by Valletta and Swieqi United will initiate today’s double-header at Mgarr Ground at 14:00. Valletta’s Jean Lopes and Swieqi United‘s Dorianne Theuma weighed in on the proceedings during the international break, while Jean Lopes dismissed concern of disciplinary issues. Swieqi United’s Dorianne Theuma is eyeing three more points to maintain pace at the top, while Valletta’s Jean Lopes acknowledged the tactical battle at hand.
Upward Trends
Valletta will host Swieqi United at Mgarr Ground, with the two teams eyeing to continue their respective upward trajectories. Valletta continue to chase San Gwann in the bottom half of the table, while Swieqi United will eye three more points to maintain pace at the top of the table.
Valletta secured a 1-0 victory over Lija Athletic in an explosive match before the break, earning their three points with a conversion from the spot. Jean Lopes dismissed any worries on the fact that his team has struggled to earn the points against Lija Athletic this season, despite having won convincingly all last season’s encounters.
Jean Lopes replied, “I’m not worried. Ideally, we would finish the match as quickly as possible, and many times we missed the chance to convert our opportunities into goals due to our own mistakes. However, we know that Lija is a resilient team defensively, which makes scoring even more challenging. However, we were able to convert the penalty and come away with the win.”
On the other hand, Lopes dismissed concerns of discipline issues within the team, following the controversy that shrouded the match, “Yes, it’s true, (about the behaviour). However, honestly, Leonardo and I, as coaches, don’t concern ourselves with warning or advising our players about this type of behaviour. We’re a very well-disciplined team, regardless of who we’re playing against, and we’re confident that this will continue to be our standard.”
Meanwhile, Swieqi United came away with a single point against leaders Hibernians, keeping the gap to four points to the top of the table.
Having had good opportunities to find the net, Swieqi United’s Dorianne Theuma remarked, “I’m pleased with the improvement made from the first time we encountered Hibernians. We played against a well organised team and managed to create chances. However, we still didn’t capitalise on the opportunities, so overall I’m not happy with the result as these were two points lost.”
International Break
Valletta missed out on call-ups to the Malta senior national team squad, but the U19 selection featured regular players Megan La Rosa and Suzanne Farrugia Sacco, while Hannah Fenech, Somaya Muscat and Danicia Ciantar made the U17 selection.
Having had more time with several of his players during the international break, Jean Lopes confirmed the work carried out to fine tune details, “We had the opportunity to prepare and refine our tactics, especially considering our upcoming opponents. Obviously, it was a blessed break for some players to have the chance to return from injury and help us again in the league.”
The majority of the players featured in a 4-1 victory over San Gwann in the Assikura Women’s Youth League this week, restarting their competitive matches with a positive result.
Meanwhile, Swieqi United had two senior players called up to face Italy, in Shona Zammit and Emma Xuereb, while several made the youth selections. Among the more regular senior team starters Ema Micallef and Thea Scicluna were called up to the U19 selection, accompanied by Chanelle Borg, Ilona Abela, Shannen Mallia, Michaela Mifsud Gauci and Leanne Frendo. The U17 selection featured a trio who are making a name for themselves in the Assikura Women’s Youth League in Shaiel Falzon, Amy Portelli and Tea Kimamo.
Questioned about the selections and the utilisation of the international break within the club sessions, Swieqi’s Dorianne Theuma replied, ”Considering that most of our youth squad train with the seniors, during the national window we had nine players called up, as well as two promising players who also train regularly with the seniors called up with the U17s. We did end up with a small group, but I believe that these are things to be proud of. The remaining players trained very well, I am happy.”
Match Expectations
The first round match was tightly poised but arguably tilted by a half-time tactical tweak by Swieqi United, which compounded once a penalty was converted. The Owls ultimately came away with a 3 – 0 victory.
Both teams desire the three points as Swieqi United seek to maintain pace at the top following Mgarr United’s victory against Hibernians which opened things further in the table. Meanwhile, Valletta will want to get something out of the match to make strides against top four opposition this season. There will also be a battle within the war as Miriana Conti faces her former side for the first time since switching to Swieqi United.
Jean Lopes did not negate that Swieqi United have gone from strength to strength since the first encounter, “Playing against Swieqi is never going to be easy. As I mentioned earlier, Dorianne (Theuma) knows her team very well because she has had the opportunity not only to coach but also to play with most of them. Therefore, she always proposes interesting tactical variations with player position changes. We faced them in the first round of the league when they were missing a few players, so we know that the reality and context today are different.”
Despite this, Valletta’s coach is backing his team’s growth to have a positive showing, “However, I have a lot of confidence in our team. We have worked very hard during this period, and I am sure we can once again provide a good match against Swieqi.
Swieqi United’s Dorianne Theuma acknowledged the team struggled early against Valletta and is not underestimating her opposition, “As you said, we struggled in the first round and I’m sure it will be equally challenging tomorrow. We had the full squad for two days which is not the most ideal scenario, but hopefully we approach this game with the right mindset.”
The two teams will kick-start today’s double-header at Mgarr Ground, with an early 14:00 kick-off. The match will be followed by the encounter between Birkirkara and Lija Athletic, starting at 16:30.
Lead Images: Lara Schembri / Michael Azzopardi (Swieqi United)
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