by The Centenary Stadium will play host to Valletta against San Gwann this evening at 20:15. Anton Cremona & Julian Camilleri discussed the impact of finding the net against the teams’ ambitions, as tonight tests players’ wills for points.
Positive Steps In Tough Results
Valletta and San Gwann will meet for the third time this year with the two having fought against the current for much of the campaign. However, they both head into this direct confrontation having made steps in converting action into goals against the top four teams.
Valletta scored against Birkirkara and started off the game against Hibernians on the front foot with an early goal, though ultimately walking away with a big defeat.
Valletta’s Anton Cremona saw the positives in hitting the goal early against Hibernians, but is pushing his team to iron out mistakes in search for more, “We started well, scored early and had other opportunities to increase the score. However, we still conceded soft goals and then the morale drops despite the positive of scoring the goal.”
The side showed a more aggressive stance in counter-attacking, with further numbers in support, while the team also showed several changes in the line-up. Questioned whether the recent additions have enabled the team to be more consistent in becoming unshackled from the impacts of the 135-minutes rule, Anton Cremona suggested he was happy with those coming in but that the U21 and the senior team are still very much dependent.
He replied, “We had some players missing through suspensions and other personal matters. However, I was satisfied with the players who came in from the U21 team. The 135-minutes rule binds everyone, but from my view certainly it is tough when a player is having a good game and you have to remove her just because of the rule. I think it’s not helping the progress of teams nor the development of players.”
Similarly, San Gwann conceded against Mgarr United, but found a late goal from a well-taken set-piece. San Gwann’s Julian Camilleri was buoyed by the start shown against league leaders, Mgarr United, “We were very disciplined in the first half. In fact the two goals they scored were from set-pieces.”
Questioned about the relevance of the late goal scored in view of their ambitions, he rallied his team to become stronger against adversity in matches, “We conceded the third goal immediately after starting the second half and I think we let it affect us. Those points are exactly where we must believe and have the courage to stay disciplined, play our game and be ambitious in maintaining our principles and show them on the pitch.”
Questioned about the counter-attacking stance against the ambition to fight for more possession in matches, Julian Camilleri weighed in, “We have to adapt according to the match and our opposition. We practice more than one system, and then we have to choose what to play. It’s nice to have a lot of possession, but at the end of the day, the result is what matters.”
An Open Match Promised
The two teams are hungry for points and perhaps even more a victory to boost morale. The two coaches were unanimous in suggesting that an open match is to be expected.
“I think matches against San Gwann have been balanced. I believe it will be an open match which any side can win. The team who does the least mistakes can take the points,” said Valletta’s Anton Cremona.
Similarly, his counterpart Julian Camilleri echoed, “It’s always an open match against Valletta. The team who makes the least mistakes and has the most motivated players will take the win.”
The two teams will kick-off at 20:15 at the Centenary Stadium.
Lead Image: Michael Azzopardi
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