The Birkirkara U-16 team has just returned from Wels, Austria, where they figured in an international youth tournament along with nine other Category A sides. The outcome was a positive one as the young Stripes team only got beaten in the semi-final, placing third in the Upper Austria Cup.
Birkirkara were in Group A along with Karpati Lemberg (Ukraine), Monte Mare (Italy), FC Viteauto (Moldova) and NASA A (USA). New England Selection (USA), IFK Klagsham (Sweden), Traun Aushwahr (Austria), NASA B (USA) and FC Dyoc (Tanzania) were in Group B. The opening match saw the Stripes hitting back admirably to cancel Monte Mare's three-goal lead with second-half goals from Joel Sammut Vasquez (2) and a superb Ian Borg strike.
Birkirkara then played two matches in one day. First they drew 0-0 against 2002 cup winners Karpati Lemberg and then repeated the same score against Florida-based NASA A.
The last qualifier was against Viteauto. The match was balanced but in the end a firm Steve Garzia header gave the Maltese side a 1-0 win and a passage to the quarter-finals where they met New England, a team with a wide selection base and the outright Group B winners.
The Stripes won this encounter by an odd goal in extra time. Ian Borg was the scorer.
Monte Mare were Birkirkara's opponents in the semi-final but this time the Italians were prepared to avoid what had happened in the qualifying round. They won 3-1 with Sammut Vasquez again scoring for the Stripes.