by Lija Athletic will face Mgarr United at the Greens’ home ground at 20:30 tonight. The two teams’ coaches Jethron Azzopardi and Ryan Vella expressed their thoughts on navigating tough defeats and recovery, while eyeing a solid performance to end the year.
Assessing Tough Defeats
The two teams head into this one with an eye on improving their showings following defeats. Lija Athletic succumbed to an 8 – 0 defeat at the hands of Swieqi United, while Mgarr United saw a slender lead overcome by Birkirkara, ultimately losing by 3 – 1 on Tuesday.
Lija Athletic conceded rather poorly at times against Swieqi United, with Jethron Azzopardi questioned on his approach to dealing with such losses in view of helping the team build toward the rest of the season. He said, “We worked on the mental aspect, to be concentrated for most part of the game and not leave spaces to the opponent.”
Meanwhile, Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella was asked to weigh the balance between mental and tactical pitfalls in the match for his team against Birkirkara. He replied, “In games like these, you have to be near perfect tactically and mentally to get the three points. On the day, we made too many individual mistakes that ultimately cost us the match.”
The Mgarr United coach continued, “We knew it was going to be tough, like it always is against Birkirkara. Even though they had the majority of possession, I feel we started the game quite well, managed to score and limited Birkirkara to a couple of set-piece chances in the first half. However, unfortunately we still ended up going behind at the break. We didn’t manage to get the rhythm and the tempo going in the second half and ultimately the better team on the day won the game.”
Short Turnarounds And Maximising Squads
Lija Athletic’s Jethron Azzopardi has had a battle since the start of his life with the team, in growing the squad to have some depth, which continues to be undone by injuries and departures. Still, the team took to the match against Swieqi United with a number of U19 players starting to make recurring and longer appearances for the team.
Azzopardi was asked to weigh in on the likelihood of their continued contribution, “Our youths have a lot of potential and they were a very good addition to the squad. The intensity in training has increased with their presence and they are improving.”
On the other hand, Mgarr United, will be heading into a third match in a week, with the Greens’ coach asked about the team’s recovery from Tuesday’s match as they head into this one. He said, “To play three matches in seven days after one month off will be very tough physically for all players. On our part we will be doing whatever possible to manage the players’ fatigue and any injuries that occurred in previous games. We are focused on trying to make sure that the players recover as quickly as possible to be in the best shape for the upcoming game.”
In Search Of Heading Off With A Positive End
The two teams will certainly want nothing more than a positive end before a short Christmas break. Lija Athletic’s Jethron Azzopardi remains steadfast on pushing his team toward a good performance despite continued setbacks and the strength of the opposition. He said, “We are trying to give a good game to everyone within our limitations. We are still struggling from missing players due to injuries and other commitments.”
Meanwhile, Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella was probed on how much rotation is on the cards in view of the defeat to Birkirkara, or whether he believes a good performance by the same unit is the best way to overcome the set back to their title hopes.
However, Ryan Vella suggested that well-being is the Greens’ priority in view of the ability to compete, “While the players are eager to bounce back after last Tuesday’s defeat, as a coaching team, our priority is always their well-being. We’ll ensure that we select the fittest and most ready players available to compete, keeping both performance and health in mind.”
The two teams will take to the pitch in Mgarr Ground at 20:30, while San Gwann face Hibernians at the Charles Abela Stadium at the same time.
Lead Images: Elise Bajada
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