by Swieqi United and Hibernians will open their final phase commitments at Mgarr Ground at 14:00. The Owls will be keen on bagging their first victory against the Paolites this season, while the appointment of Hibernians’ new coach Kenneth Costantino gives the match another twist.
The Effect of Costantino’s Appointment
The two teams head into the third round, with Hibernians having grabbed a win and a draw in their first battles. Although unable to emerge victorious against Hibernians thus far this season, Swieqi United currently lead the Paolites in the table by one point.
In this regard, both teams will be searching for victory in attempt to start prying open a gap to each other, while keeping in touching distance with Birkirkara. On the other hand, a draw will suit the Stripes just fine.
The pot has been stirred further by the changing of the guard at Hibernians, with coach Keith Gouder being replaced by Kenneth Costantino, who will be leading the outfit for the first time this season, this afternoon.
Swieqi United’s Saviour Darmanin gave his views on whether he deems the coaching change to give the fixture a new life, “The fact that Hibernians have a new coach may be a source of motivation for Hibernians’ players, even if he was already working with the team in a different role. His appointment as head coach means that he may bring new ideas, even if they were already doing well under the guidance of Keith Gouder.”
Meanwhile, Hibernians’ new coach, Kenneth Costantino gave his thoughts on taking over the team at such a crucial stage in the middle of the season. He said, “It’s not an ideal situation in the sense that I’d rather start a season afresh with a team. I think in my coaching career I’ve never taken over a team mid-way through a season. So, in this regard it is a new experience for me, but sometimes you do not have much of a choice and this is one of them. Of course, we will also be playing a very difficult match, which starts off a very difficult calendar for us. However, you have to focus on doing the work and then assess our performance at the end.”
Asked about the possibility of introducing changes to fit his philosophy against the idea of not fixing something that isn’t broken, Costantino replied, “Of course there will be some changes. Sometimes they are forced because of injuries or unavailabilities, others could be because of my own coaching philosophy. I will address things which need to be revised based on results of late and especially the performances against the top four teams, but nothing out of this world.”
The Intricacies Of The Match
Swieqi United have been on a good goalscoring form in the last weeks, with strong victories against Mgarr United and Lija Athletic. However, Hibernians were one adversary against whom the goals were not free-flowing in the first two encounters.
Taking this all into perspective, Darmanin laid out the importance of dealing with the shortcomings of his team against Hibernians in this opening third round fixture, “All the upcoming direct confrontations will be important games. Hibernians are the only team that we are yet to beat in the league this season. We did not score too many goals against them either which, while giving credit to them for their defensive organisation, should be another source of motivation for us in this fixture.”
Meanwhile, Hibernians’ exploits against Mtarfa got plenty of attention, while the team also bagged a strong victory against San Gwann. However, Kenneth Costantino is well aware that Swieqi United pose a different challenge.
The two will be playing the match at the Mgarr Ground, which is fairly smaller than the Centenary Stadium and the Victor Tedesco. Both coaches acknowledged that it has some effect on the teams, but denied that a smaller pitch gives any particular side an advantage.
Saviour Darmanin said, “Mgarr is certainly different to the Centenary. It could be a more closed match, but I think it affects both teams. In the end, the team that avoids the most mistakes or who is more perfect in their play, will emerge victorious.”
His counterpart, Kenneth Costantino remarked, “I think it’s a problem for us, as much as it is for Swieqi. So if anything I think it is a disadvantage to both, because it’s a small pitch and a bigger pitch is always better to play football. However, in the end I do not think the size of the pitch is going to make a big difference in the end to either side.”
Injuries, Returns & A Few Key Figures
Swieqi United have been without Emma Xuereb since the new year, while the full-back was in and out of the team with a niggling injury for some time before that. Asked about her absence, Swieqi United’s coach confirmed that Xuereb is dealing with injury, hinting at the possibility of a few weeks before the number nine is seen back on the pitch.
Meanwhile, Hibernians’ have been without Rodianne Zerafa for the entirety of the season, and a fair bit of the one before that. Asked about her ongoing recovery, Costantino said, “Unfortunately, Rodianne has been out for some time and the recovery is taking a bit longer. We will not risk players who are injured or recovering just to speed up the process. Everyone has their own recovery processes and if tests indicate that a player is not yet fully recovered, we will respect that process. Rodianne has just started training slightly but it is fairly early days. It would be nice to have her back by the end of the season, but reality shows us different. We’ll wait and see.”
The two teams met in the Assikura Women’s Youth League twice this week, with a large number of Swieqi United’s youth players, including youth captain Tammy Falzon, continuing to make regular appearances with the senior team. However, asked about any recovery concerns due to Falzon playing the entirety of the matches, Darmanin appeared at ease, “A lot of our first team players play in the youth league and this congestion of fixtures is something that we’ve been handling quite well throughout the season.”
Speaking about the young defender, who has been a stalwart in defence, Darmanin continued, “Tammy is a player who has been playing very well in both the youth and senior team and in fact I’ve continued to show faith in her in our defence. She has played almost every single game, despite her young age. She is very dedicated, trains well and we take care to make sure she has time for recovery. Ultimately, matches are a great learning experience and I think it is an important moment for her to continue maturing and pushing her abilities to reach even higher, at club and national team level.”
The Owls will be hoping to replicate the goalscoring form from the Youth League, with Kaysia Micallef grabbing a total of five goals across the two encounters, while Jade Flask also marked another milestone in her return from injury by scoring the goal that got the team going on Monday. Both could be ones to look out for this afternoon, but Hibernians will have a staunch defence raring to go.
Meanwhile, Hibernians’ Nyorah Celeste will be itching to continue on her hot run of form, having been one of three players to bag a hat-trick against Mtarfa in the Assikura Women’s League and also finding the net in the Youth League match against the Owls in mid-week. The Paolites’ front line will also be boosted by the return of Alexis Espitia who has served her suspension and will be available for selection once more.
The two teams will kick off today’s double-header at Mgarr Ground at 14:00. The match will be followed by the encounter between Valletta & Lija Athletic (16:30).
Lead Images: Michael Azzopardi (Swieqi United FC) / TSF
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