by Although Friday’s victory against Cyprus confirmed Malta’s second promotion into League B, the story of the second campaign offered a stark contrast to the first UEFA Women’s Nations League cycle. Emma Lipman, Haley Bugeja & Manuela Tesse each gave their take on the differences and the makings of each promotion.
Malta’s Women’s National Team will be competing at League B status once more following the confirmation at the top of group C2 after last Friday’s win against Cyprus. While promotion from League C is something that has already been achieved before by the team, the story of how they progressed through the two tournaments to achieve the separate promotions shows stark contrasts. A look into them offers a glimpse into the less visible aspects of the trajectory of the Maltese women’s national team.
The first clear difference was the team’s ability to confirm promotion with one match to spare in this second tournament. Captain Emma Lipman agreed this was a mark of the team’s growth during the past two years, “Certainly, to do it with one match to spare shows our progression, especially since in the first tournament we had to do it over two games after drawing against Moldova and beat Latvia in the final match.”
Offering a wider perspective over the differences between the two UEFA Women’s Nations League cycles, Lipman continued, “I think looking at how we started the first tournament and this one, you see a big difference. We went through the first tournament unbeaten which was amazing, whereas in this one we lost the first match and then had to make up for it.”
The captain of Malta also described the difference in mentality and expectation of the team as they headed into the two tournaments, “We also started the first tournament with a dream, but this time we came into League C with the target to win and I think it gives a different perspective of what we need to show. We must control the games but we must also realise our quality to get games over the line.”
Malta’s coach, Manuela Tesse, pinpointed a moment which she believed separated the two tournaments to ultimately seal promotion, “I think the key was that we lost in Cyprus because we did not approach this UEFA Women’s Nations League with the right attitude. I think we underestimated a bit the opposition and got punished by Cyprus and then struggled against Andorra even though we got the win, which was a wake-up call. We played good football against Georgia and then, although it was stressful against Cyprus, we managed to get it over the line.”
Eyeing the future she continued, “There’s a lot of room for growth but I see that we are improving physically and this is the first thing we are doing. It is our responsibility as coaches to help the players grow even more from there.”
Meanwhile, forward Haley Bugeja opened the door on the importance of a united dressing room in achieving the promotion in the penultimate match, “I think it shows a lot of things. Firstly, maturity, unity and growth as a team not just on the pitch but also off it. I think the coach (Manuela Tesse) did a lot of good work to help us get out from our comfort zone and I think in the end it showed. I think being honest we didn’t start this tournament in the best possible way, but I think we showed much better football in these last three matches and it’s good to get it over the line.”
The team’s exploits in this tournament have also been different from the first in the tactical approach, with less control of possession but appearing to be more keen in direct manner to hurt opposition. While promotion is secured, the team’s job in this cycle of the UEFA Women’s Nations League is not entirely completed yet. The side will be playing its final UEFA Women’s Nations League match on Tuesday (3rd June) against Andorra at the Estadio Encamp, with an opportunity to squeeze out three more points. The match will be played at 19:00 CET and will be broadcast on TVM News+.
Lead Image: Brandon Bonett
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