by Mgarr United and San Gwann will conclude today’s Assikura Women’s League blitz at the Charles Abela Stadium, starting at 17:30. Ryan Vella and Julian Camilleri gave their take on the significance of youth players, while underlining the itch to return to competitive football.
An Awaited Return
The two sides have had to wait an extra week to return to the Assikura Women’s League, with this afternoon’s match presenting the first competitive football for the teams in over a month.
Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella gave his verdict on the long break for his side who had been on a three-match win streak, including a victory against Hibernians. He said, “Obviously the long break has its pros and cons. Coming off three good wins, we would have preferred to keep the momentum going and keep playing. At the same time, this break gave us time to work on certain things that we usually don’t have that much time to work on. It also gave time to the injured players to make substantial progress in their recovery.”
The side had plenty of players called up to senior international duty, with Giulia D’Antuono among the standouts in the friendly against Hungary on her official senior debut. Although one of the oldest clubs involved in the women’s game at this point, Mgarr United is a side that has brought up several youth players in the past, including current players Patricia Ebejer and Abigail Camilleri, but its academy has dwindled in recent years. This season it lacks a presence in the U19 and U16 league, making selections among the youth national cohorts impossible.
Questioned on his thoughts about the impact of this in the short term and long-term trajectory, Vella responded, “I think that it’s more of a disadvantage. Youth teams give more stability to the club and with youth teams there is more squad depth available to the senior team as well, in case injuries occur. As a club there are plans to re-create our youth teams in the near future.”
In contrast, San Gwann is a side that is starting to see the efforts put into developing its youth players on display with the senior team, as well as at international level. Fatma Al Girbi took the cake for her goalscoring contribution against Luxembourg with the U19 cohort, but she was also accompanied by Nilayza Attard, while Thais Muscat and Martina Vassallo featured at U17 level.
Julian Camilleri spoke proudly of the contributions of his players at international level in view of the work carried out with the club. He said, “I think every coach is proud to have players who play for the national team. Even more so when they have good performances and make the scoring sheet. Our aim as a club remains to produce quality players and lift ourselves in the table. Players with such attributes will boost our team.”
Julian Camilleri was upbeat about the utility of the break with the squad that remained at his disposition, in terms of preparing for the upcoming matches and reported no fresh injuries. “Luckily we didn’t have incur serious injuries during the break and we had time to prepare for the upcoming three matches, especially from a physical perspective.”
Itching For The Return
As listed above, the two sides have not kicked a single ball in a competitive match for over a month. San Gwann had the upper hand early on in the first head to head, before Mgarr United fought back for a confident win at the Centenary Stadium. Still, the Yellows have continued gathering pace since and a stronger presence in attack. Charles Abela Stadium will favour a direct approach.
Questioned about his thoughts on overcoming the threat from San Gwann in search of picking up on the positive form that they had before the break, Ryan Vella continued to praise the development of San Gwann. “In my opinion San Gwann are one of the most improved teams this season, so it will definitely be a difficult match. Playing in a smaller pitch can be trickier to break them down , and we need to be more focused in defending their counter attacks as they have shown that they can be a very dangerous team in this aspect.”
The Mgarr United coach insisted on the importance of a strong start to the match from his team, “After the long break without competitive games, it will be important to find our feet and settle as quickly as possible. This is important to help us get back to playing the way we were playing before the break.”
Having thus far been the standout among the teams outside the big four, San Gwann’s Julian Camilleri is maintaining a step by step approach as they look at the upcoming match. “Our approach is a long term one, to build bit by bit. I adapt our approach to the matches based on a number of things, including our adversary. We cannot risk too much, but we must maintain the momentum and make as little mistakes as possible. Our aim remains to keep things simple and play the game with passion.”
The two teams will conclude a super Friday as all the teams in the Assikura Women’s League take to the pitch this afternoon. Mgarr United and San Gwann will kickstart their match at 17:30, following the encounter between Mtarfa and Valletta. Both matches will be played at the Charles Abela Stadium.
Meanwhile, Dingli Ground will host the other two fixtures, as Swieqi United take on Lija Athletic at 14:00, before the top of the table clash between Hibernians and Birkirkara at 16:30.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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