Stripes looking to keep the pace
by Ayrton Galea - 28th February 2016
Birkirkara FC this afternoon will be involved in the second match of the final round of the BOV Premier League, when they face Pembroke Athleta FC.
Last weekend, the Stripes returned to winning ways in style in the 6-3 victory over Mosta. Their latest two signings showed signs of their true potential as L'Imam Seydi netted a hat-trick while Matija Smrekar scored a brace, with the other goal scored by Ryan Camenzuli.
Although looking at the league standings, one would put the Stripes as favourites to pick-up maximum points in tomorrow's game, Pembroke have proved to be a hard nut to crack in every match they played and therefore the encounter could be anything but a walk in the park for the Stripes.Birkirkara will be seeking to keep the pressure on Valletta, Hibernians and Balzan.
Team News
Head Coach Mr. Drazen Besek will once again have to do without a number of regular players. Centre-backs Mauricio Mazzetti and Nikola Vukanac are still injured, alongside Edward Herrera. On the other hand, Joseph Zerafa and Edmond Agius are recovering well from a muscle injury but both remain doubtful.
Ryan Camenzuli will also be missing tomorrow's match after the latter picked his fourth yellow card and therefore he must serve a one-match ban.
Our Opponents
Promoted to the BOV Premier League this season, Pembroke are on the right track to retain their place in the Premier League. They are currently occupying the ninth place.
Although, they achieved a number of positive results during the first two rounds of the league, Pembroke have now went four matches without a victory. They lost to Valletta and Floriana, before sharing a 3-3 draw with Mosta but lost their last match with a 2-1 score against Balzan despite giving a very satisfactory performance.
League Standings
After twenty-three matches played and one match down in the third and final round, Birkirkara are in the fourth place, six points under leaders Valletta, four under Hibernians and just two points under Balzan. On the other hand, they are just a point over Floriana and three over Tarxien who both are also aiming for the fourth place which would mean a possible spot in the UEFA Europa League.
On the other hand, Pembroke Athleta are in the ninth place with thirteen points, two under seventh-placed Mosta and just a point under Sliema Wanderers. At the moment, they are in safe waters to avoid the play-off against the third place of the BOV First Division side as they six points over ninth-place Naxxar Lions while they are eighth points over Qormi and ten over bottom-placed St. Andrew's.
Previous encounters
The Stripes emerged victorious in the first two rounds. In the first-round match, which was played at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Saturday 19 September, the Stripes defeated Pembroke Athleta with a comfortable 4-1 score thanks to a brace by Vito Plut and a goal each by Mauricio Mazzetti and Zach Muscat.
They also won comfortably the second-round match, when they defeated Pembokre with a 3-0 score, in a match played on the 13 December. The three goals were scored by a goal each of Ryan Camenzuli, Vito Plut and Edmond Agius.
The match will be played at the National Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 16:00.
Come on the Stripes!
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