Malta Women away to Bosnia Herzegovina in tough second leg: Bouncing back imperative

Haley Bugeja

Last Friday’s game witnessed a rather average performance by the Malta WNT in a narrow 1-0 defeat to Bosnia Herzegovina at the Centenary Stadium.

A result that can look particularly tough, as it often highlights how close the match was and how one small shift in momentum could have changed the outcome.

Head coach Manuela Tesse expressed her disappointment with this result, explaining how the match would have taken a different direction had Malta scored from a chance created a few minutes before conceding the goal that decided the contest.

Having to play Bosnia and Herzegovina again on Tuesday, Tesse and her technical staff had to analyze what went wrong and build on the positives quickly.

Losing a home match can be disappointing, especially when there’s so much hope riding on the outcome.

“It’s always tough when things don’t go as planned, but setbacks can also lead to opportunities for growth.”

Patricia Ebejer, who replaced Janice Xuereb in goal, had a positive game, proving to be a reliable goalkeeper as she provided a sense of confidence and security to the defense.

Tesse believes that tomorrow’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina will be tough.

The opponents now have a chance to achieve second place in the group, which would mean earning a chance to play in the promotion playoffs.

Head coach Tesse is convinced that her players are disappointed and want to bounce back from last Friday’s defeat. “It’s often in these pressure moments that our team players can rally together and demonstrate their resilience.”

With determination and focus, the Malta Women’s Team can work towards achieving that much-needed victory to keep their chances alive. However, Tesse also admits that one must be realistic in construing that anything but a win, will mean the Malta WNT will be relegated to League C.

The match will be played on Tuesday at the FF BH Football Training Centre in Zenica, kicking off at 16:00 and it can be watched live on TVMSport+.