by Mgarr United will welcome San Gwann tonight as the two kick-off their second round commitments at 20:30 in Mgarr Ground. The Greens will seek to bounce back to winning form, but the Yellows proved tricky opponents first time out.
Reviewing Round One & Looking Ahead
Mgarr United secured four victories, but were held to draws by both Hibernians and Swieqi United, before suffering their first defeat at the hands of Birkirkara in their final match of round one. The Greens have put themselves in fourth and will seek to keep up with the rest of the pack with another win against San Gwann, whom they beat by 2-1 in the opening match of the season.
Mgarr United’s Michael Mangion reflected on the opening round commitments, “The first round of the season was not bad, but I believe that in the second round we can do better and we will.” Focusing on the task at hand, he continued, “We are looking for a win after the loss against Birkirkara.”
On the other hand, San Gwann have managed a victory over Mtarfa and a draw against Lija Athletic to earn four points from the first round. However, their hopes of pipping Valletta to fifth place were deflated by a 3-0 defeat.
Asked to sum up his view about the results and their meaning toward the rest of the campaign, Julian Camilleri replied, “The first round was quite difficult for us. However, if you consider where we ended last season and where we are now, we have made big improvements. We’ve had our ups and downs between injuries and unavailable players. However, we looked at this as a learning experience to do even better in the next round. We have four points from the first round and aim to at least double this by the end of the second round.”
Expectations From The Upcoming Match
The two coaches were probed on their expectations as they head into this next fixture, with the advantage of having already met each other in the opening match of the season.
The Greens were frustrated for long portions of the match but a close range finish by Kelly Agius Pace and a stunning ‘olimpico’ by Abigail Camilleri handed them a two-goal advantage, before Andjela Kricak reduced the deficit to one from the penalty spot late in the match.
The two coaches were probed on whether they expect such a tight scoreline considering that the element of surprise is gone, the discrepancy between them in the table and that new recruits are now well in-grained in their sides.
Michael Mangion replied, “Every game is a different story but this time round our team is stronger than in the last game against San Gwann.”
Speaking about the reverse fixture, Julian Camilleri conceded that the Greens could have had more, “Statistically Mgarr United had more opportunities to earn the points.” Despite this, Camilleri is not disheartened, “Each game has its own story and we are prepared to earn our first points against them.”
The match will also be played at the Mgarr Ground, as opposed to the Centenary Stadium, which will be a tighter space while also being the Greens’ home ground. Undoubtedly, the Greens are comfortable playing at home, but probed about whether he believes that the tighter confines may make San Gwann trickier to beat, Mangion replied, “A smaller ground will help a less technical team but we are used to playing at that ground.”
However, Julian Camilleri appears to be unfazed by the change and does not believe it is even of an advantage for the Greens. He replied, “I do not believe that it affects us much in Malta to play home or away. It is irrelevant for us playing wherever we play.”
The match is set to begin at 20:30, at the Mgarr Ground. Tickets at the door.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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