Stripes, Blues out to make statement of intent

As the 2009-10 BOV Premier League hits the home stretch, Birkirkara and Sliema Wanderers will be striving to strengthen their title push by coming out on top from their direct encounter this evening at the National Stadium (kick-off 6).

Birkirkara's emergence as potential title challengers has spiced up the race for the championship. Victory today would further embellish their status as genuine contenders besides exerting more pressure on Valletta who are in action tomorrow.

On the other side of the coin, Sliema Wanderers failed to justify their billing as title candidates for much of the past six months but three wins and a draw from their last four league outings combined with the half-points formula of the Premier League has resurrected their bid. The Blues start the Championship Pool on 15 points, five adrift of leading duo Valletta and Birkirkara.

Paul Zammit, the Birkirkara coach, emphasised the importance of the opening two matches of the Championship Pool as he reflected on his side's impending clash with Sliema.

"The Championship Pool matches are like 10 finals," Zammit said. "The first two matches are very important because the results can have a huge bearing on one's ambitions.

"We are now starting a new, decisive phase in the league campaign. Because the points have been halved, all the teams in the Championship Pool are still in contention for the title, regardless of their position.

"This is why the first two matches are almost crucial because if we win, we will consolidate our position at the top but if we drop points, other teams will boost their chances."

Zammit is hopeful of having a full complement at his disposal this evening as long-term injury absentee George Mallia is in line for a recall after recovering from a calf injury.

Judging by their position, Birkirkara should be regarded as slight favourites to win today but Zammit and his charges know from experience that Sliema are no easy opponents as the latter showed when they upset the Stripes 1-0 in their last meeting a few weeks back.

"Sliema Wanderers are well-equipped to be among the title challengers," Zammit contended.

"We said this about Sliema before the start of the season and nothing has changed really. They can make it hard for any team in the Premier.

"All teams go through periods when key players are out but you have to get on with it. We missed players at different stages of the season but we kept going.

"Sliema will be without Alex Muscat and Ryan Fenech for this match but their absence is not going to make things easier for us because they have a very strong squad."

Given the changes they went through last summer, many tagged Birkirkara as a team in transition but under Zammit's expert guidance, they didn't take long to hit their stride.

Zammit has been reluctant to countenance talk of a fight for the title but the former Valletta mentor acknowledged that his team will do their best to remain in the race.

"Firstly, I think that people would be lying if they say that they don't have an ambition to win something, provided that they are still in contention," Zammit said.

"At Birkirkara, we split our season into three parts. Part one was about establishing the squad and our football style. The second bit focused on our bid to make sure of a place in the Championship Pool the earliest possible.

"Now we're embarking on the third part of our plan whereby we will try to intensify our efforts to achieve higher objectives.

"If we remain consistent in the next 10 matches, we can challenge for big prizes like the title. On paper, Valletta have the strongest squad and none of the other teams can match their resources. We know that but our challenge is to show that we can also compete."

Sliema coach Mark Marlow echoed Zammit's views about the Championship Pool.

"Every game at this stage is like a final and I envisage that most of the matches will be tight," Marlow said.

"Like all the other teams, we have our goals. A berth in the Championship Pool represented our top target but now that we have achieved that, we will aim higher. We are determined to climb up the table and secure a place in European competitions but the title race is still wide open and we will do our best to mount a strong challenge."

Marlow can't pick his best team this evening as Muscat and Fenech are suspended after both saw red in the 2-2 draw with Hibernians, and Mark Scerri is injured.

The Sliema coach is confident that his team can replicate their second-round win over Birkirkara.

"My second game as Sliema coach was against Birkirkara and our performance that day was very good," Marlow said. "We were better than Birkirkara and there is no reason to think that we can't do the same in the next match.

"That said, I have the utmost respect for Birkirkara. I like their approach to the game and I consider them as title contenders."

Under Marlow, Sliema have won three matches and drew one but their unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt last week when the Blues slumped to a surprising 2-1 defeat to Division One side Mosta in the quarter-finals of the National League 100 Anniversary Cup.

Their shocking exit from this one-off competition prompted some to suggest that Sliema's growing confidence may have been jolted but Marlow is not concerned.

"Losing to Mosta was a shock for us but I believe that we've learnt our lessons," Marlow said. "We had the initiative in that match but we lacked the grit and incisiveness to make our superior possession count and we got punished for that.

"That defeat may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I'm not saying that I'm glad that Sliema are out of the Anniversary Cup because we wanted to go all the way but that setback should motivate the players to try and make up for it with a good run in the Championship Pool."

Results so far: Birkirkara vs Sliema 3-0, 0-1.