Ghedin urges team to stay positive ahead of San Marino test

Malta coach Pietro Ghedin yesterday sounded satisfied with the national squad’s pre-season and build-up for Tuesday’s international friendly against San Marino in Serravalle.

Speaking to The Sunday Times just minutes after the final training spin at Ta’ Qali, Ghedin said the physical condition of his players was ‘quite good’ even though he has a few minor concerns before naming the 18-man list for San Marino.

“Physically, the team is quite good,” he said.

“The players worked really hard in pre-season. Unfortunately, there are a few players worried by some niggling injury problems and that could force us to change some of our plans for the friendly.

“Jonathan Caruana and Cleaven Frendo are not 100 per cent fit while Andre Schembri and Shaun Bajada had little pre-season training so all four will have to catch up with the others to get into shape.”

Missing from training yesterday were the Valletta players who travelled to Sardegna on Friday for a friendly against Cagliari in Olbia which was played last night.

Ghedin only finalised his list of players last night ahead of this afternoon’s departure.

Goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, of Cypriot side Enosis Neon Paralimini, and Latina defender Andrei Agius, were both included in the list and will join their team-mates in San Marino this evening.

Among the notable absentees in the squad are defenders Edward Herrera, of Hibs, and Valletta’s Ian Azzopardi.

Ryan Camilleri, of Hibs, and John Mintoff, of Sliema, made the squad and could earn their first cap in this week’s friendly.

Tuesday’s match will be the national team’s final test before the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, starting with a home match against Armenia on September 6.

Ghedin had a positive debut to his second stint as Malta coach in June after guiding the team to a 2-0 victory against Luxembourg.

On that occasion, Michael Mifsud bagged both goals in a match that saw the Maltese producing some positive attacking football despite playing away from home.

Ghedin is expecting the same kind of commitment from his players against San Marino.

“I’ve always said that I want my team to play positive football,” Ghedin said.

“I want my players to show no fear on the pitch. Against Luxembourg it was a great start but we have to stay with our feet grounded as there’s ample room for improvement. The San Marino match will be another ideal test for us and I’m urging the boys to stay positive and show that we can really play some good football.

“That would increase the team’s confidence levels before the World Cup group matches.”

Among those training at Ta’ Qali at present are a few untested players, the likes of Julian Galea and Alex Cini, who Ghedin reckons are ideal candidates for a place in the squad in future.

“Alex Cini and Julian Galea are showing a lot of promise,” Ghedin said.

“We’re happy with their contribution. Building a strong squad is an ongoing process and we are always on the lookout for new talent.

“Also, we shall be monitoring some of the players from Ray Farrugia’s U-21 squad in the coming weeks, those not eligible for competition any more due to age restrictions.

“There’s an interesting crop of players coming up and I think they’ve done pretty well in the U-21 Championship.”

The squad
Goalkeepers: A. Hogg (Enosis Neon Paralimini, Cyprus), J. Haber (Mosta).

Defenders: A. Muscat (Sliema), A. Agius (Latina, Italy), L. Dimech (Mosta), R. Camilleri (Hibs), S. Borg (Valletta).

Midfielders: G. Sciberras (Birkirkara), R. Briffa (Valletta), J. Mintoff (Sliema Wanderers), P. Fenech (Birkirkara), R. Fenech (Valletta), S. Bajada (Valletta).

Strikers: A. Schembri (no club), A. Cohen (Hibs), D. Bogdanovic (Mosta), E. Barbara (Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada), M. Mifsud(Valletta).