by Malta and Portugal’s maiden meet ended in a 2-0 victory for favourites Portugal, but six key points emerged from post-match reactions by the two teams. Coaches Manuela Tesse and Francisco Neto’s reflections on their attempts to outwit each other give a peek into the ongoings away from the pitch. Portugal’s captain Dolores Silva provided the players’ perspective into the challenge as Portugal chase promotion into League A, against that of Malta’s Charlene Zammit, Kailey Willis and Maria Farrugia, who seek to stick the landing in League B.
1. The Two Sides Forced Each Other To Adapt
Portugal ensured maximum points in the first round with a 2-0 victory over Malta to build on the opening 3-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina. However, the team ranked twenty-one in the world struggled to convert opportunities in the first half against Malta, ultimately opening the scoring from the penalty spot early in the restart. On the other hand, ranked eighty-seventh in the world, Malta were not intimidated and had their own chances, but they were punished for not converting.
Malta’s coach Manuela Tesse praised the first-half performance while acknowledging the pitfalls for her side, “I think we played a very good first half according to our game-plan and we had two good chances. We had the first big opportunity of the match which shows a lot about our behaviour. However, I think in the second half we immediately made one big mistake in giving away a cheap corner and after this we did not clear the ball effectively. I will not go into the question of whether it was a penalty but looking at the second half, Portugal’s better physicality was evident.”
Although Manuela Tesse has been vocal in the determination to play forward football, Portugal’s insistence of pushing numbers into attack forced some adaptation, “Of course it is a team which is 21st in the world, so they attacked with numbers and we had to cater for this. We kept our system going into the counter-attack but of course when defending I asked Haley (Bugeja) and Maria (Farrugia) to support our full-backs because they attack in five and sometimes six. It’s a different game to Northern Ireland, because Portugal are strong technically and physically.”
Portugal’s coach Francisco Neto was cognisant of his side’s struggles despite being happy with the win, “It’s not a perfect exhibition for us but we did enough to win. I do think Portugal is a fair winner of this game, although the match showed areas of improvement for us. Overall we are happy with these two games, six points, five goals scored and zero suffered, so it is a perfect start.”
On the other hand, the Portuguese coach was not surprised by Malta’s willingness to go forward on the counter-attack and their ability to develop attacking opportunities, “I would not say this surprised us because we watched the match against Northern Ireland and we knew they have good organisation and that they will try to do this. They have good ideas and know where they want to grow.”
2. Pitch Surface Debate Alive & Kicking
Physicality, technical abilities and game plans are routine topics of debate after any football match. However, the discussion of the artificial pitch and the size took centre stage after this one, with the Portuguese contingent having their worries realised early in the match.
Considering her experience playing on both artificial and natural grass, Malta’s Maria Farrugia was asked to provide her thoughts on the matter. Despite acknowledging the pitch surfaces provide different challenges, the forward rejected the notion of an added advantage, “I think the changes affect both teams, because maybe as a team we are more comfortable on the artificial turf as opposed to other teams that come here. However, when we go to play abroad, players in our team who play domestically are less used to natural grass and find the same challenge. So, I believe it neutralises out.”
Portugal’s captain, Dolores Silva, spoke in no uncertain terms that the pitch was a source of tension for the visitors early on in the match. She said, “I think it was a tough game at the beginning. We knew that playing on the artificial turf would maybe be a problem for us to adapt for our game and characteristics.”
Her coach, Francisco Neto, weighed in on the matter, “Of course I’m not happy with that, but I understand it is their home and that it is a difficult pitch for visitors. I think Bosnia & Herzegovina and Northern Ireland will suffer here because Malta is very organised and they fight very hard. However, let’s see what happens in the future matches.”
Looking at the broader picture, the Portuguese coach continued, “I think Malta need to think about the place where they play. I think if they play on natural grass they will be better in the future for sure, but I understand the decision.”
3. Both Sides Will Need To Be More Clinical
Malta’s Maria Farrugia suggested that while the game-plan was sound, the match laid bare the challenge when playing against stronger teams.”I think the coaches’ game-plan worked because we were strong on the counter-attack, and defensively we were very cohesive as well. They opened the score from a penalty which came in the second half, but we had our chances.”
The forward was clear on the need to convert these opportunities in future matches, “It is a lesson that in these kinds of matches we must do better to take those opportunities because strong teams like Portugal will find a goal at one time or another. We learn from this match to be more clinical going forward. However, I think for us we can look forward because we have a chance to do well.”
On the other hand, Malta’s cohesive structure at the back caused problems for Portugal who found themselves dominating possession, creating chances, but struggling to convert. Francisco Neto pointed towards this being a new challenge for his team, “Of course we need to develop the team in these kinds of situations. We are not used to playing against teams who are setting up so defensively, but it is a new problem to solve for us and and we need to grow and develop the team in this situation.”
Dolores Silva confirmed the need for her team to remain calm in this new situation as the team continues to set sights on establishing itself among the best in the world, “We have to adapt because teams are settling more in their own half, being more defensive, so we need to be more patient. We know we have the quality but need to work to be able to use this, create our chances and find ways to score more goals.”
4. Malta Will Need New Players To Step Up
While Portugal went into the match with the luxury of rotating in five fresh players, Malta headed into it with two forced changes. As the match wore on, the physical toll of the challenge posed by Portugal, together with the back-to-back matches for the majority of Malta’s first eleven, were apparent.
Haley Bugeja was the last to be substituted out with the youngster being ever willing to expel every last ounce of energy for her country, making a burst down the wing in the final minutes of normal time before finally being substituted by Jade Flask.
However, asked about whether Bugeja could have been rested earlier, Manuela Tesse spoke of the layers of compromises made in balancing the needs of the match and the players’ wellbeing. She said, “Jade (Flask) is coming back from an ACL injury so we know that her performances are still getting to their best in consistency at such a high intensity. So, we are mindful of this and we knew there was going to be a lot of time added. Ultimately, Jade played more than quarter of an hour so we were timing the substitution accordingly, to balance the needs of the match while safeguarding the player in her return.”
Despite this, the team did not come out of it unscathed, with goalkeeper Janice Xuereb forced off early. Manuela Tesse expressed the sombre reality of the injury, “I’m very sad for Janice because she is one of the leading players in our team on the pitch, but also in her behaviour away from it. As you saw in the match, she had an injury but wanted to stay on in the team and ultimately went out after making an important save. I wish she can come back soon but unfortunately it does not look too good.” It has since been confirmed that the injury is related to her ACL.
Having been called into the squad, Patricia Ebejer stepped up well and her performance will encourage the island’s supporters. However, the reality remains that Malta’s Xuereb is not the only shot stopper to be sidelined, with a list of goalkeepers also nursing injuries, indicating a need for more youngsters to step up to the plate when called upon.
Asked about this, Manuela Tesse warned that Malta’s future need to lift up their sleeves, “We have a lot of young and very strong goalkeepers, with a lot of potential. However, I worry about the young players in general, not just goalkeepers, because at times I do not think they realise the opportunities that they have. Our senior national team is going to be old in time and our young players need to understand that they need to fight. If they don’t switch on this focus and have the desire for the work needed to becoming a football player, then I worry about the future of the national team.”
The comment comes after a string of defeats for the U16 and U17 teams in the recent UEFA Women’s U17 European Qualifications tournament and the UEFA Women’s Development Tournament.
As the senior national team raises itself into stronger competition, players across the board will need to step up with it if Malta is to sustain the level into the coming years.
5. League B Continues To Be The Cauldron Of Possibility
While League A is made of a majority of teams composed of fully professional setups, and League C features a majority who are not, League B is the pot that perfectly mixes them all together. In a group with teams as far as almost seventy places away from each other in world ranking, matches require malleability from the sides to reach their objectives.
Malta’s striker Kailey Willis was euphoric in celebration after earning the equalising goal for Malta in the final match against Latvia last December that secured promotion into League B. However, the striker acknowledged that the match against Portugal was one that asked very different questions, “It’s a different game as a striker for sure. It was one where we knew we would need to defend a lot, so as a striker my duty was to support the squad in holding up play, maintain possession and allow us to get up the pitch. Although we had to defend a lot, we still managed to create attacking opportunities and I think we still had a good match overall against such strong opposition.”
Her compatriot, defender Charlene Zammit, nodded to the importance of belief despite relentless pressure against stronger opponents, “I think following an unbeaten run to get promotion from League C, then earning a draw away from home against the Northern Ireland, we went into this match with a positive attitude despite knowing Portugal’s strength.”
Reflecting on the events of the match, she continued, “I think we tried our best to stay as compact as possible, believed in our game plan and in our abilities. So, I think it’s important to believe in ourselves more because I think we can do even better. However, we have to learn from the experience of playing against such strong teams where a slight lapse in concentration was punished by Portugal.”
The experienced defender also expressed a wider viewpoint, “I think this game against Portugal and also the one against Northern Ireland shows the work being done, by the technical staff and by us players. It reflects the work being put in both on and off the pitch: the amount of training we do and the level we train at, as well as a complete dedication to the lifestyle of a football player with as much professionalism as we can. That includes the way we eat, drink, rest and everything that encompasses how we live our lives away from the pitch. Improvement is a testament to the work being done both on and off the pitch.”
Over-arching all of this remains the fact that while Portugal feature plenty of professionals in their team, both at technical staff and player level, Malta’s side is made up of a mix of players and technical staff who are fully dedicated to football and a majority who juggle the game and all its encompassing sacrifices alongside other jobs.
It points toward the wider discrepancies at play in such matches. The quantity of technical staff, sponsorships and general fanfare is one side of things. However, at its root is the fact that the eleven players taking on the other eleven players come from a different preparation setting.
Despite coming away with a first defeat in nine months, Malta walks away from the first round of fixtures in League B with a point in hand gained against Northern Ireland and a performance against Portugal which had plenty of positives.
Asked about the trajectory, Malta’s Maria Farrugia kept feet on the ground, but with a head held high toward retaining the spot in League B. She said, “I think it’s important not to get carried away because it’s still early days. However, these matches have shown that when we believe in ourselves and play our football, we are in a position to compete with the teams.”
At the other side of things is Portugal, whose drop from League A is exactly what they seek to immediately get themselves back on the upward trajectory. Portugal’s captain, Dolores Silva, acknowledged the side struggled with the pressure early on despite ultimately coming away with the victory, “In the beginning we were a bit nervous because we were creating a lot of chances, but not getting the goal. However, we scored early in the second half and then things came easier in the match because we were calmer, creating more and ultimately scored the second.”
The skipper acknowledged the challenge posed by the home team, but praised her contingent’s ability to get the maximum out of the round in search of the return to the top flight, “I think overall it was a good match. Malta is also a good team and has a lot of potential. However, of course for us it is very good to get full points from the first two matches.”
6. The Women’s Game Continues To Rise
The match was played in front of a record crowd for an international women’s football match of 1,026 spectators. It still fell shy of the all-time record for a women’s football match in Malta but broke the record set in the final match against Latvia where Malta secured promotion from League C.
Having returned to the starting eleven since that historic night, Kailey Willis was clear in the importance of consistent support for the team as they head into even tougher fixtures. She said, “”As a player looking up at the stands and seeing all those people supporting you gives a big boost. I thank those who came and showed their support today and I urge them to keep coming because their presence is needed not just in this match but in every match, no matter how tough or favourable.”
Although the home crowd had the numbers, Portugal’s travelling support made their voices heard and it was something that Francisco Neto welcomed for his team, “It’s perfect. To hear our anthem in the middle of the game and to hear the support of our fans is amazing. Normally we say that there is a Portuguese in every place in the world and the Portuguese come out to support their national team. So, we are very happy and this win is also for them.”
Having seen the women’s game grow over time, Dolores Silva acknowledged that away support is an element that is still in its infancy but trickling positively as the game grows domestically as well. She said, “It’s very important for us to feel the support wherever we go. Obviously when we play at home we feel it even more and we are very happy that our football in Portugal is improving now. However, it is nice to see a lot of support away from our country as well. As a player it makes me very happy and I say thank you to them for coming because this victory is also for them.”
Malta’s Manuela Tesse summed up the importance of support in view of the team’s efforts to reach their objectives of staying in League B, “”Supporters are the twelfth player and it is great to see the numbers. We will need these supporters back for us as we take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in May because it’s a very important match for us in this group. We need our supporters to stay close to us in the coming games to continue our fight toward our objective.”
Until then, players return to club duties. The domestic women’s game in Malta will set sight on the Assikura Women’s Knockout which kicks off tomorrow. League champions Birkirkara start their search for the treble against Lija Athletic at the Victor Tedesco Stadium (20:30), while Mgarr United and Hiberias renew their rivalry at the Centenary Stadium (20:30).
Lead Image: Just One Click Media (Brandon Bonett)
Stay up to date by following The Sporting Fan on social media: Instagram ~ Facebook ~ X
1 Response
[…] Six Key Points From The Encounter Between Malta And Portugal […]