Birkirkara 1
R. Muscat 56;
Sliema Wanderers 3
Woods 7; Muchardi 12; A. Muscat 48;
So long for the pre-match talks…
The season is only a few weeks old but there had already been predictions that the leading trio would run untroubled in the opening phase of the championship, reserving no space for shocking results.
Yet, Birkirkara yesterday surrendered their pristine opening to the season as two quick-fire goals early on unexpectedly floored Paul Zammit’s men against a plucky Sliema side, leaving Valletta and Hibernians the only two teams with maximum points so far.
Defeat to Sliema is certainly no disgrace but many aspects of Birkirkara’s performance were rather worrying yesterday. The Stripes were shockingly poor.
They had plenty of possession but did little when the ball was at their feet. Their midfield trio seldom broke forward in their usual manner, the forward line struggled and, faced by a team renowned for effort and togetherness, Birkirkara did not always demonstrate the same competitive spirit.
The Stripes’ failures should not overshadow the way Sliema overcame a troubling period during which they suffered two consecutive defeats. Their performance was epitomised by Clifford Gatt Baldacchino blotting out Birkirkara striker Shola Shodiya Haruna who was not his usual self.
But Sliema were excellent in every department. Indeed, they did not resemble the team that lost to Mosta and Qormi in their previous outings and worked hard, counter-attacked intelligently, using the energy of Beppe Muscat and the guile of the duo Paltemio Barbetti and Matias Muchardi, and finished decisively better despite Birkirkara’s rally.
Officials from Luxembourg took charge of this match as part of a twinning agreement signed between the Malta FA and their counterparts from the Luxembourg football organisation.
Laurent Kopriwa was referee, Claudio de Carolis and Christophe Pires his assistants and Frank Bourgnon the fourth official.
Alfonso Greco made no fewer than four changes to the Sliema side that started last week’s 2-1 defeat to Qormi, one of which was enforced due to Mark Scerri’s injury, with Gatt Baldacchino, Luca Martinelli, Beppe Muscat and Argentine newcomer Ariel Laudisi all given the chance to shine at the expense of Josef Mifsud, John Mintoff and Alain Faccini. The latter three had to settle for a place on the bench.
Sliema’s Italian coach deployed Laudisi alongside Miguel Ciantar in a 4-3-2-1 formation.
Rowen Muscat’s availability was a timely boost for Zammit who had to make do without Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza and Ryan Scicluna, both injured, as Zach Muscat was also back for the Stripes.
Zammit’s decision to include Rowen and Zach Muscat to fill the void left by Mifsud Triganza and Scicluna necessitated some positional switches, with the former Hotspurs player dropping to centre-half alongside Nikola Vukanac as Alejandro Mendoza moved up into a central midfield role.
Short on strikers, Zammit tweaked his traditional 4-3-3 configuration by deploying Rowen Muscat in the hole behind striking duo Shodiya and Jhonnattann.
For a team that conceded just one goal in their first four games, it was difficult to imagine that they would suffer two in quick succession yesterday.
The Wanderers went ahead after only seven minutes. Martinelli’s pass allowed Ivan Woods to escape the attentions of the Birkirkara rearguard as he used his touch and technique to sweep a glorious shot into the top-right corner from outside the box.
In next to no time, Sliema doubled their lead.
Zammit’s team had been beset by a collective loss of concentration when Laudisi released a through-ball to Matias Muchardi who slid his shot behind goalkeeper Reuben Gauci.
Two-nil down and mindful of Sliema’s attacking prowess, Zammit had to modify his initial strategy and Mendoza switched to defence with Zach Muscat pushed on the right flank. That way Edward Herrera was given the freedom of swapping flanks to confuse his direct markers.
Birkirkara started to cope better but the damage had already been inflicted.
Those early goals must have felt like a cold shower for Birkirkara. They just shaded the first-half exchanges and kept Sliema at bay but hardly got a glimpse of Henry Bonello’s goal.
In the only noteworthy attack just before the break, Paul Fenech dashed unimpeded into the Blues’ penalty area but his shot was fractionally wide.
Whatever the Birkirkara coach told his players at half-time did not work out as Sliema made it 3-0 just after the interval.
A corner by Barbetti fell to Alex Muscat whose shot seemed to have been blocked on the line by a bundle of bodies that included Mendoza, Vukanac and Joseph Zerafa. The referee, however, incurred the wrath of the Birkirkara players when he opted to award the goal.
Fuelled by their fury, Birkirkara surged forward and revived their slim hopes after 56 minutes when Shodiya’s low cross released Rowen Muscat who rolled the ball into an empty net.
Having been served notice of Birkirkara’s ability to claw back into contention, Greco withdrew striker Ciantar and roped in defender Mifsud. He reverted to a security blanket of two holding midfielders and provide cover to his defence.
That new tactical configuration also gave Sliema a platform to adopt a cautious, counter-attacking strategy.
In fact, Beppe Muscat almost punished Birkirkara’s flat-out approach but he shot straight into Gauci’s hands.
Late on, Ryan Camenzuli flashed a corner across the face of goal but Vukanac hit the post from a tight angle.
Birkirkara
R. Gauci-5, A. Mendoza-5, E. Herrera-5, R. Muscat-6, Z. Muscat-4 (54 R. Camenzuli-5), P. Fenech-6, Jhonnattann-4.5, J. Zerafa-6, S. Haruna-5, N. Vukanac-5, G. Sciberras-5.
Sliema Wanderers
H. Bonello-6, B. Muscat-7, C. Gatt Baldacchino-7.5, S. Bianciardi-6, L. Martinelli-6, A. Muscat-6, P. Barbetti-7, M. Muchardi-8, M. Ciantar-6 (67 J. Mifsud-5), A. Laudisi-7 (77 O. El Ghaouti), I. Woods-6.5 (88 J.Mintoff).
Referee: Laurent Kopriwa (Luxembourg).
Yellow cards: Camenzuli; Herrera; Sci-berras; B. Muscat.
BOV player of the match: Ariel Laudisi (Sliema Wanderers).
Attendance: 870.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Valletta | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 12 |
| Hibernians | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 12 |
| Birkirkara | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 12 |
| Floriana | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Sliema W. | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Mosta | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Qormi | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Tarxien | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Hamrun | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| Balzan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| Rabat Ajax | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 1 |
| Melita | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 1 |