Place in KO final at stake for Malta's best

Five days after celebrating their third Premier League title in succession, Sliema Wanderers' pedigree faces another supreme test this evening when they clash with rivals Birkirkara in the first semi-final of the FA Trophy, writes Kevin Azzopardi.

Billed by many as the final before the final due to the reputation of the two teams as the strongest forces in Maltese football, today's meeting is expected to bring the best out of these two rivals.

Their build-up has been virtually plainsailing as Sliema sealed their championship-winning campaign with a 1-1 draw against Hibs and Birkirkara crowned their blistering finish to the season with a 6-3 victory over Valletta to secure second place in the standings.

The runner-up spot had become Birkirkara's main priority after they fell far off the title pace but their pre-season objective of claiming the league title has again eluded them.

Their failure to wrest the league crown from Sliema still rankles with Birkirkara who will surely view today's encounter as a gilt-edged opportunity to gain slight revenge for their title disappointment and stay on track to win the FA Trophy, their only hope of silverware this season.

Over the last few years, Sliema Wanderers have also shown an insatiable hunger to collect as many titles as possible and their status as current Malta champions and holders of the KO competition ought to spur them to another bold performance.

Edward Aquilina, their coach, has adopted Sliema's record in head-to-head clashes with Birkirkara as the main theme in his side's lead-up to today's semi-final. The Sliema mentor has in fact been telling his players that they have a score to settle with Birkirkara who have won three of their seven meetings this season to Sliema's one with the remaining three matches ending in a draw.

"In the three years I have been in charge here, our head-to-head record against Birkirkara shows eight wins for them, seven for us and six draws," Aquilina said.

"Birkirkara have the upperhand in direct clashes but a win for us in the FA Trophy semi-final will put us on a par with them in terms of wins. My players have been made aware of these statistics and hopefully this will help to increase their motivation for the semi-final against Birkirkara."

A post-celebration hangover is likely to have been identified as a potential obstacle to Sliema's preparations for today's encounter but Aquilina insisted this has not been the case.

"On Tuesday, we were back on the training ground and the players were more than willing to get back to work with Friday's semi-final in mind," Aquilina said.

"We are determined to close the season on a high like we did last year when we pulled off a double of league title and KO.

"I am confident that my team have what it takes to reproduce that feat to further consolidate their place in the history of this club. I also believe it's about time we win a match against Birkirkara this season."

Aquilina is hopeful of having Danilo Doncic and Joe Brincat back in his starting formation as he looks to steer Sliema to within one match of their 20th FA Trophy success. The two experienced players missed Sunday's 1-1 draw with Hibernians as they had not fully recovered from injuries but both are expected to be available to play today.

Stephen Azzopardi, the Birkirkara coach, is concerned about the fitness of Etienne Barbara, scorer of his side's last two goals in the 6-3 defeat of Valletta on Saturday. The Malta international has a slight knee injury but Azzopardi is keeping his fingers crossed that Barbara will be certified fit to take part in today's semi-final. Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza and Antoine Zahra are still ruled out by injuries.

Less pressure

Although Birkirkara are pinning their hopes on lifting the trophy to ease the pain caused by their failure to add to their only Malta title won in season 1999-2000, Azzopardi stressed that qualifying for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their second spot in the league has relieved some of the pressure from his team.

"All four teams in the semi-finals are facing a must-win scenario," Azzopardi said. "It's an important competition for all of us because there is a major honour at stake.

"However, I must say that now that we have guaranteed ourselves a place in the UEFA Cup by finishing second in the league, the pressure has receded.

"We are still motivated and determined to win the trophy but the mental stress would have been far greater had we gone into our semi-final against Sliema with our hopes of playing in Europe next season still in jeopardy."

Birkirkara's futile attempt to dislodge Sliema from the pinnacle of Maltese football has inevitably led many people to write off their season as a failure but Azzopardi thinks otherwise.

"Not winning the league has been hugely disappointing for us but I don't think that season 2004-2005 brought only doom and gloom for Birkirkara," Azzopardi said.

"We have worked extremely hard in the last two to three months to move up the standings after starting the Championship Pool in fourth place. Apart from the fact that we are still unbeaten in the second phase, we even managed to finish higher than Valletta and Hibernians and reduced the gap on Sliema to two points.

"It has been quite an eventful season for Birkirkara. We have won the Super Cup and Super Five Cup, we have introduced new players into the team but we now hope to finish it on a high by clinching the FA Trophy for the third time in the club's history."

Birkirkara's fine performances of late have underlined their billing as the most exciting team in the Premier League but consistency has been their Achilles heel, especially when compared with Sliema's ability to scrape good results from below-par performances.

"Meeting Sliema in the semi-finals is a challenge but we are looking forward to it," Azzopardi said. "If we are concentrated, we know that we have a good chance of beating any team on the island but on the other hand when we are not on top of our form, we become susceptible to suffer even against lesser-quoted teams."

In spite of his claims that the pressure on Birkirkara has relented after Saturday's win over Valletta confirmed their second slot, Azzopardi admitted that Sliema's success in the past three seasons could give them a psychological edge.

"Sliema's advantage lies in the fact that their players have been so successful in the last few seasons that they can approach decisive matches like this semi-final in a calmer frame of mind," Azzopardi said.

"In a way, the onus is on us to win because Sliema have already done their bit by taking the league title."

Results this season - Premier League - Sliema vs Birkirkara 0-0, 2-0, 1-1, 1-3; Euro Challenge Cup - Sliema vs Birkirkara 1-1; Super Cup - Birkirkara vs Sliema 3-1 (after extra-time); Super Five Tournament - Birkirkara vs Sliema 2-0.

Playing tomorrow (National Stadium) - 5 p.m. Msida St Joseph vs Marsaxlokk.