Stripes fall to Balzan
by Ayrton Galea - 6th February 2016
Birkirkara FC suffered the first defeat in six matches in the BOV Premier League, when on Saturday afternoon they were defeated by Balzan FC, with a solitary goal in the second half by Lydon Micallef.
With a below-average performance that once again made evident the lack of power in attack, the Stripes fell for the first defeat in six matches. Following the goal-less defeat against Floriana, the pressure was on the Stripes to return to winning ways, and keep the pace with Valletta and Hibernians.
A defeat that increased the Stripes' woes as they are now eighth points under Valletta, five under Hibernians while they are joined in the third place with Balzan.
Head Coach Mr. Drazen Besek was forced to make at least one change from the goal-less draw against Floriana, as Joseph Zerafa was not 100% fit. Matthew Guillaumier took his spot, and this was the first time he was in the starting eleven since he joined our Club. L'Imam Seydi made his debut, at the expense of Frank Temile.
Mr. Besek fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation. Kopric defended the posts, Mazzetti and Vukanac formed the centre-backs while Attard and Camenzuli started on the sides. Andelkovic and Sciberras started as holding midfielders, supporting Matthew Guillaumier who was fielded in an advanced position. Bilbao and Mujanovic patrolled the wings while L'Imam Seydi started as the solitary striker.
Before kick-off, Paul Fenech presented flowers to the Birkirkara supporters, as this was his first match playing against Birkirkara, following eight and a half years with the Club.
The First Half
Balzan went out aggressive and they were first to create a scoring opportunity. Paul Fenech tried an ambitious lob but his effort ended wide.
There was another dangerous opportunity for Balzan on the twelfth minute. Effiong headed the ball in the path of Alan Da Silva Souza who drifted inside the box but his close-range effort was blocked by the Birkirkara goalkeeper, Miroslav Kopric.
Kopric had to be the protagonist and deny Balzan again on the twenty-second minute, when he rushed out of to take possession from Alfred Effiong, after the latter was served an excellent through-ball by Souza.
On the twenty-fifth minute the Stripes had their first scoring opportunity. Camenzuli, deployed in a left-back position in the absence of Zerafa, sent a cross to Seydi who chested down the ball to Bilbao, but the latter's shot from inside the box ended wide.
Balzan were quick to reply as they went close once again. Alfred Effiong drifted inside the box after avoiding a challenge by Vukanac but once again he was denied by the fine reflexes of goalkeeper Kopric, who was being the protagonist of keeping the score level.
As the end of the first half approached, there were signs of improvement from the Stripes as they piled some pressure, but they were too erratic to trouble the solid Balzan defence and the end of the first-half ended goal-less.
The Second Half
The opening stages of the second half were balanced. Birkirkara came out slightly better as they sought to have their offensive players more involved in the match while for Balzan, they remained compact and solid while playing direct football with their offensive players.
However, the Stripes looked very erratic up-front and this prompted Coach Besek to make his first substitution on the fifty-seventh minute. Ryan Darmanin replaced Matthew Guillaumier and the inclusion of Darmanin saw Zarate being deployed in the position of Guillaumier, while Seydi moved the the wing, while Darmanin was included as a central-striker.
On the sixty-second minute, Paul Fenech unleashed a powerful shot from distance that brought the best of goalkeeper Kopric, who showed great reflexes to tip the ball into a corner kick. Kopric was alert again to clear into safety the resulting direct corner-kick by Calcado.
With the Stripes failing to find their feet and being erratic in their possession, it was no surprise that Balzan surged ahead on the sixty-fourth minute. The speed of Effiong and Da Silva Souza troubled the Birkirkara defence as they exchanged quick passes before Souza served Lydon Micallef who hit home with a powerful drive.
One should have expected a reaction from the Stripes who threw everything forward with the inclusions of Edmond Agius and Kurt Zammit, that saw Camenzuli advancing on the right but the Stripes remained lacking from ideas and they hardly ever threatened Balzan.
In the final minutes, Kopric was cautioned for fouling Effiong, as he stopped Effiong from rushing forward all alone.
Balzan's Alan Da Sila Souza was named the BOV Player of the Match.
BIRKIRKARA: Miroslav Kopric, Cain Attard, Mauricio Mazzetti, Nikola Vukanac, Ryan Camenzuli, Gareth Sciberras, Matthew Guillaumier (57' Ryan Darmanin), Mislav Andelkovic (72' Edmond Agius), Goran Mujanovic (83' Kurt Zammit), Edison Bilbao, L'Imam Seydi.
BALZAN: Ivan Janjusevic, Justin Grioli, Paul Fenech, Steve Bezzina, Samir Arab, Alfred Effiong, Pedro Dos Santos Calcado (87' Aleksander Vujacic), Lydon Micallef (78' Luke Sciberras), Dylan Grima, Alan Da Silva Souza (85' Clive Brincat), Elkin Valero.
Referee: Triston Farrugia Cann.
Assistant Referees: Luke Oartelli, David Castillo.
Additional Assistant Referees: Esther Azzopardi Glenn Tonna.
Fourth Official: Roberto Vella,
Yellow Cards: 8' Edison Bilbao, 28' Ryan Camenzuli, 88' Miroslav Kopric (Birkirkara), 28' Pedro Calcado, 90+2' Alfred Effiong (Balzan).
Scorers: 64' Lydon Micallef (Balzan)
BOV Player of the Month: Alan Da Silva Souza (Balzan)
