Birkirkara to face Sliema
by Ayrton Galea - 26th January 2013
Birkirkara will be aiming to surpass Wednesday's disappointment of being eliminated from the U*BET FA Trophy when they will be hoping to keep the pace with the leaders in the Bov Premier League as tomorrow afternoon, the Stripes will be involved in a difficult match against Sliema Wanderers.
For many, last Wednesday's elimination from the U*BET FA Trophy was as a sour shock. Opponents Qormi managed to fight back to turn the match around and qualify with a 2-1 score. However, despite the elimination, Birkirkara's performance, especially in the first half, was still a very satisfying one, creating a number of goal scoring chances, which the Stripes failed to turn their superiority into goals.
On the other hand, in the league campaign, the Stripes registered their biggest victory of the season when they defeated Mosta with a 7-1 thanks to a magnificent performance, especially by Jhonnattann who managed to score a hat-trick. Thanks to this win, Birkirkara managed to keep the pace with the leaders Valletta and second placed Hibernians as they both registered wins.
Opponents Sliema Wanderers were eliminated at an earlier third round stage of the U*BET FA Trophy when in probably the biggest surprise so far in the competition, they were eliminated by the odds of penalty shout out against second division side Zebbug Rangers.
In the Premier League, Sliema suffered two defeats in their last two outings as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Hibernians and a 2-0 defeat against Valletta in their last outing.
With three precious points at stake, Birkirkara will do their best to keep the pace with the leaders while they will open a nine gap over the same Sliema Wanderers, while the latter will be hoping to reduce the gap with the Stripes and move in safer waters to confirm their place in the Championship Pool.
Nikola Vukanac for Birkirkara and Luigi Ruggiero for Sliema Wanderers will be unavailable as they are both suspended for one match. Nikola was sent off in last Wednesday's match against Qormi while Luigi was sent off in the last outing against Valletta.
Sliema Wanderers won the first round encounter against Birkirkara with a 3-1 score.
The match will be played at the Hibernians Stadium and it is scheduled to kick off at 16:00.
Come on the Stripes!
| Last Matches Played |
|---|
