Mġarr United women’s team’s title credentials will be tested when they take on joint-leaders Birkirkara at the Centenary Stadium, tonight (kick-off: 8.30pm).
The Greens have improved last year’s form to stage a firm challenge to this year’s championship together with the Stripes, having picked up 25 points in nine games.
Mġarr have been dominant, showing resiliency at the back and fluidity upfront. They are yet to concede a single goal after nine games with goalkeeper Patricia Ebejer keeping clean sheets for 900 minutes.
At the other end of the field, they are propelled with the goals of captain Brenda Borg and forward Francesca Chircop, with 23 goals in total.
Chircop scored 13 goals, including four in Mġarr’s latest outing against Mtarfa. She has been a key figure for Mġarr as the Greens are resting their chances of a major silverware on her goals.
“Scoring goals is a crucial component of a striker’s game, so I’m always looking to hit the back of the net, and that’s something I have been able to improve on over the past few seasons,” Chircop told the Times of Malta.
“However a striker is only as good as their team. If I’m scoring goals then I only have my teammates and coaches to thank.
I made the move to Mġarr three seasons ago and I’ve felt nothing but welcome here. We have a great group of individuals who show up for every training session and every match with a determination to do better.”
The Greens are relishing the chance of lifting their first ever women’s championship under the new guidance of Michael Mangion.
Chircop, who played five times for the Malta women’s national team, heaped praise on the spirit that the coach brought into the side which enabled them to be one of the best teams in this campaign.
“Coach Michael Mangion is a very experienced and passionate coach, and we felt that from the very first day of preseason,” the Mġarr striker explained.
“His dedication and discipline are qualities which have benefitted the team greatly since his arrival last summer. He has a great way of communicating his ideas and identifying areas where we can improve, as a team but also on an individual level.
I think one of the important things he has helped us improve on is our self-belief. He’s helped us see that we can achieve more than we think we are capable of, through hard work and attention to detail.”
In the first round, Chircop’s efforts were kept at bay as Mġarr and Birkirkara shared the spoils in a goalless stalemate.
The Mġarr striker described that encounter as a very tense one and she is expecting another nerve-wrecking meeting against the team that has dominated the domestic scene in recent years.
“Our last game against Birkirkara reads as 0-0 draw, but it doesn’t come close to describing what a hard-fought and tense encounter it was,” Chircop pointed out.
“In reality, both sides could have easily emerged victorious. Wednesday’s match is a different one entirely, and we head into it knowing that we need to give our very best should we wish to register a positive result against a difficult opponent.”
