by San Gwann and Hibernians will be taking to the pitch in search of the first points of the season in the Assikura Women’s League at 19:30 at the Centenary Stadium. As the longest serving coach, Julian Camilleri weighed in with a view of three years in the women’s game. Martina Borg gave insight on what to expect from her team as she takes on the new role.
A New Coach Against The Longest Serving One
San Gwann and Hibernians will become the second sides to battle for points as the two head into the Centenary Stadium this evening.
San Gwann’s Julian Camilleri heads into the third season in charge with the Yellows. Having raised the side from the bottom with zero points, to topping the Bottom Four pool with aplomb (effectively fifth place), Camilleri is eyeing the upcoming season with an eye for a further step up.
Questioned about the season’s objectives, Camilleri replied, “Our aim is to go up a further place and earn fourth. We have always managed to reach our objectives in the past two seasons. Although I am aware that earning fourth place is not going to be easy, I believe that we can get there if we can be consistent.”
Leading the side for the third year makes Camilleri the longest serving coach in the women’s league this year. Questioned on his view of the evolution of the women’s game in the past season in his involvement as he has successfully steered a bottom team to higher levels, Camilleri weighed in, “I think the level is increasing year by year, even when you consider the youth level, so I think the future is bright. However, looking at the senior league, my opinion is that we are too little clubs.”
He continued, “I am aware that there are other points of view that the quality is now more focused, but if we are aiming to grow the women’s game in Malta, shouldn’t we have a structure that welcomes more? If we knew teams were going to drop, shouldn’t we have changed the setup? We lost a lot of players, not just clubs. If we are aiming for a higher level, then the top quality players will be the ones consistently chosen to challenge for titles. Players not finding space to play will either go to a smaller club or will stop playing.”
Giving the holistic coaching perspective, Camilleri finished, “As a coach, I afforded players game time against a club against teams where we were stronger so they grow. However, with less clubs these opportunities are much less and so instead of attracting more players because we would be giving them these chances to develop, we are going to dishearten them and we will lose players, because it will become even more difficult for them to get playing time. I don’t want to sound negative, but I believe this is where we are heading.”
At the opposite end of the dugout will be a familiar face to the game, but a new one on the touchline at senior level. Questioned about her objectives for Hibernians, Martina Borg replied, “My discussions with the team since taking over have always been about the importance of being consistent in every match and about having the right mentality. We must take to the pitch with the same attitude against whichever team we play and we must do this as a team, irrespective of who is on the pitch that day. I believe that having this consistency is what will give us good basis and that ultimately titles come as a by-product of that, but we must first be consistent.”
As a new coach, Martina Borg was probed about the kind of football viewers should expect from her team, “I would like us to dominate possession with high intensity. I believe we have solid technical players who can make a difference and who can put on some spectacular football on display. So, I aim to utilise those strengths.”
Balancing Requirements Against The 135 Rule
The two coaches were probed about the impacts of the 135 minute rule imposed on players alternating between the senior and U21 league. San Gwann and Hibernians are teams with among the youngest squads in the league.
Julian Camilleri replied, “It will certainly have some effect. I agree that players should be taken care of not to be exhausted. However, I think the rule overlooks the fact that not all clubs have enough players to play only the seniors or the U21 league. It is a situation which we will assess as a club, we are using this first week as a trial.”
His counterpart, Martina Borg, weighed in, “It’s true that the average age of our squad is very young, of twenty years old. In truth we have only two players born earlier than the 2000s. The rule of course affects the selections, but thankfully we have a deep squad of around twenty-five players so this allows more space to manoeuvre. So, I will aim to rotate, first starting with the senior-based players and then try to give space to the younger players when I can. However, there is no denying that the rule makes it tougher to give a chance to younger players because their priority will be the U21 league at this stage.”
Match Expectations
San Gwann head into the fixture with the first opportunity to put stock to their objective as they seek first points against Top Four opposition to earn a place among them themselves. Hibernians will be the first in their crosshairs.
Questioned about a potentially more aggressive approach, Julian Camilleri gave his view on the expectations from the match, “Of course Hibernians have their qualities and they have had their time to adapt just as much as we have in the off season. I think we’ve utilised our pre-season well to grow in our football and I believe we’re ready to face and adapt to what Hibernians throw at us.”
Meanwhile, Martina Borg will want nothing more than to get three points in her debut as a coach of the team. Borg believes that San Gwann will be cautious with an aim to frustrate, “I expect San Gwann to be as compact as possible and hurt us on the counter-attack. We must be patient in rotating the ball and exploit the uncertainties that this raises on their side. I believe it will be a hard-fought match and that San Gwann will be determined to get the best possible result. So, we must be equally motivated for a good performance and hopefully this will earn us the first points of the season.”
The two teams will take to the pitch under the setting sun at the Centenary Stadium at 19:30.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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