by Mgarr United and San Gwann will seek to pip each other in the table in tonight’s direct confrontation at the Centenary Stadium, starting at 20:15. San Gwann’s Julian Camilleri is backing his team to continue raising the bar, despite being aware of the strength of the adversary. Mgarr United’s Ryan Vella praised the side’s commitment while backing his team to show up with the right approach to get the result.
Heading In The Right Direction
Mgarr United and San Gwann opened last season’s commitments against each other last season, in an encounter that kept plenty on the edge of their seats. However, the Greens took charge of the second encounter later in the season. However, tonight presents a renewed chance for the teams to test their growth against each other.
San Gwann head into this match following a 3-1 defeat to Swieqi United, which marked a drastically improved result against the Owls from last season’s encounters. Julian Camilleri praised his side’s work in the match, while highlighting the next steps in maturity for his team, “It was a big match for us. We were disciplined and made minimal mistakes defensively. We could have been better in the offensive phase to make better use of the positive transitions that we had so that what we created came to fruition.”
Mgarr United head into the match following a goalless draw against Birkirkara, during which the team fell down to ten players in latter portion of the first half. The side approached the match with a changed system, which Ryan Vella weighed in on, “We practiced the system a lot during the week and we felt like it was the right approach with the players we had available for the game.”
The Mgarr United coach also provided his view on the result itself, “Even though we played nearly sixty minutes with ten players against Birkirkara, I still feel that we could have made more out of the first half-hour when we were still eleven against eleven, as I felt like we had the better chances during that period and we could have scored. However, overall hats off to the players that with ten, still managed to create around four good chances on the counter-attack and limit Birkirkara to very few goal scoring opportunities.”
Mgarr Searching For Goals, As San Gwann Welcome Back Borg From ACL Injury
Besides the improved scoreline, San Gwann celebrated another element in the match against Swieqi United. The team also welcomed back Rhea Borg, who made her first senior appearance following working her way back from ACL injury over the past year and having made a number of appearances in the U19 league.
Probed about welcoming back a player who was also an influential figure for the team off the pitch while recovering from injury, Julian Camilleri said, “Rhea is very intelligent about the game. She is someone that helps the team to adapt to matches and she is also one of our most technical players. I believe physically there’s still a lot of potential that we have not seen yet, but she is definitely an important player in the squad.”
Mgarr United head into the match having not conceded a single goal this season. Offensively the side opened the season with a double-digit scoreline against Mtarfa, but have struggled to find the net against Hibernians, Valletta and Birkirkara, despite creating chances.
However, Mgarr United’s coach, Ryan Vella, is backing his team, “Right now I feel that the team is playing really well and the players are doing what they’re asked of them, both in the defensive phase and even in the offensive phase. Defensively, as the statistics show we’ve been really good. We gave very few chances away to the opponents due to the hard work of the entire team when without possession. Unfortunately, in the offensive phase luck didn’t help us much especially in the last two games, where we created lots of chances but still didn’t manage to convert. Having said that, I have full faith that luck will turn shortly and that the players’ hard work will pay off in the next few matches.”
Match Expectations
The two teams will head to the Centenary Stadium tonight, which will be Mgarr United’s first outing away from Dingli Ground this season.
Julian Camilleri is expecting a tough challenge from the Greens, but his comments suggest that San Gwann are ready to back themselves too. He said, “Mgarr United are one of the teams favourite for the league this season. It’s true that have a perfect defensive record, but have also struggled to score in the past three matches. We must be disciplined defensively, but we are also not going to refrain from attacking either.”
His counterpart, Ryan Vella, praised the growth that San Gwann have already shown, “San Gwann have massively improved from last season, especially with the new foreigners. They have a good mix of technical and physical players which gives them a good balance. So, they can play in different ways, both by sitting back and hitting on the counter-attack or pressing opponents.”
The Greens’ coach is expecting an open match, “Playing at the Centenary Stadium will make the game much fluid and open. So, it will be about who manages the spaces better for both teams, both in and out of possession. We’re looking forward for another hard-fought game against a good team and we’ll make sure that our team will be prepared in the best possible way to give us a better chance to get the three points.”
All things point towards another fierce battle with both teams equal on points and looking to nudge themselves upward in the table. The match begins at 20:15 and will be played at the Centenary Stadium.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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