Giovanni Tedesco has called on his Birkirkara players to play without fear as the Stripes kickstarted their Premier League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sliema Wanderers on Sunday.

The game turned out into a real tactical battle with Sliema Wanderers, on their return to the top flight after an absence of one season, holding the edge in the first half.

But Birkirkara came to the fore after the break and started to express some free-flowing football before finally finding the breakthrough courtesy of substitute Andre Ciolacu who nodded home after a great run from Alex Satariano.

“I am happy with the three points but there are still a lot of things that we need to improve,” Tedesco told the Times of Malta.

Read the full story on the Times of Malta Sports website...