by Malta’s Manuela Tesse & Cyprus’ Renos Demetriades gave their view on the makings of the match which confirmed Malta’s return to League B, while discussing the prospect of the final matchday. Haley Bugeja reflected on the charge to score the all-important goal and missing the final match, while Nicole Sciberras provided the view from midfield.
Malta Deserved Win, Cyprus Looking To Mount A Strong Finish
Malta’s 1 – 0 victory against Cyprus confirmed the Maltese at the top of Group C2, with Cyprus having Georgia on their case for the second promotional spot following the latter’s victory against Andorra.
Asked whether he felt the result was a fair one on the night, Cyprus’ Renos Demetriades began by praising Malta on achieving promotion once more, “I would like to congratulate Malta for getting promoted for the second consecutive year.”
Reflecting on the match, Demetriades continued, “I do feel it was a fair result. Malta was overall a better team today but I am very proud of my players because they fought until the last minute to try to get a result. We didn’t make it, but Georgia have won against Andorra so we expect a similar open match against Georgia on Tuesday because it will be two teams fighting for second place to get qualification.”
Questioned whether the change in shape toward the latter portion of the match was in the plan, Demetriades conceded, “It was the circumstances. We made changes in the last ten minutes to try to throw something at it to try to get at least one point. It was risky for us but it was worth to try something different to try to get it.”
The Cypriot is eyeing a quick bounce from his team to mount a fight for second place in their final match against Georgia, “Our aim remains to maximise the points from six games. We are lucky in a sense that Georgia won against Andorra because this means that if we can win against Georgia and Malta doesn’t lose against Andorra we can qualify.” He flashed a cheeky grin as he said, “So, we expect a gift from Malta.”
Malta’s Manuela Tesse reflected on the makings of a pressure-cooker of a match, “I think it was a bit of a strange match because I think the players felt the importance of this match. I think in moments it showed because we had good moments but also missed quite a few key passes. Of course it’s normal that then if you miss these key passes with just one goal in hand, the opposition will push and you will feel more pressure. We were a bit lucky because for us a draw was enough, but Cyprus needed to push a lot to get a win.”
The Sardinian’s substitutions were minimal, with only Leah Ayres making an appearance very late on. Considering the promotion is in the bag, Manuela Tesse was questioned about her thoughts on changes in the match against Andorra.
She said, “Of course I will make some changes to give minutes to players within this team. We want to win, so I will not disrupt and change everything because in the end we have to look at it as opportunity to play another competitive match. The next matches after it will be friendlies in October so, we must use the match well to improve as a team. So, from my view of course I will try to manage the players because they are very happy, but we play to win every time we take to the pitch.”
Scoring & Defending Goals
Haley Bugeja claimed the headlines with an individual run and sumptuous finish. It is a goal that makes Bugeja just the second Maltese woman to score in the National Stadium.
The twenty-one year old described the moments leading up to the goal, “Honestly, I was still a bit deep in the ground when I got the ball, but in that moment I thought I’m just going to drive forward. It was a bit of an instinct moment and once I got in a good position I thought I could fake the direction, which is something I tend to do in training but maybe don’t do as often in matches. Once I opened the space, thankfully the finish went into the net and we could hold on and celebrate in the end.”
However, it was a bittersweet moment for Bugeja as she will be forced to miss the final match against Andorra through suspension following picking up a second booking in the tournament. “I’m gutted to have to miss the match against Andorra but I will be supporting the team for sure.”
There was plenty of hard work in midfield, with Nicole Sciberras in the thick of it alongside Shona Zammit and Rachel Cuschieri. Sciberras described the pressures of the match as the side had something to defend while searching for the comfort of a two-goal cushion, “We had a lot of tactical work, there was a lot of effort on how to press our opposition and I think we stuck to the plan and it worked. Of course tiredness starts to set in as the time goes by with the pressure mounting with just a one goal lead. However, I think we worked well together as one team to retain the result and achieve this.”
The midfielder admitted the relief in travelling to Andorra with the promotion secured but that the team is still eyeing a positive performance. “I think it is good to have the chance to go to Andorra knowing that we got it over the line. Of course we want to get a positive result, but it will be good to play without the pressure of needing to win at all costs.”
The final matchday will be on the 3rd of June where Malta will play Andorra in the Estadio Encamp at 19:00 CET, while Cyprus meet Georgia at the same time in the M. Meskhi II Stadium.
Lead Image: Dorienne Grech
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