by Valletta and Mtarfa will conclude the Assikura Women’s League commitments this afternoon at Dingli Ground, starting at 16:30, before the international break ensues. Valletta’s Jean Lopes echoed Jethron Azzopardi’s sentiment on last week’s conditions, while welcoming the return of Gaia Antonelli as they strive for improved showings. Mtarfa’s Simon Spiteri broke the silence on the objectives in taking over once more and the prohibitions shackling Mtarfa’s women’s team. However, Spiteri is backing the young players to continue rising.
Assessing Defeats
The two sides meet following a disappointing result last week. Valletta succumbed to a 1 – 0 defeat at the hands of Lija Athletic for the first time in their story. The match was decided by an early goal, while the second half became increasingly difficult to play on a waterlogged pitch.
Questioned whether he believed his team could have done more in the first half and whether he believed that the match should have gone on in those conditions, Valletta’s Jean Lopes did not mince his words, “In fact, there were no ninety minutes of game in the match against Lija. It was a game played in forty-five minutes, where Lija managed to score a goal through our mistake. We had our opportunities to score goals, but unfortunately we didn’t manage to do so.”
The Valletta coach criticised the decision to continue the match, “Of course, the match should definitely have been stopped. We are talking about the Maltese women’s football league and I believe that we should prioritise the development of the athletes. There was no football in the second half. Everyone saw that it was a swimming pool with twenty-two athletes trying to play football in it.”
There was one positive for his side in the return of Gaia Antonelli, who had been sidelined by a long-term injury since mid-way through last season. Questioned on the importance of her return to the team, Jean Lopes replied, “Gaia has been part of our family for many years and her return to football makes us all very happy. It brings us another leader to the team who, despite being young, has a lot of experience.”
Probed on any hesitation to put her onto the pitch in those conditions, he admitted, “Of course I hesitated a lot (to put her into the pitch), I witnessed up close how much she suffered during this period away and in those conditions on the pitch it was very risky for anyone to suffer an injury.”
Mtarfa could not manage to earn their first point against San Gwann, but the team did manage a first goal against them this year. It was a well-worked goal too, with the Blues’ Eliza Csik released with a direct ball and precise with the finish.
Questioned on whether he is happy with the positive increments or whether he believes the team can get more, Mtarfa’s coach, Simon Spiteri, spoke out for the first time since returning to the leading chair.
He said, “Every game has its own story. The club at the beginning of the season registered a number of foreigners thanks to Gaetano (Papaleo). As administration we were hoping to go into a new era. However results persisted and in December both Gaetano (Papaleo) and Karmelysa (Tordo) resigned. The club approached me to rebuild a team to honour the league. I accepted to return on the bench on one condition: to be able to give opportunity to young players and to become competitive with respectful results and better quality of football.”
Asked about the more balanced approach and whether he believes players are enjoying their football more, despite perhaps results still not going their way, Simon Spiteri gave a positive outlook, “We are already showing a more organised and disciplined football. I will not be surprised that results will start to come even this season.”
Will The Score Be As Close?
Putting together Mtarfa’s goal against San Gwann, with the last performance against Valletta, could make things interesting again this afternoon. The last encounter between the two was decided by an own goal, sending Valletta home with three points, but perhaps unhappy with the manner of the victory. Mtarfa on their part had good opportunities to score themselves early on, and the defeat will have been a tough pill to swallow.
This afternoon provides the chance for the Blues to make amends, but equally so will test Valletta’s resolve for an improved showing. Questioned on whether he believes last week’s defeat, as well as the lacklustre performance against Mtarfa in their previous encounter, will be enough to push his team for a more lethal showing, Jean Lopes replied, “Mtarfa has very dedicated athletes who play for the passion of football and now have evolved a lot tactically and technically. It is up to us, as you mentioned, to be effective and lethal in our actions so that we can achieve victory.”
On the other hand, Mtarfa’s coach Simon Spiteri suggested Valletta’s strengths are formidable when considering his team’s chance at points this afternoon.
The Mtarfa coach was candid on the reality that the Mtarfa women’s team is shackled by the misgivings of the club in handling the men’s team. He said, “Unfortunately due to a prohibition on the male team and number of injuries, we couldn’t register a number of key players that would have made a difference in results and could have helped the young ones with their experience.”
The two teams will take to the pitch at Dingli Ground at 16:30, following the clash between San Gwann and Lija Athletic (14:00). The matches will conclude the Assikura Women’s League weekend, before the international break that will see Malta return to the UEFA Women’s Nations League competition.
Lead Image: Lara Schembri
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