San Ġiljan and Sirens are geared up to represent Maltese women’s waterpolo in the best possible way when they will be involved in the qualifying groups of the European Aquatics Conference Cup this weekend.
The Maltese sides will enjoy home advantage this weekend as qualifying matches from both groups will be played at the Cottonera Sports Complex.
San Ġiljan, under the charge of coach Marko Martinic, were handed a tough draw as they will be up against German side SV Blasuss Weiss Bochum, Turkish side Goztepe Sport Klub, and CN Sant Feliu, of Spain.
Malta champions Sirens also face a tough task this weekend as they were drawn to face two Greek sides in PAOK and NC Chania as well as ZVL-1886, of the Netherlands.
San Ġiljan are heading into its first-ever participation in a European competition with a very young squad, but Team Manager Stephanie Tanti Desjardins said that the team is relishing the challenge.
“We have been preparing for this qualifying group since the end of September,” Tanti Desjardins told the Times of Malta.
“This is the first time that we are participating in such a high-level competition, and our squad is formed by a very young group of players whose average age is between 16 and 17 years of age.
“The players have been working hard, training for 16 hours every week. Recently, the team travelled to Serbia, where we sparred with the Serbian U-18 selection, and our team’s performance was very positive as we managed to win every game played against a team that fielded all their top players.”
Tanti Desjardins said that the squad had been bolstered with the acquisition of Serbian player Jovana Antovic, who already had experience in playing with other Maltese clubs in the past.
“We are aware that this is going to be a tough challenge for us, particularly being our first experience in Europe, but all players are very eager for this challenge,” Tanti Desjardins concluded.
On the other hand, Sirens will again be representing Malta in European club competition but this time under the charge of new coach Edward Aquilina, who has replaced the departing Aurelien Cousin.
Aquilina said that the Sirens players are aware of the difficult challenge awaiting them, but is pleased with the preparation done by his team.
“This is a great experience for our club,” Aquilina told the Times of Malta.
“We have been drawn in a very tough group that involves two Greek teams, PAOK and FC Chania, as well as Dutch side ZVL-1886. Our goal is to do everything we can to achieve the best possible results.
“I have been with the squad for the past month and have worked really worked together. I am sure that it will be a great experience that will help us in the continuation of our European journey.”
Sirens have bolstered their squad with the acquisition of four overseas players, namely Bulgarian player Anna Gesheva, Eugenie Pirat, of France and two goalkeepers, namely Italian Laura Perego and Raquel de Pinho, of Brazil.
The top two teams in each group progress to the next round with the other teams dropping to the Challenger Cup.
Author
