by Valletta will be taking on Birkirkara this evening at the Victor Tedesco Stadium at 20:30. Ahead of tonight Valletta’s Anton Cremona praised the improvements shown by his team underscoring the enthusiasm to build further. Birkirkara’s Billy Mock praised his side’s recent football while teasing a new face in defence.
Putting Pieces Together
Valletta and Birkirkara’s second meet of the year will bring fresh battles with the two teams having had more time to start stringing the group together under the new leadership of Anton Cremona and Billy Mock.
Valletta come into it following a 6 – 1 defeat to the defending champions, Swieqi United. Despite, the one-sided score with four goals arriving in the second half, the team did manage to find the net with a well-worked set-piece and showed promise from transition in stints in the match.
Anton Cremona discussed the match, “We knew that we where going to play against one of the best teams. I think my players were disciplined and did their best. I think that we gave Swieqi a hard time and sometimes we had very good chances to score.”
As to the three goals conceded late on, Cremona dismissed fitness issues, but underscored the importance of more time needed for the team to work together, “It’s not fitness the problem. We started from scratch, so we didn’t have time to do everything in the short time. I’m waiting for a break from matches because now we know each other, including myself.”
Giving further insight, the Valletta coach described the challenges of making the right decision on limited information, “We have a short list of players and sometimes you do a substitution and goes well, sometimes it does not. The final result was very harsh with us.”
Birkirkara emerged with a commanding 7 – 2 win against San Gwann. They survived a scare from a penalty that could have seen San Gwann creep back into the match to make it 4 – 3, before powering past to extend the score.
Billy Mock praised his team’s performance to get the win, “Yes, we had a good win, but the most important thing is the way we played. True that San Gwann came close to 4-3 with a very dubious penalty’s but still, I give full credit to the way my players reacted after San Gwann missed their penalty.”
Questioned on the balancing act between attack and defence, he conceded, “Yes, at times, there were some unbalanced situations at the back because we focused mostly on offensive, thus leaving some gaps behind.”
Of course, similar to last year, the team is taking to the pitch without a significant stalwart at the back, this year in missing Charlene Zammit. Questioned on the veteran’s situation, Billy Mock replied, “Charlene is a legend. It was not easy to replace her, and the team really felt her absence.”
However, the Stripes’ boss confirmed that the side has reinforced at the back, “We tried to get her replacement from Ghana, and finally, Selina Anima from Ghana just arrived yesterday.”
Billy Mock finished by instilling complete confidence in the mix that the side will have at the back, “She will fill Charlene’s place. We will surely be stronger at the back with Steph(ania Farrugia) leading our strong defence with a mixture of local experienced players like Steph and some strong foreign players, plus introducing some young promising players, too. Janice (Xuereb) is also one of the best goalkeepers on the island.”
Expectations For A More Balanced Match
The two teams ended their first encounter in a 5 – 1 victory for Birkirkara. A victory for the Stripes will keep them in place to put pressure on Hibernians who face San Gwann tomorrow. However, the Citizens are seeking further improvements.
Indeed, Valletta’s Anton Cremona praised his side and is looking for further demonstrations of the positives seen in recent performances, “We take every game differently. Again Birkirkara are good team, but if we continue to improve our game, we can give a hard time. I’m happy with my players who are trying to do their best.”
Meanwhile, Billy Mock echoed the respect for his rivals, noting their improvement, while backing his team to continue putting the performances together, “Yes, I expect a tougher game than the previous encounter. We also improved, especially in midfield. Still, we respect all teams, even the less quoted ones. We give the same importance to all the teams, but with a different game strategy according to the style of play of our opponents.”
The two sides will face each other at the Victor Tedesco Stadium at 20:30 this evening.
Lead Image: Elise Bajada
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