by Swieqi United and Mgarr United will cross swords at the Centenary Stadium at 17:30 with sights set on a second final appearance this year. With the previous encounters having tossed up widely different results, Dorianne Theuma & Ryan Vella gave their view on the impact of form and character as the two teams go at each other’s throat once more in search of a chance to grow their trophy cabinet.
Continued Form
Swieqi United will be welcoming Mgarr United as the two bid for the last place in the 125th Anniversary MFA Women’s Jubilee Cup, where they will face Hibernians. The two teams head into the match in good form, having accrued another three points in the Assikura Women’s League last week.
Swieqi United’s Dorianne Theuma was elated by the response shown by her side to ultimately secure a 4-1 win against Birkirkara, after having conceded an early goal, “This was not the first time we conceded an early goal and still managed to turn the match around. The team once again demonstrated great character and composure. Despite coming back from the international break, the players responded immediately, regained control of the game, and showed strong mentality throughout.”
Mgarr United had all the answers against San Gwann once more, cruising to a 6-0 victory, to retain their unbeaten run in the league. There were plenty of different faces taking to the pitch, also boosted by the return of their captain, Brenda Borg, after she’d been sidelined by an ACL injury for the majority of the calendar year.
Ryan Vella gave his verdict on the performance, “ It was a solid performance overall, even though we started off a bit slow especially first fifteen minutes. Then we settled in the game, found our rhythm, and controlled the game to get the three points.”
Questioned about the impact of the returning captain in increasing the squad depth available, Ryan Vella continued, “Looking at our bench, most of our players are U21 players. So, having Brenda back will give us added quality. We’ll make sure to give her the appropriate minutes on the pitch so we can build her game-time week by week.”
Injury Update
Although doing well, the two teams are hampered by a number of injuries. Dorianne Theuma had good news on the return of Jade Flask and Maria Vella, “Jade and Maria have returned to team training and are progressing well.”
However, Rafanny Mendoza’s absence from the team last week was confirmed to be due to another injury picked up by the Venezuelan who’s had a horrid start to the season. “Unfortunately, Rafanny has sustained another injury, and we still need to assess the extent of it before determining her return timeline”, Dorianne Theuma replied.
Likewise, Mgarr United were boosted by the return of Brenda Borg, but still have plenty on the sideline, including Veronique Mifsud, Valeria Villegas Caly and Ann-Marie Said. Ryan Vella gave no clear indication on their return, simply stating, “All players are making positive strides in their recovery and we’re hoping that they can return in the next few weeks.”
Growing Foes As The Stage Sets For Another Chapter To Be Written
The two teams rose to the top of last year’s table, ultimately clinching the top two places of the Assikura Women’s League. Swieqi United secured their first league title, going along with their maiden Super Cup. However, Mgarr United also secured their first trophy in winning the Assikura Women’s Knockout.
The two took to the pitch this season with a desire to build on that momentum. The opening match of the season pitted the two against each other with Mgarr United taking the win, which they backed up in their second league meet, overturning an initial goal conceded to win the match. However, although Swieqi United are yet to win a match in the league against the Greens this year, the Owls defended their Super Cup trophy against them. It makes them the only team with a trophy to their name this season thus far.
It sets things for what could be another cracker of a match this afternoon, with matches having been completely unpredictable between the two sides this year. The prospect of extra-time and penalties stirs the pot even further.
Dorianne Theuma was questioned on whether she believes form and character will be enough to secure the place in the final. The Swieqi coach fully backed her team in all preparation, “Form and character are important, but they are not the only factors that influence a match. Over the past two weeks, we have trained very well and prepared thoroughly. I am confident that all our players will give their maximum to achieve a positive result, regardless of how the match unfolds.”
Ryan Vella was of a similar frame of mind, suggesting that his team is ready to put their best foot forward in effort to replicate the form in the league to earn a place in this unique competition final. “As always winning builds confidence. We’re in a good run of form, but now our goal is to stay consistent for as long as possible. We believe that with our squad we can beat anyone, but we know that we need to be at our one-hundred percent in every game.”
Although receiving little fan-fare, the match will be played against the backdrop of a setting sun that will provide another tilt in the story between these two sides. Kick-off is at 17:30 at the Centenary Stadium.
Lead Image: Michael Azzopardi
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