Birkirkara will be hosting FC Petrocub of Moldova in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday, kick-off at 20:00.
The Stripes made it to European football thanks to the runner-up spot in the 360Sports Malta Premier as they had finished second in the Opening Round to secure a spot in the Final Four play-offs, defeating Sliema Wanderers 1-0 after extra-time in the semi-finals but losing 0-1 to Hamrun Spartans in the final. They also reached the final of the Meridianbet FA Trophy, losing 1-2 to Hibernians.
Stefano De Angelis was confirmed as coach but the squad has been strengthened with the signing of eight new players, namely goalkeeper Spanish goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Martínez, Uruguayan central defender Fran Lopez, Serbian central defender Stefan Marjanovic, Argentine midfielder Marcos Maydana, Ghanian midfielder Geoffrey Acheampong, attacking midfielder Jan Busuttil, Brazilian left winger Macula and Nigerian forward Franklin Sasere. Kurt Zammit returned to the club after a spell on loan with Gzira United.
Luis Cordova, Leandro Lacunza, Manuel Morello, Pablo Gaitan and Donovan Makoma were confirmed but Giacomo Volpe, Alessandro Coppola, Tomislav Papazov, Agustin Sandona, Larsson Coulibaly, Brian Esalo, Gnamien Yipke, Lecao, Maxuell Samurai and Paul Mbong no longer form part of the squad.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, De Angelis admitted that the clash with FC Petrocub would be a difficult game against a strong team.
“Compared to them, we are a bit behind in terms of preparation, considering that they have already played three league games and we just finalised our squad. We have a very competitive squad, compared to last season. We have far more options, in particular in the offensive phase, with players like Kemar Reid, Franklin Sasere, Macula, Geoffrey Acheampong and Jan Busuttil.”
“With regards to match fitness, they are definitely in a better shape but in terms of players, we have nothing to envy them and I am sure we will give them a hard time as we are looking forward for a positive season, starting from this game,” added De Angelis.
Alexander Satariano added that this was a very important game for the club and that although their opponents were a strong team, Birkirkara have been working good together and that with the new additions, they are well-prepared for this clash.
Newly-appointed sporting director Roderick Briffa added that he was looking forward for this new role at the club. He said that the fact that he knew most of the players would be making the job easier. Briffa added that he was hoping Birkirkara would start the season on a positive note with this clash against Petrocub ahead of the coming season.
Fotbal Club Petrocub Hîncești, commonly known as Petrocub Hîncești or simply Petrocub, are based in Hîncești, Moldova. Founded in 1994, they were only renamed to FC Petrocub Hincesti in 2015. They won their first Moldovan Super Liga in 2023/24 and the Moldovan Cup twice – in 2019/20 and 2023/24.
Last season, Petrocub placed fourth in Phase II, seven points behind champions Milsami Orhei and six behind Sheriff Tiraspol and Zimbru Chisinau. This season, they are currently second on 7 points from three matches, two behind leaders Sheriff.
Petrocub made their European debut in 2018, only to be eliminated from the first qualifying round by Osijek of Croatia. Since then, they have been participating regularly, reaching the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2021 and the third qualifying round of the same competition in 2022. That season, they had eliminated Floriana with a 1-0 aggregate score in the first round.
Last season, they made it to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League, placing 36th with two points from six matches. They had entered the UEFA Champions League, eliminating Ordabasy of Kazakhstan but were then eliminated by APOEL of Cyprus. In the UEFA Europa League, they eliminated The New Saints of Wales but in the play-off round, lost to Ludogorets Razgrad to enter the UEFA Conference League.
The second leg will be played at the Stadionul Zimbru in Chisinau on Thursday 17. The team which emerges as winner from this two-legged tie will be facing the loser of the UEFA Europa League clash between Sabah FC of Azerbaijan and NK Celje of Slovenia.