For the second edition in a row, Birkirkara will be contending a second qualifying round spot in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The Maltese champions, in their 12th European participation, secured a comeback win over Breznica of Montenegro to book a final berth with Anderlecht of Belgium.
The winner of this tie advances to the second qualifying round with the Belgians, seven-time national champions, tipped as favourites to progress.
On the other hand, though, Birkirkara’s camp is on a high having beaten Breznica for the second straight year, recording their third win overall in their European history.
Breznica gave Birkirkara a run for their money and were leading by a goal until a red card to central defender Aleksandra Vujosevic catapulted the trajectory of the match in favour of the Stripes.
Japanese midfielder Yuna Hazekawa was Birkirkara’s hero, scorer of both goals which allowed the Maltese side to win 2-1 in extra-time.
Coach Vince Galea could not be happier with his team’s character, having dominated Breznica throughout the majority of the match.
“The players showed up on all aspects for this game; the attitude, the desire and the willingness to keep pushing till the very end were at top top level,” Galea told the Times of Malta.
“I am happy the way we controlled the game in possession although there were moments that we had to push to defend their direct play.
In games such as this, the psychological aspect plays an important part but we kept positive throughout the whole game and I am happy that my players secured a positive result through a strong display.”
Birkirkara will be facing Anderlecht, one of Rachel Cuschieri’s former teams in European football.
For the Belgian side, this will be their fourth straight final in the first qualifying round and they will hoping to go one step better this time around.
In fact, Anderlecht failed to progress past this round in the last three editions, having been eliminated by Norway’s Brann, KuPS of Finland and Croatian side Osijek.
Their best result in this competition was in the 2019/2020 edition when they reached the last 32, succumbing to a two-legged defeat against Kazakhstan’s powerhouse BIIK Kazygurt.
Galea is expecting a totally different game against Anderlecht.
“We need to be disciplined and organised defensively, even though we will be looking to cause harm upfront as well,” he said.
“We trust our players and the work we have done in the past weeks.”
PLAYING TODAY
Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) vs Breznica (Montenegro) – 5.45pm, Centenary Stadium.
Anderlecht (Belgium) vs Birkirkara (Malta) – 9.15pm, Centenary Stadium.
