Birkirkara penalty area during another Petrocub attack // Photo: facebook.com
The first meeting with Birkirkara took place in Malta, where Petrocub suffered a 0-1 defeat. The only goal was scored by midfielder Geoffrey Achimpong in the 54th minute against Silviu Schmaleni. The club from Hincesti possessed the ball for most of the time (53%) and had three shots on goal, while the Maltese club had one shot that was effective. The match was officiated by a team of referees from Northern Macedonia led by Vlatko Ilioski, assisted by Kristijan Jonov and Martin Petkovski. The match took place at Centenary Stadium in the presence of 2,000 spectators.
In order to advance to the next round of the Conference League (CL), Shota Makharadze’s wards needed to win the return match with a difference of at least two goals. Petrocub players exceeded their game plan. Midfielder Mihai Lupan made a double, hitting Birkirkara’s goal in the 39th and 56th minutes. The third goal was scored in the 77th minute by defender Nicolai Rotaru, who had entered the field in place of Lupan four minutes earlier.
Oguzkhan Çakır headed the officiating crew, assisted on the field by Abdullah Bora Yozkara and Bersan Duran. The match took place at the Zimbru Stadium in Chisinau. According to UEFA, about 500 fans were present in the stands.
Petrocub coach Shota Makharadze admitted that before the match he had a frank man-to-man talk with the players, the squad included players who did not participate in the first match, and his charges justified the confidence. “The opponent allowed us to play like that. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in Malta. Purely psychologically we had a very difficult week. Finally the guys understood how and what to do,” said the head coach of the club from Hincesti.
In the second round of the LC, Petrocub will play Sabah, who were eliminated from the Europa League after losing to Celje with a total score of 5:6. In the first match on July 24 Petrocub will host Sabah, in the return match on July 31 – will play away in Azerbaijan.
