Stripes under pressure as they face Sliema
by Ayrton Galea - 24th February 2013
With Hibernians and Valletta winning their first match in the Championship Pool, all eyes will be on Birkirkara this afternoon as the Stripes will face Sliema Wanderers in their first match of the Championship Pool.
The much awaited Championship Pool phase kicked off yesterday afternoon with the derby pf the South between Hibernians and Tarxien Rainbows. Hibernians confirmed their title challenge by beating the Rainbows with a 3-0 score. Valletta also made sure of the three points in the first match of the Championship Pool as they trashed Mosta with a 5-0 score. All the pressure is now on the Stripes in order to keep the pace with these two teams.
After losing to Valletta in the Premier League, Birkirkara bounced back with the biggest victory so far as they defeated Mosta with a 7-1 score. However, the Stripes failed to overcome the challenge by Sliema Wanderers as despite creating the best chances, the match ended in a goal-less draw, with the Stripes failing to win three precious points. However, they bounced back in the last two outings by beating Qormi and Hamrun Spartans respectively with a 2-1 and 3-0 scores.
On the other hand, Sliema Wanderers also registered two consecutive victories in their last two outings by beating Hamrun Spartans and Balzan Youths respectively after their goal-less draw against Birkirkara. The draw against the Stripes was a bit of relief for the Wanderers' who were coming from two consecutive defeats against Hibernians and Valletta respectively.
Birkirkara are currently third, four points under joint-leaders Valletta and Hibernians respectively while they are six points above Sliema Wanderers. A win for the Stripes will see them opening a nine-point gap over Tarxien Rainbows and Sliema Wanderers while keeping the pace with the leaders.
Goalkeeper Justin Haber and Ryan Scicluna are unavailable for Mr. Zammit's side as they have to serve a one match suspension each. On the other hand, John Mintoff is suspended for Sliema Wanderers.
In the first round, Sliema defeated Birkirkara with a 3-1 score while in the second round, Birkirkara's domination in the match wasn't enough to pick up the three precious points as the match ended in a goal-less draw.
The match will be played at the Hibernians Stadium and it is scheduled to kick off at 14:00.
We would like to urge our supporters to come and support the team.
Come on the Stripes!
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