Women's Team in Final to keep dream of Double alive

by Ayrton Galea - 24th May 2013

Birkirkara Women's Team kept their dream of winning the double alive by booking a place in the final of the Women's Knockout, when thanks to a collective effort, they defeated Tarxien Rainbows with a score of 3-0.

The current Champions will now face Mosta in the Women's Knockout Final next Wednesday.

Morale sky-high after winning the title and advancing to the semi-final, the Stripes continued building on their previous performance and if it was not for the amount of chances wasted, the score would have been much bigger. On the other hand, Tarxien Rainbows gave a decent showing, as they tried their utmost and despite the loss they must feel satisfied that they managed to advance just one step away from the final stage of the competition.

Birkirkara started the match in a bright fashion as they opened a two-goal advantage in just the first eighteen minutes to earn them a comfortable cushion for the remaining of the match. The Stripes kept cool, did not drop back and continued playing flowing football. Scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity, the Champions outclassed the Rainbows as the latter could not resist Birkirkara's aggressive attitude they had to spend almost the entire time defending in their own half.

Coach Mr. Johann Scicluna made no less than five changes from the Stripes' last outing against Pembroke. Goalkeeper Nina Dimech replaced Janice Xuereb between the posts.Stephania Farrugia and Kelly Agius Pace, who were coming from a two-match ban, and Yasmeen Vella replaced Kelly Groves, Alishia Sultana and Gabriella Zahra respectively.

On the other hand, Rachel Cuschieri was unavailable for this match while Maryrose Cardona is still serving her suspension.

A notable point in this match was the fact that youngster goalkeeper Eliza Cini who is still forming part of the Under 16 squad was called up with the seniors' Team for her first time ever.

The First Half

Mr. Scicluna's motivational speech before the match seemed to inspire the players in an excellent way as the Stripes took no time to settle down and opted for an aggressive style from the first whistle.

Just seven minutes into the match and the Stripes went close. Sacha Camilleri had a powerful shot from inside the box scratching past the crossbar with goalkeeper Dorienne Grech beaten.

However, the Stripes did not take long to surge ahead. On the 9th minute, Kelly Agius Pace quickly left her mark, as her powerful shot from inside the box hit hard past goalkeeper Grech to put the Stripes in an early lead.

On the 12th minute, Raina Giusti performed a good action and concluded with a powerful shot which was blocked by goalkeeper Grech and then cleared into safety.

The Stripes remained aggressive, as their offensive football made it hard for the Rainbows to deal with, and they had to succumb for the second goal as Birkirkara made them two on the 18th minute.

A free-kick by Kim Parnis failed to be kicked properly by a defender. From this defensive blunder, Raina Giusti, who was in an ideal position in front of Grech, made no mistake as her shot gave no chance to Grech.

Two goals in less than twenty minutes confirmed the Stripes' superiority for the match as the present champions could not have had a better start.

Two almost became three on the 21st minute. Sacha Camilleri's match vision was proven to its maximum, when she provided an excellent pass in the direction of Kelly Agius Pace who rounded the goalkeeper but her shot in front of an empty net ended over, despite being in an ideal position.

Mid-way through the first half, Kelly Agius Pace and Sacha Camilleri combined well and the latter seemed to have made them three for the Stripes. However, the assistant referee flagged Camilleri in an offside position and the goal was ruled out.

Birkirkara's aggressive match continued to be clear to notice, as they seemed to never have enough from creating scoring opportunities. However, Tarxien began to settle in slightly and to improve their defensive display.

Following a short period which lacked scoring opportunities, eight minutes from the end of the first half, Kelly Agius Pace was in action once again when she performed a good action before her powerful shot from inside the box ended over.

With Pace's being the final notable action for the first half, the first forty-five minutes saw the Stripes dominating and enjoying a 2-0 lead over Tarxien Rainbows with just another forty-five minutes to secure their place in the final.

The Second Half

The rhythm of the match decreased slightly in the second half but Birkirkara's superiority remained as they remained aggressive and offensive and their scoring opportunities paved the way for another goal to seal the issue.

Eight minutes in the second half, Charlene Schembri had a dangerous cross-shot from the right which was saved without difficulty by goalkeeper Grech.

Just two minutes later, Kim Parnis fired one of her typical long-distance shots however this time the attempt ended wide.

On the 56th minute, luck continued to deny Kelly Agius Pace. From a good position, Agius Pace's close-range shot was blocked by goalkeeper Grech and turned into a corner kick.

A corner kick by Raina Giusti from the left was headed by Stephania Farrugia, to hit the post. Yasmeen Vella was in the perfect position to make the best out of the rebound to make them three and to score her first goal with our Club this season.

In Birkirkara's first substitution on the 68 minutes, Sacha Camilleri who had a positive performance by creating difficulties to the Rainbows' defenders throughout the match was replaced by Kim Simler.

On the 72nd minute, Raina Giusti performed a good run in the middle of the field before concluding her solo-action with a powerful shot which was blocked with difficulty by the Rainbows' goalkeeper.

Scorer of the third goal Yasmeen Vella was replaced by Alexia Scicluna in the final ten minutes of the match.

Tarxien created their first opportunity late in the match when a weak shot was saved by experienced goalkeeper Nina Dimech in her first action.

With the score not changing, the full time whistle found Birkirkara advancing to the final by eliminating the Rainbows, and next Wednesday they will face arch-rivals Mosta.

BIRKIRKARA: Nina Dimech, Stephania Farrugia, Kirstie Vella, Kim Parnis, Kelly Agius Pace, Raina Giusti, Sacha Camilleri (68' Kim Simler), Charlene Schembri, Yasmeen Vella (80' Alexia Scicluna), Simone Buttigieg, Isabelle Mazzitelli.

TARXIEN: Dorienne Grech, Cheryl Cachia, Antoinette Vella, Leanmarie Pisani, Lisa Seneral, Kim Magro, Roxanne Attard, Francesca Bonello, Janelle Cauchi, Chantel Spiteri.

Scorers: 8' Kelly Agius Pace, 18' Raina Giusti, 60' Yasmeen Vella.

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