by Hibernians will be welcoming Valletta at the Charles Abela Stadium at 20:30 this evening. Martina Borg discussed the nuances of supporting players in their journey, while underlining the need for victory in search of team building confidence once more. Anton Cremona weighed in on the battle to improve bit by bit and the impact of facing foreign opposition as they seek to make life tough for the Paolites.
The Impact Of The Start
Hibernians will be meeting Valletta at the Charles Abela Stadium this evening. The Paolites will be looking to get back to winning form after managing a 2 – 2 draw against Birkirkara last week.
Questioned whether the end result was a fair one given the two sides’ performance in the match, Martina Borg felt the team struggled to recover from the initial goal conceded, “I think we had a poor performance. The team was a bit overwhelmed with the goal conceded and we didn’t manage to refocus and recover. We still managed to score two goals, and still created a lot of chances, but the overall performance wasn’t great. So, I think we deserved a draw, but I don’t think we would have stolen anything if we won either.”
Meanwhile, Valletta held off Mgarr United for thirty minutes, but then succumbed to four successive goals in ten minutes. Having previously lamented poor starts, Anton Cremona highlighted the positive and the next step for the team, “It was a good step to avoid conceding in the first minutes. I am working a lot on tactical discipline with the team, but with a team like us, half a mistake is enough to concede. It seems like when we concede a goal we lose concentration and almost throw in the towel. At half-time I tried to tweak a bit and lift players’ morale, so I think at least we avoided conceding too many more goals.”
A Coach’s Life: Introducing Players & Supporting Established Ones
Amy Catania officially debuted for Hibernians against Birkirkara, becoming another young face to enter the senior league this season. The youngster played a full match, with Martina Borg underlining her desire to stick to the value of giving minutes based on training and performance.
“Yes, Amy has trained with us for the past few months and I felt she was ready to start the game. Her capabilities are suitable to start a senior league match and I don’t see that age should stop me from making certain decisions. If a player is good, is training well and performing well, then they will play.”
She finished, “Much as I did with other players throughout the season, I will continue to give younger players a chance in the start or even coming on from the bench if they merit it and I feel they are ready. This is one of my values as a coach, to show faith in the younger talent and they will continue to play if they prove themselves.”
On the flip side, Jessica Dimech has announced she will be stepping away from the game for the time being. Questioned about her role as a coach in supporting players and facing the underlying current causing this, Martina Borg replied, “My responsibility as a coach is to understand her and help her. Maybe at this time it was the best decision for her and I hope we will see her again in the future, because she is young and talented. However, for now she needed this break for her mental health. I am all about understanding what people need at the right moment and I feel this is what she needed. So, of course I will support her all the way.”
Anton Cremona’s side is facing a different challenge with a streak of losses and difficulty in maintaining a positive stance. Following their match against Mgarr United, Valletta played a closed-doors friendly against a second-tier German club who is vying from promotion into the top women’s league.
Questioned about how this impacted their works, both from a coaching and a player perspective, Cremona’s response was a mixed one, “It’s not an ideal time for a friendly but it’s always a good experience for players to play against (semi-)professional teams. They are a strong team and one who is investing a lot.”
Desire To Prove
As noted above Hibernians will be looking to show a stronger performance and get back to winning ways in search of maintaining a close eye on Swieqi United, whom they meet the following week.
The Hibernians coach reflected on the desire for a good performance, “We’re looking to regain our feet, get back our confidence, play some good football and play some goals. Hopefully it will be a good performance because it has been a bit of a tough start to 2026, between the friendly against Inter and the draw against Birkirkara. The team is training well and I’m very proud of the group. They are always up for a challenge, they are always ready to train and always work hard. I am sure we will show a good game and that performances will start to get better again and we can find the consistency we had in the previous round.”
Given that Birkirkara defended for long-periods, Anton Cremona was questioned whether he believes his team could combine this with their attack to capitalise on Hibernians’ drop in form. “It’s true they’re coming from a draw against Birkirkara. However, Hibernians have the ideal players to rise to the occasion and not repeat mistakes they did against Birkirkara. However, from our point of view, our plan is to be as tough an opposition as we can and we always start matches with the aim of taking something.”
The two sides will take to the pitch at 20:30 at the Charles Abela Stadium.
Lead Image: Brandon Bonett
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