by Mtarfa and Hibernians will kick-off today’s double-header at Mgarr Ground at 14:00. Hibernians will be seeking to finish the round with a well-earned three points, but Mtarfa’s increasing shortage of players threatens the match kick-off.
Hibernians Ready But Game Could Be Abandoned
Hibernians had a much better showing against San Gwann to win the match by 5-0 in difficult conditions. On the other hand, there was little respite for Mtarfa, who fell to a 3-0 defeat against nearest rivals Lija Athletic.
Asked about his expectations from the team against the bottom side, Hibernians’ Keith Gouder responded, “The team has been progressing from game to game, and we have been more efficient upfront, even creating more opportunities to score. So against Mtarfa the aim is to maintain this momentum and increase the coordination and final part even further and even when rotating players.”
The coach also gave the thumbs up to the likelihood of Kiley Norkus making her debut for the team and the possibility of giving a few younger players an opportunity to show what they can do on the pitch. Gouder said, “Yes Kiley has been training with the squad for more than a week now and will feature in this game. It will be a good opportunity for her to have minutes played with the team before the final phase starts. Also, this game is a good chance to give more minutes to the young players. However, we do also need to keep in mind the double fixture that the U19s have against Swieqi United on Monday and Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, Gouder appears to be unbothered about the fact that the team will be facing a lower league team who is likely to sit back as opposed to a top-four rival before the final phase. Asked whether this could be a source of frustration, he responded, “No, not really, we were aware of this situation as soon as the fixtures were out. We knew that after Mtarfa we would be facing a top four team, so planning was done accordingly. After tomorrow’s match the squad will focus fully on the final nine matches, which we will treat as finals with the aim to close the gap to the top.”
On the other hand, things appear to be becoming more and more dire for the Blues. Responses received from the Mtarfa camp suggest that the match threads a tight-rope of being abandoned altogether due to the shortage of available players. Injuries to Angele Fenech, Jasmine Camilleri, Jade Azzopardi and Estelle Borg, among other unavailabilities, make for an increasingly shorter call list for the team. This on top of the permanent departures of Elisa Csik and Laura Echeverri Tobon, among others.
As things stand, the two will kick-off at 14:00 at the Mgarr Ground, followed by the encounter between San Gwann and Valletta (16:30).
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[…] to close the gap. The match kicks-off at 16:30 at Mgarr Ground, following the encounter between Mtarfa and Hibernians […]