A still bitterly disappointed Pietro Ghedin said that he is confident that his players will rise to the occasion and repeat the good performance shown against England until the late collapse.
At the start of the press conference Pietro Ghedin said that he is disappointed at the way Malta played the last 15 minutes against England on Friday. He said that Malta played exceptionally well in the first half against England, never letting their opponents play their usual game.
He said that England is one of the best teams in the world and Malta could have obtained a better result apart from those disastrous last fifteen minutes. Ha said that probably his players tired out and some of the goals could have easily been avoided.
Ghedin stressed that it is very difficult to play against such top teams, especially when the local players are not fully professional players. He said that his players need to recover both physically and mentally because the England game was very demanding.
About Scotland Ghedin said that the Scots play similar football to England, maybe more physical and aggressive. He said that Scotland made great strides forward and he thinks that they are a far better team than the one faced at Ta’ Qali a year ago.
Ghedin stressed that his players need to be focussed again as Scotland is a very fast side and they will be going all out for the victory that keeps them in the running for the second place. Asked by the Scottish media about the chances Scotland have of gaining second place, he said that Slovakia and Slovenia play a different style of football, but he thinks that Scotland and Slovakia have equal chances of making it to the playoffs.
On the probable formation to face Scotland this evening, Ghedin said that he will decide after the final training spins before the match. The only doubtful starter will be Valletta defender Joseph Zerafa who limped off in the final minutes of the game against England.
Joseph Zerafa took part in the training session held yesterday at Hampden Park under a heavy shower. Striker Alfred Effiong is now available after serving a one-match ban against England. Ghedin said that Effiong is in very good physical condition but did not commit himself about the use or not of the Balzan striker this evening
Ghedin praised the performance of Chiasso striker Jean Paul Farrugia, and said that with Effiong, Schembri and veteran Michael Mifsud, Malta is well geared up in attack.
Also addressing yesterday’s press conference at Hampden Park was Malta midfielder Ryan Fenech, who had missed the home match against Scotland because he was injured. He said that the players are eager to wash out the last minutes of the match against England.
He praised the Scottish side and said the players are looking forward at playing in Hampden Park. Ryan Fenech stressed that the Malta players needed to recover both physically and mentally after the match against England. However he said that the players will again do their best to obtain a good result even in this difficult match.
Fenech said that these back to back matches are very demanding on the Maltese players as they lack the necessary international experience, and our national league is played at a much slower pace than those played in Great Britain.