Birkirkara out to halt Blues’ unbeaten start

Birkirkara’s bold rally in their two-all draw with Valletta on Friday will have lifted their spirits but the Stripes have a tough task to return to winning ways tomorrow as they will be up against Marsaxlokk (kick-off: 3 p.m.).

Having secured immediate promotion following their enforced demotion from the BOV Premier League last season, Marsaxlokk have made a solid start, collecting six points from their opening four matches.

Along with Valletta, Marsa-xlokk are still undefeated this term, their resolute performances in this initial phase of the 2010/11 campaign going some way towards justifying suggestions that the seasiders are well-equipped to re-establish themselves in the top echelon.

Birkirkara coach Paul Zammit is wary of Marsaxlokk’s threat.

“I have the utmost respect for Marsaxlokk,” Zammit told The Times. “With the players they’ve got, Marsaxlokk can give a hard time to all teams in the Premier League.

“In my view, Marsaxlokk are on a par with those teams who have aspirations of challenging for the top positions. They are certainly capable of qualifying for the Championship Pool.”

Reflecting on Birkirkara’s encounter with Valletta, Zammit said: “I was satisfied with the reaction of the team in the second half but our performance in the opening period was poor.

“Losing two players to injury inside the opening 25 minutes disrupted our plans but I thought we ceded the initiative too easily.”

Shaun Bajada and Rowen Muscat are out for several weeks after both suffered ankle injuries in the first half of Friday’s 2-2 draw. Midfielder Alan Tabone is also out of the equation after hurting his knee during training last week.

After steering his team through a turbulent opening to the season, Zammit has called on his players to step up their efforts to strike a high degree of consistency.

“We must prove our consistency,” Zammit said. “It’s high time we put a good run of results together… we can’t afford to become a yo-yo team. We must build on the positive things we did in the previous game.

“I’m expecting a tough match against Marsaxlokk. They are a compact side and their organisation on the pitch is the main reason why Marsaxlokk didn’t concede a goal in their opening three games.

“The onus is on us to be smart and find ways to open up Marsaxlokk’s defence.”

Marsaxlokk threw away a two-goal lead to draw with Hibs in their last match but coach Patrick Curmi was pleased with the team’s showing.

“I believe we have shown steady progress since our first game,” Curmi said.

“The players have demonstrated maturity and improvement in each of the four matches we’ve played so far.

“I felt we dropped two points against Hibs because we had the better chances but our performance was encouraging.

“We have to take it game by game. We’re aware that the match against Birkirkara will be another stiff test for us but I’m optimistic. I’m sure my players will be up for the challenge.”

Curmi has concerns about the fitness of Malta midfielder Gareth Sciberras who spent the past week receiving treatment after picking up a hard knock against Hibs.

Bulgarian defender Emil Yantchev will miss out through injury while Dylan Kokavessis and Julio Alcorse are doubtful.

Newly-promoted teams usually take some time to adapt to the demands of a higher division but Marsaxlokk have not encountered such problems.

“We’re unbeaten after four matches and this has strengthened the players’ self-belief but frankly, I was always confident that Marsaxlokk would not find it too difficult to get going in the Premier League,” Curmi said.

“I don’t like to talk about the circumstances surrounding our demotion to Division One last season but this team has been built to compete in the Premier League. In fact, the foreign players aside, we have retained the squad we had last season.

“The first two games were about finding our rhythm but the mood in the squad has always been upbeat. We’re looking at this season in a very positive way.

“Our chief objective is to gain a berth in the Championship Pool.”