by Mtarfa and San Gwann will meet for the final time in this league season today at Dingli Ground at 14:00. The Blues will go into the match determined to go one step further from previous displays to take points from the Yellows. However, Julian Camilleri has made clear the importance for his team to push toward a strong end to a highly encouraging season.
In Search Of Improvement
The two teams head into the match on the back of narrow defeats, but determined to have better showings as they head into the final round of fixtures. Mtarfa could not find the back of the net despite having a more adventurous game going forward against Lija Athletic, ultimately suffering a 1-0 defeat. Asked about taking heart from a more balanced match and a narrowed scoreline, Mtarfa’s Brandon Spiteri and Christian Curmi were positive in their response, “Yes, for sure it’s great encouragement for us and we take it as a step forward.”
The match featured the return of Darya Attard in defence, while the presence of Shania Spiteri in midfield and Maria Abdilla up front provided a better overall balance across the pitch. This despite perhaps Spiteri and Abdilla having occupied other positions in the past. The coaches praised the performances of the players in continuing to show up for the team, “We have a very limited squad especially due to different challenges such as injuries that impacted us a lot. Therefore, we have to adapt accordingly and so far all the players are doing their very best with this regard.”
On the other hand, San Gwann held the cards for much of the game against Valletta, but a penalty switched the momentum with City ultimately making the complete comeback to maintain their unbeaten streak.
Julian Camilleri did not mince his words when asked about the match, “Although we were ahead in the score, it was not one of our best performances offensively. We made mistakes and we were not disciplined enough in our attacks. We were better defensively, but at the end there were obvious mistakes from the officials which cost us two goals and ultimately the three points.”
Despite this, one major positive was Thais Muscat, who continued to look at home among the senior team. Asked about the youngster, Julian Camilleri beamed, “Thais is one of our best players in the under eighteen bracket. She is a promising youngster and I believe she will be a very important member of the senior team in the future.”
Match Expectation
The two teams know each other well by now, but as noted above, the season has continuously pushed both sides within their own remits as they attempt to reach their objectives. Mtarfa’s Brandon Spiteri and Christian Curmi are looking to back up and perhaps improve on their previous performance against the Yellows, “We have been trying our very best to give a good display tomorrow against San Gwann. For sure we cannot underestimate them but we will try our best.”
On the other hand, Julian Camilleri is readying his side in search of bouncing back to a win and maximising points against the Blues this season. Asked about the match, Camilleri replied, “Mtarfa have improved a lot as a team and they gave us a real headache to score against them last time. We must be disciplined and we cannot take anything fore-granted, because everything that we have worked for throughout the season and the targets we set out could be lost in the final three games.” He finished, “We must take to the pitch with a winning mentality and bring home the three points.”
The two teams kick-off today’s double header at Dingli Ground at 14:00. The match will be followed by the encounter between Valletta and Lija Athletic (16:30).
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