by Lija Athletic will welcome Valletta tonight at the Victor Tedesco Stadium, 20:15. Lija Athletic look to build on their upward trajectory by attempting to down Valletta for the first time, but face a Valletta team seeking a fifth win in a row.
Enjoying Their Football
The two teams head into it on good form and showing good strides in putting their training into practice on matchday. Lija Athletic go into the match having won their last two to reach thirteen points and equal San Gwann. The team showed maturity against Mtarfa to continue with their charge when the pressure to equal San Gwann’s tally was on them.
This is something that coach Jethron Azzopardi is elated by, “I am really pleased with the growth of the team. They are showing improvement game after game. They really worked hard to arrive at this level and it is fully deserved.”
Meanwhile, Valletta made it four wins in succession with a 1-0 victory over San Gwann. It was a match which the Citizens were not able to completely dominate but came away with the victory nonetheless.
However, team manager Chris Vella rejected the idea that the team was lucky to come away with the victory, “I wouldn’t put the win to luck. We had a lot of scoring chances which we missed and sometimes that comes to bite you back. San Gwann had their good moments but given the fact most of our players were coming from a tough game barely 48 hours before I believe we managed and controlled the situation well.”
Player Movements
Lija Athletic were boosted by the arrival of Ylenia Azzopardi in January, who has been doing well in the engine room for the team. However, they’ve also relinquished the services of Hailey Micallef to the Stripes. Questioned about the transfer, Jethron Azzopardi conceded, “It was a surprise for us that Hailey decided to move. She was a player that made a difference whenever she came on from the bench.”
Meanwhile, Valletta have managed to hold on to the majority of their squad. However, the team have been rotating the positions of players quite a bit. Probed about the coaching staff’s reasoning behind these rotations, Chris Vella responded, “We are lucky to have players who can adapt and play in different positions. Obviously, it is something that we work upon constantly. The norm is for our coaches to field players in their natural position, but sometimes injuries and fixture congestion dictates otherwise.”
This in reference to the fact that the majority of the team is also involved in commitments in the Assikura Women’s Youth League (U19), which is played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It results in just a maximum of 48-hour breaks between matches if the senior team plays on Thursday as was the case this week.
Match Expectations
Lija Athletic are yet to earn any points against Valletta, but will go into the match with an extra incentive to keep their streak going and make it three wins in succession. However, they must first find a way to score against City, which is something that has eluded them since the opening encounter between the two teams.
Lija Athletic’s coach Jethron Azzopardi weighed in on the encounter, “In previous encounters against Valletta they always had the edge, our aim is to try to get a positive result this time round. It has always been an interesting encounter and so shall be this time.”
On the other hand, Valletta seek to make it five wins in a row. The team have been rather offensive in their systems in the past few weeks. Asked whether they intend to approach the match in a more balanced manner considering Lija Athletic’s form, Chris Vella replied, “All the teams have shown marked improvement this round. However, we will go into the match with the intention of playing our usual type of possession game and then obviously adapt accordingly as the match progresses.”
The two teams kick-off proceedings at the Victor Tedesco Stadium at 20:15.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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