Stripes eliminated from Champions League

by Ayrton Galea - 29th July 2013

Birkirkara's hopes of qualifying to third round of the UEFA Champions League were dashed on Wednesday evening as a goal in each half saw NK Maribor progress thanks to a 2-0 victory.

Following the goal-less draw at the National Stadium in the first leg, the Maltese Champions' were on the right track to write history. However the strong Slovenian side of Maribor had other ideas, and in their home stadium thanks to an electrifying performance, they clinched a victory which meant qualification to the next round.

A completely different story from the first-leg match, Maribor made a major improvement and boosted-up by their thousands of supporters, who created such an amazing atmosphere, the Slovenian Champions this time hardly made any mistakes at the back.

Not only they managed to avoid silly mistakes at the back, but the Violets also made a drastic improvement in creating space which made it hard for the Stripes to deal with.

Following surging ahead just before the half-hour and adding another goal just after the second-half, the game lost most of its interest as Maribor were almost sure of making it to the next round.

On the other hand, for the Stripes, they surely bow-out with heads held high as despite it was not the best performance that they could produce, one should give credit for a respectable aggregate result against such a strong-side in European competition.

However, what surely kept haunting the Maltese Champions after this elimination was the amount of chances lost in the first-leg match, and they paid a sour price for not earning a win, which would have been much more than deserved at the National Stadium in the first leg.

NK Maribor will now face the Cypriot side Apoel FC, another team that Birkirkara FC already faced in the past.

One should praise the Birkirkara supporters, led by the usual faithful Birkirkara Ultras who travelled to Slovenia to support their beloved team outside the Maltese island. This gesture was clearly appreciated by the Birkirkara players and at the end of the match, they saluted their faithful and applauded their gesture of continuous support, even if in a minority against thousands of loud Slovenian supporters.

The First Half

With all guns blazing, NK Maribor went out searching for an early goal as they enjoyed an edge over the Stripes in the opening stages.

Just three minutes in the match, Maribor tried their luck with a powerful shot from outside the box. However it did not create any problem for Justin Haber as the effort rolled wide on the right.

However, the Maltese Champions did not hold back and they almost surged ahead. Just past the ninth minute mark, Edward Herrera sent a perfect free-kick which was met by a skillful header by Alejandro Mendoza but the powerful header ended wide by inches.

The continuous movement and the huge urge to regain possession were earning the Slovenians Champions superiority as they were enjoying most of the possession.

But the Stripes were holding strong. Despite conceding space to Maribor to produce their attacks, Birkirkara's rear-guard were not leaving any space to conclude, and a frustrated Maribor could not find the way to have a shot on goal, as actions were rare.

Having been the best side for most of the time, it was little or no surprise that Maribor took the lead on the 28th minute.

Gareth Sciberras committed a foul just a few inches outside the penalty area, and the Stripes paid the sourest price. From the free-kick Goran Cvijanovic fired a low-shot which beat the wall and Justin Haber to put the Slovenian Champions ahead.

While Maribor earned what they were seeking for in the first thirty minutes of the match, the Stripes now had an up-hill struggle as they knew that their challenge became tougher.

However, the most known characteristic found in the Birkirkara squad is the never-give -up attitude. Against all odds and the hurdles they were facing, the Stripes they were compact, and despite in quite a difficult way, they were trying to hit back.

On the 37th minutes Frank Temile served Edward Herrera who made some fine foot-work before trying his luck from distance. However, his powerful effort failed to hit the target.

Minutes later, it was a superb interception by the Violets defender which denied Shola Shodiya a golden opportunity.

Just one minute before half-time, Shola Shodiya tried a long distance drive which was too weak to worry goalkeeper Handanovic.

The first half ended with Maribor enjoying an edge over the Maltese Champions while having a narrow 1-0 lead.

The Second Half

Just in the beginning of the second half, Mr. Paul Zammit utilised his first substitution as Ryan Camenzuli was replaced by forward Demba Toure.

However, the Stripes had no time to change the rhythm of the match by this substitution as just two minutes in the second half Maribor made sure of the qualification by doubling the lead.

On the 47th minute, Mitja Viler made a great run on the left flank and made the best of the space found in the Birkirkara's rear-guard as his firing low shot hit the foot of the post having beat Justin Haber.

Birkirkara's dream of making it to the next round almost faded completely now as Maribor were enjoying complete domination. Just few moments later two almost became three, if it was not for a superb save by goalkeeper Justin Haber to turn the close-range effort into a corner kick.

Maribor were outclassing the Stripes, as they were now filled with confidence and were finding it easy to go through. However, the Stripes did not surrender and they were seeking to go out of their defensive zone.

In fact, Birkirkara's right flank patrolled by Edward Herrera seemed to be the only headache for the Slovenians as the Stripes were now trying to make the best of their strong point. In fact, it was Edward Herrera who found space and fired a long distance shot twenty minutes from the end, however his effort ended wide.

Eight minutes later, the Stripes suffered a draw-back as they lost Nikola Vukanac who had to be replaced following suffering an injury. Jonathan Maciel took his place to make his first official appearance for the Maltese Champions.

Just three minutes later, Mr. Paul Zammit utilised his last available substitution. Rowen Muscat was replaced with Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, in another change to put the Stripes in a more offensive formation.

However, neither of the sides managed to change the score, as the referee's full time whistle found Birkirkara bow out of the UEFA Champions League suffering a 2-0 defeat which meant NK Maribor qualify to the next round with an aggregate of a 2-0 score.

BIRKIRKARA: Justin Haber, Edward Herrera, Gareth Sciberras, Paul Fenech, Ryan Camenzuli, Shola Shodiya, Frank Temile, Nikola Vukanac, Alejandro Mendoza, Zach Muscat, Rowen Muscat.

MARIBOR: Jasmin Handanovic, Zejlko Filipovic, Martin Milec, Dejan Mezga, Marco Tavares, Agim Ibraimi, Nasmir Fajic, Goran Cviljanovic, Sleksander Rajcevic, Mitja Viler, Arghus.

Yellow Cards: 44' Zach Muscat, 50' Justin Haber.

Scorers: 28' Goran Cvijanovic, 47' Mitja Viler.

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