Malta face Andorra for the second time in a week as part of their women's Nations League campaign. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli
Malta captain Emma Lipman has urged the Malta women’s national team not to rest on their laurels despite bagging the three points in all of their opening three matches in their Nations League group.
The Maltese women are currently in La Vella where they are finalising their preparations ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Nations League match against Andorra (kick-off: 7pm), the second meeting between the two countries in the space of a few days.
The Maltese side are on the back of a brilliant display against Andorra, winning 5-0 to the delight of the numerous crowd that attended the game at the Centenary Stadium.
It was another step forward as Manuela Tesse’s side continued to march towards their sole objective – clinching promotion to League B.
Malta started as favourites to top this group having the best ranking position among the four teams forming this League C quartet – Latvia, Moldova and Andorra.
So far, they have lived up to the expectations with eight goals in three games, keeping a clean sheet in every single encounter with the general consensus being that the team is embracing the responsibility to win this group.
“We went into this competition with the aim of winning the group,” Lipman told the Times of Malta.
“It was the first time that we tried to instil this mentality in our dressing and while it is nice, it adds more pressure on us to deliver.
“So far, though, three wins and no goals conceded is a massive record and therefore we are on the right track to reach our goal.”
‘Naïve to take Andorra lightly’
Despite the big win over 172nd-ranked Andorra, Lipman – who currently plays at Como in the Italian Serie A – believes Malta can still improve in the upcoming three games of this group.
“I think we could have scored more against Andorra and seeing more potential in this team despite winning by five goals, that means we are in a good place to grow more,” the former Roma player pointed out.
“We can take positives from every game, like our strong character against Latvia and the glimpses of quality we showed against Moldova.”
Malta start as favourites when they take on Andorra in their final October international window match with Latvia facing Moldova in Chisinau.
Lipman highlighted the importance of not taking any game for granted especially away from home with Andorra having won their home game against Moldova when they launched their campaign.
“It would be naïve on our part to take Andorra lightly,” she explained.
“We just need to enjoy the moment and make sure we are prepared for the challenges ahead of us.”
