Despite being very much aware of the strength of opponents Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia, Balzan coach Marco Micovic is optimistic that his boys will rise to the occasion and give their more experienced opponents a good run for their money in today’s match (Centenary Stadium at 6pm).

Addressing a news conference yesterday, on the eve of the first leg match in the second round of the competition, he said that this will be a very hard match.

He added: “Slovan are a top side with a good squad of 25 top players. They have experience and a lot of quality.”

Despite everything, Micovic is optimistic. “We have prepared well for this game. We will be trying to do our best to exploit their weaknesses. And I am sure my players will be doing their very best to get a positive result,” he said.

He also spoke about the match here against Kesla. “They did not play their best football in the Malta match. But in the second leg, we adopted different tactics and we managed to defend our 4-1 first leg lead. We hope our tactics will work against against Slovan,” he added.

Micovic went on to say that they will be giving due respect to their opponents. “It will be a very hard game, but it is also another amazing opportunity for us to make another surprise. We are living a dream, but although they are giants next to us, no one can predict what can happen in the game of football. We have seen a number of surprises at the World Cup, among them that 2-0 win for South Korea against Germany,” he said.

Players Steve Bezzina and Michael Johnson also commented on tomorrow’s match.

Bezzina said this is the first time that Balzan have reached this stage of the competition. “We are aware of Slovan’s strength but the matches against Kesla and our success have provided us with a lot of enthusiasm.”

Johnson said Balzan will be respecting their opponents. “It is a game over two legs and as everyone knows, in football anything can happen. I hope that we take our chances to be able to surprise them,” he added.