by Malta’s win over Croatia on Friday brought plenty to digest in the swinging momentum it portrayed, with Malta ultimately recovering the lead and hold off for a first win since earning promotion back to League B. Malta’s Manuela Tesse weighed in on the tactical switches and the impact of substitutes, with captain Emma Lipman and super-sub Leah Ayres bringing their own perspective from the pitch.
A Win Despite Adversity
Malta’s first encounter in the two friendlies to be played against Croatia presented a rollercoaster as Malta’s initial lead was flipped in a matter of minutes by Croatia in the second-half, before Malta battled back with the reverse in the final ten minutes of the match. It marked Malta’s first win against Croatia, a team ranked almost thirty places above it.
Malta’s captain Emma Lipman was among those most vocal on the pitch to instil the response within the team once the lead was lost. Questioned about the importance of that mentality shown to fight-back for the result against stronger opposition, Lipman weighed in, “I think we started well. We’ve had a good week of training and I think we demonstrated that in the first half. I think we lost a bit of momentum in the latter minutes of the first half, which we carried into the second and conceded the two goals. However, at 2 – 1, there’s still a lot left and it’s football, it will happen. So, I think that’s the step we need to make consistently now, that shift in mentality, to not let our heads drop and push to change the balance of the match in our favour as we did today.”
The captain hailed the personality shown by the youngsters wading through senior international waters, “Pairing that mentality with the personality some of the younger players coming into the match brought, and then having someone of Maria’s (Farrugia) quality, then you always have a chance of scoring a goal. So, all in all amazing character from the girls, and a big step for us going forward.”
Making Impacts From The Bench
Malta’s substitutions have in the past been questioned, in quantity and also in impact. However, there’s no doubt that the substitutions on Friday were ones which worked to perfection. Alexandra Gatt, Sara Saliba and Leah Ayres freshened things up but also in changed the dynamic of play to flip the result. The trio were all involved in the second-half goals for Malta. Additionally, with Malta having experienced the realities of heartbreak late on in the past, their energy was crucial as Malta fought to hold on to the result late on.
Coming on in the 79th minute, and involved in Malta’s push to be in the lead within the 84th minute, Leah Ayres was quite the super-sub. Questioned about the feeling of coming into a match with little time and to have that impact, she replied, “I think it’s always nerve-wracking to come on for your country but it’s obviously always an honour. I’m super grateful to come on and make an impact.”
The forward hailed the team mentality toward a common target, “At the end of the day, the assist was good, but it came from a pass, that came from a pass. So, it’s a team effort and I really think we all pushed, so I’m happy to have come on and made that difference.”
Words From The Coach: Tactical Switches & Physicality
Of course, the players must go on the pitch and work the football to get the result. However, the brains behind the switches are by the side-lines, as the coaching staff spearheaded by Manuela Tesse marshal the match in search of getting Malta to a positive result.
Manuela Tesse rejected that tactical switch to two in front was so effective that it is the only way forward, but underlined the importance of having that versatility in the arsenal to win the match.
Tesse remarked, “It was the way to get ourselves in place to win this match, because we saw that they were building with two centre-backs and with only one forward we weren’t great to cover. So, they were going past every time. Of course Kailey was tired because to do that job by yourself you have to cover a lot of ground. So, we needed two to collaborate and we have two forwards (Sara Saliba and Leah Ayres) with different characteristics to Kailey, so it allowed us to change approach to win the match.”
The Malta coach called on the need for the team to show character before the match. Questioned about the mentality in view of the swinging motions within it, the Malta coach began by hailing the quality of the equaliser from Croatia’s Karla Kurkutovic, “Their first goal was very good, we were honestly clapping on the bench. Of course, we have to look at our own mistakes, but the goal was great.”
However, the Malta coach felt that the second goal showed clear areas for improvement positionally rather than a result of mentality, “As to the second goal, we had problems with the positional covering in the defence. Of course, we know we have some work to do and it showed that we need to find a solution for it.”
Pushed on whether she believed the comeback to get the result was needed for the team to show that mental ability to fight back against stronger opposition, Manuela Tesse, “I think we showed our ability to comeback despite pressure against Latvia.” Instead, she remarked the impact of substitutions, “The new players who came into the match made a big impact, because we dropped physically and that is where we need to work together with clubs to ensure that our players can maintain the level at League B.”
Croatia’s Nenad Gracan was not available for comment.
The two teams will contest another friendly on Monday at 17:00 at the Centenary Stadium, which will not be ranked. The match will also be live-streamed on the Malta FA Youtube Channel.
Lead Image: Brandon Bonett
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