amati (65′ Tommaso Guidi), Marcello Mularoni (78′ Giordan Bardeggia).
Referee: Nikolas Neokleous (CYP)
Assistant Referees: Pavlos Georgiou, Petros Petrou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Chrysovantis Theouli (CYP)
