Stripes beat Paolites to boost title hopes

by Ayrton Galea - 24th April 2013

Half-time team talks could be an inspiration for the players and this certainly seemed the case yesterday evening as Birkirkara's hugely improved performance in the second half earned them a satisfactory 3-1 over Hibernians to regain joint-leadership in the BOV Women's First Division League.

Following a boring and lacking from scoring opportunities first half with Birkirkara's performance disappointing the most, Birkirkara's Women's Team Coach, Mr. Johann Scicluna had no other option than to give his players a wake-up call, as they had only forty-five minutes left to do things right.

Mr. Scicluna's speech was an instrumental one for his girls as forty-five minutes were more than enough for the motivated players in the second half, as the Stripes performed a great second half and they showed great resilience not to give up after Hibernians equalised, as the Stripes kept pushing forward before scoring two goals in quick succession to dash the Paolites' hopes and pick up three precious points.

Thanks to this win, Birkirkara once again moved back as joint-leaders on top of the table after last Sunday Mosta had temporarily moved as sole-leaders after they trashed Gozo with a 7-0 score. Thanks to this win, Birkirkara and Mosta are now four points clear over Hibernians, which almost makes it impossible for the Paolites in their challenge of winning the title with just two matches to go.

Following last week's 2-2 draw against Mosta, Mr. Scicluna made one change from his first eleven as he withdrew Isabelle Mazzitelli with Youngster Kelly Groves. Maryrose Cardona and Alishia Sultana began as wingers while Kelly Agius Pace started in the striker position.

The First Half

The match began on a quite note as both teams exchanged possession and hardly left any space for their opponent in the opening stages.

Birkirkara created the match's first scoring opportunity on the fifteenth minute when Rachel Cuschieri tried her luck with a long-range shot which was turned into a corner kick.

With the wind blowing strong, both teams found an unexpected obstacle which turned the match into a boring one lacking from entertainment.

On the half hour, Hibernians created their first scoring opportunity when the Paolites' forward found space to unleash a low shot with goalkeeper Xuereb saving the attempt without any particular difficulty.

Two minutes later, goalkeeper Xuereb was in action once again when she had to come out of her position to neutralise the Hibernians' attack following a fine through ball.

With both sides failing to create any notable action, the first half which probably produced one of the most balanced forty-five minutes of the season ended in a goal-less draw.

The Second Half

If the Birkirkara supporters were not happy with their team's performance, Mr. Scicluna was the unhappiest amongst all as he saw his players failing to carry out his instructions and definitely a wake-up call was a must.

However, the players could not have responded better to his fresh instructions, as just three minutes in the second half, the Stripes surged ahead.

On the 48 minutes, Gabriella Zahra made the best out of a defensive blunder, as the National players intelligently advanced in the box before serving Kelly Agius Pace who slotted in front of goalkeeper Keoney Demicoli to put the Stripes in the lead.

A goal after just three minutes in the second half was probably the best way to settle down for the Stripes in the second half, as the yellow-reds were clearly boosted by this goal as they began to play better football thanks to a doze of confidence which enabled them to have an edge over their opponents.

However, Hibernians' reply was quick and on the 52 minutes, they threatened for the first time to equalise. Following a freekick from the left, an attempt from a header ended wide.

Birkirkara's drastic improvement was clear to see as their continuous pressure left little hope for Hibernians to build their attacks, with their remaining option was to clear into safety to avoid any blunders at the back.

However, the Paolites did not give up, and in their first good scoring opportunity of the second half, they managed to equalise.

On the 62 minutes, National player and prolific striker Ylenia Carabott found space outside Birkirkara's box and fired a powerful shot which gave goalkeeper Xuereb no chance.

It was Hibernians' turn to brim with confidence, as with the score level, the Paolites were back in the match.

However, the Stripes showed great resilience not to give up as they were still enjoying a slight advantage over their opponents and Mr. Scicluna utilised his first substitution, when he included Isabelle Mazzitelli to replace Kelly Groves to include a fresh offensive player.

Birkirkara were finally awarded for their efforts as they regained the lead on the 77 minutes. A powerful freekick by Kim Parnis was not held by goalkeeper Demicoli, and Gabriella Zahra was in the perfect position to make the best out of the situation, to fire home and put Birkirkara back in the lead.

Leaving Hibernians no time to settle down, Birkirkara kept pushing forward. Ten minutes from time, Kim Parnis was unlucky not to make them three when her shot was not held properly by goalkeeper Demicoli, with the ball hitting the foot of the post to end in a corner kick.

However, what Kim was denied from doing, Rachel Cuschieri did in a spectacular way. On the 81st minute, the Stripes made them three. Gabriella Zahra showed great vision by providing a perfect pass to an unmarked Cuschieri who unleashed a wonderful shot which totally beat goalkeeper Demicoli with the ball hitting the crossbar and going in.

The Stripes were finally in a comfortable position as they found themselves with a two-goal advantage as a reward for their effort in the second half.

In order to put a fresh striker up front, Mr. Johann Scicluna made his second change of the match as he replaced Kelly Agius Pace with Simone Buttigieg on the 87th minute. Nothing less than deserved was the standing ovation for the Birkirkara striker who had put the Stripes ahead early in the second half.

Just moments later, Birkirkara made their third substitution as scorer of the third and wonderful goal, Rachel Cuschieri was withdrawn, with Raina Giusti taking her place for the last minutes of the match.

With Hibernians failing to make any sort of reaction, the referee's full time whistle found Birkirkara moving back to the top of the table, thanks to a superb second half which put them back to winning ways following last week's draw.

BIRKIRKARA: Janice Xuereb, Yasmeen Vella, Stephania Farrugia, Kirsie Vella, Gabriella Zahra, Kim Parnis, Alishia Sultana, Maryrose Cardona, Kelly Groves (70' Isabelle Mazzitelli), Rachel Cuschieri, Kelly Agius Pace (87' Simone Buttigieg).

HIBERNIANS: Keoney Demicoli, Claire Sciberras, Ylenia Carabott, Dione Tonna, Ruth Steer Chetam, Rosalie Cauchi, Maria Azzopardi, Charlene Zammit, Corissa Vella,m Sherianne Zammit, Francesca Chircop.

Scorers: 48' Kelly Agius Pace, 77' Gabriella Zahra, 81' Rachel Cuschieri (Birkirkara), 62' Ylenia Carabott (Hibernians)

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