Birkirkara women beat Raiders to keep nine-point lead

Tracy Teuma scored the all-important goal that handed Birkirkara a narrow victory over Raiders Lija in the MFA Women’s League. A crucial win that allows the Stripes keep their nine-point lead with four games left as Melania Bajada’s march on towards their 10th domestic title. The women’s championship will return on April 19 with Matchday 18, following the international break.  Birkirkara will resume their domestic commitments with a nine-point lead above second-place Mġarr United when both teams will face each other immediately after women’s international window. The Stripes scored the winning goal inside 10 minutes through midfielder Teuma to stretch their league unbeaten run to 65 games. Bajada’s side move to 43 points while improving their positive goal difference to 60 goals. Raiders, on their part, remain fourth with 25 points after 15 games. Second-place Mġarr broke little sweat to lift themselves over Mtarfa with a 13-0 victory. Michael Mangion’s side continue to stay in Birkirkara’s tails but with just four games left, their hopes of a comeback are very slim. They face the Stripes in the upcoming slate of fixtures. Their 10th victory of the season came courtesy of six goals scored by Brenda Borg and five netted by Francesca Chircop. The Mġarr pair is now leading the league’s scoring charts with Chircop on 18 and Borg on 17.   Juliana Onnudottir scored her second goal since joining the Greens in the winter transfer window while Abigail Camilleri scored the other goal. Swieqi United also registered a comfortable win after scoring six past San Ġwann. Six different scorers were on the scoresheet for the Oranges in Mandy Debono, Alexis Espitia, Shona Zammit, Iulia Mifsud, Rafanny Mendoza and Chloe Ann Ellul. Billy Mock’s side remain in third position, moving to 28 points. Fixtures released The league’s next matchday is pencilled between Tuesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 20 after the Malta Football Association released the fixtures on Monday. Birkirkara and Mġarr United will cross swords on April 20 at the Centenary Stadium, in a game where the Stripes could clinch the title. The remaining three rounds will be played in the following weeks with the final matchday scheduled for 10th-11th May.