by Tonight attention will turn to San Gwann who will be hosting Mgarr United as both teams kick-off their league campaigns at the Centenary Stadium at 20:15. The Greens will be hoping to repeat last season’s feats against the Yellows, but Julian Camilleri will be a new tactician for San Gwann, who may throw a few surprises.
Debuts and Match Dynamics
The Greens will hope for a similar proceeding to previous fixtures, where they heavily outmatched the Yellows. However, San Gwann have had a few changes in their staff and players. Most notable is the introduction of new coach, Julian Camilleri, who will surely bring his own ideas to the fore.
Both sides have been making some waves in the transfer window, though it is understood that their business is not quite done yet. Michael Mangion and his team have been busy strengthening their squad with a clear intention of challenging for the title this year, following a few years of battling it out at the top end of the table. The coach will have a few decisions to make as to who starts in the opening match. One key point will be who starts in goal, between Mgarr United’s Patricia Ebejer and the newcomer Giulia D’Antuono. This besides another number of debutants recruited over the summer, as well as for example the returning Mirayah Aquilina.
Meanwhile, San Gwann ended last season at the bottom of the table and will hope that their additions will help to improve their standing. Goalkeeper Justyne Caruana was one of the important signings over the summer, who following her loan spell with the club will now take to the pitch as one of their own. However, like Mgarr United, it is also understood that the Yellows may have a few suprises up their sleeves.
Last year the fixtures saw Mgarr United enjoy the majority of possession, with San Gwann mostly sat deep within their half and hoping to strike on the counter. Having said this, the Yellows had very limited opportunities since the Greens often converted their chances, leading to one-sided victories. Based on this one expects that the Yellows’ ability to protect their goal will be tested. However, it will be a perfect chance to show the growth achieved over the summer months. As noted down below, new coach Julian Camilleri has made clear the intentions to achieve a larger tally of points. If successful, spectators could be in for a very different watch this year.
Words From The Coaches
Questioned about how they would define a good performance, Mgarr United’s assistant coach Neville Cassar indicated a desire to control the game, “We want to play our game, to maintain possession and play offensive football. Ultimately our aim is to secure the first three points.” The coach also suggested that there could be a number of players that will make their debut for the Greens.
On the other hand, when probed about the team’s ambitions following last season’s disappointment, San Gwann’s new coach Julian Camilleri spoke of the work done throughout the summer. He said “Last season there were many difficulties including a small squad which became even smaller with injuries. I along with the club’s committee have reviewed the shortcomings of last season and identified the points to improve on, in various facets of the squad.”
He continued, “This year we made sure to strengthen the existing squad by recruiting foreign players who have experience from abroad, as well as promoting a number of players who are under the age of nineteen in effort to gradually develop them into fully established senior team players. This means that our squad this year is bigger and composed of both experience and youth. Our aim is to restore the reputation of San Gwann FC and to develop players into better footballers.”
In relation to this, when questioned about the expectations for the match against the Greens, Camilleri was very clear on the team’s ambitions, “The first target is to equal the tally of points that we had last year (3 points). This means that as a club we will take to the pitch with the aim of winning the match against Mgarr. Once we achieve these points, we can look toward the next set of targets.”
The match kicks off tonight, at 20:15 at the Centenary Stadium. Tickets at the door. This is the second match of four fixtures to be played this week, the first being yesterday’s match between Birkirkara and Lija Athletic.
Lead Images: Joe Borg / Neil Fitzpatrick
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