Stripes take on St. Andrew's in a tricky test

by Ayrton Galea - 9th April 2016

Birkirkara FC will be hoping to reduce the gap with leaders Valletta while keep on the heat on Balzan and Hibernians respectively for the first three places in the BOV Premier League when this afternoon, they take on St. Andrew's in a tricky encounter.

The old firm derby result that saw Floriana beating Valletta with a 2-0 score produced a mixed outcome for the Stripes. They are once again under pressure to consolidate their fourth position as the Greens moved three points behind while on the plus side, the Stripes can reduce the gap with the leaders to six points before going head-to-head against them in next week's big match.

While Valletta were beaten, Balzan remained on track as they clinched a comfortable 3-0 victory over Qormi and they are now temporally four points ahead of the Stripes who will be all-out to keep the pace. On the other hand, Hibernians, who also play today against Tarxien Rainbows in the derby of the south, are temporally in the third place and three points above the Stripes.

Birkirkara should face today's game with momentum as they are coming from four consecutive victories after they extended their positive run last weekend thanks to a fine 2-0 victory over Qormi, thanks to a goal in each half by Mauricio Mazzetti and Frank Temile. A win which kept the Stripes close to both Hibernians and Balzan while increased their lead over Floriana who were downed by Hibernians.

The Stripes might look favourites for today's game but their task is anything than a walk in the park as St. Andrew's are proving to be a hard nut to crack. They are second from bottom, three points under Naxxar Lions but with a game in hand. They are coming from three consecutive defeats but they went out with heads held high in last week's narrow 1-0 defeat against Balzan.

Birkirkara will have Ryan Scicluna suspended after collecting four yellow cards while Ryan Camenzuli who also missed last week's match and Matija Smrekar are doubtful. Edward Herrera and Nikola Vukanac remains ruled-out with an injury.

The Stripes have so far won both matches against St. Andrew's in this league campaign. They picked-up a comfortable 4-0 victory in the first round while they emerged victorious with a 3-1 score in the second round match.

The match will be played at the National Stadium and it is scheduled to kick off at 16:00.

Come on the Stripes!

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