Malta interim coach Mazzotta eyes winning finale against Andorra

Malta’s hopes of automatic promotion in the UEFA Nations League may be over but interim national coach Davide Mazzotta is still hellbent on seeing his team sign off their commitments in Group D2 with a convincing victory over Andorra on Tuesday night (kick-off: 8.45pm).

Last Saturday, Malta’s ambitions of taking top spot in the group were all but ended by forward Virgiliu Postolachi who fired home a 92nd-minute winner to hand his team the three points and mathematical certainty to finish top spot in the group.

Andorra’s defeat also confirmed Malta’s second place in the group and a spot in the promotion play-offs against one of the two bottom teams in League C with the best record. At present, these are Latvia and Luxembourg.

But despite the fact that tonight’s clash is a deadrubber, coach Mazzotta has no plans to take the match against Andorra lightly and want to end the campaign with a convincing victory.

“Nothing has changed in terms of our preparation for the match as our goal is that to try and express ourselves to the best of our ability,” Mazzotta said

“I want my players to keep pushing to their limits as that is the only way for my team to continue to grow. It’s not in my philosophy to approach any game to slow down our rhythm. Even when we are tired, I expect my players to try harder.

“At the weekend we hoped Andorra could have got a result against Andorra but that didn’t happen and although we were disappointed, we quickly put that setback behind us and we are focused on Tuesday’s match.

“I want the team to play at their best and get the three points as I want to finish the group on nine points. We owe a big performance to ourselves and to our fans and we are going out for the win and end the campaign in the best possible way.”

Mazzotta confirmed that he has no injury problems as Kemar Reid and Teddy Teuma have both recovered from knocks and are in contention to start.

Asked what he is expecting from Andorra, the Italian coach said: “Andorra are a very aggressive team who like to use their physicality to force their opponents not to play at their best and try and hurt them with quick transitions.

“These are matches where we are facing a different challenge. We will have to break down a team who is designed to defend. It’s true against Liechtenstein we found it tough to break them down but one has to remember that the players need time to fully understand my football philosophy.

“In football, you see great sides like Manchester City who struggle to break down teams who line up with a very defensive set-up so it’s normal for us to find it tough too.

“Against Andorra I want my team to be focused and move the ball very quickly so we can create space and create chances. We are looking forward to the match and I want my team to play at their best, so we give the best gift to our fans.”

Relief

Also present for the news conference was striker Jurgen Degabriele, the main architect behind Malta’s 2-0 win over Liechtenstein.

On Thursday, the Hibernians came off the bench to not only put the team ahead with a fine finish but his rapid movement and excellent link-up play enabled the team to put Liechtenstein to the sword as Malta strolled to a comfortable victory.

“I was so happy with my performance against Liechtenstein,” Degabriele said.

“It has been such a long time since I played for the national team let alone score a goal. Unfortunately, for the past two years, I rarely featured for my country as I was not in the plans of the previous national coach.

“When I scored against Liechtenstein I managed to take out all the frustration that I had inside of me for so long and felt relieved.

“Obviously, now my main goal is to try and keep myself as an important member of the team and try and give my contribution to my country.

“I am ready to give my all and help the team against Andorra where our main goal is to get the three points and finish the group strongly.

“The spirit in the team is very good and it’s great to be working with a coach that believes in you and hopefully there is more to come for me.”