Sliema Wanderers eager to prove themselves after heavy defeat in Armenia

Following a heavy 7-0 defeat in the first leg in Armenia, Sliema Wanderers host FC Noah in the second leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday, kick-off at 19:00.

FC Noah, who had eliminated Shkendija of North Macedonia with a 4-1 aggregate score in the first round dominated from start to finish, scoring three in the first half, adding four goals after the break.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, coach Paul Zammit said “There is a lot to say but at this point, less talk and more facts is more important. We are all disappointed since so far, it has been an experience with two opposite sides. The positive side of the preparation which started six weeks ago and the negative side of the actual game. We all know our responsibilities.”

“The team was unrecognisable. When you look at the performance, several mistakes were committed and it was clear that there was a psycho-physical problem. There are several reasons for this but at this point, I want to focus fully on the second leg as we now have to prove a point.”

“As I said there are reasons for this and hopefully after this game, we sit down together to share my views on how preparation for European football against such teams could be difficult. However, I would like to underline the fact that we will not run away from our responsibilities. On the pitch, we had to be much, much better. The club administration did its best in the circumstances, considering that we were due to play the match away from home, then UEFA informed us that we would play the first leg at home but then we were told once again to play away. However, the club managed to make the necessary arrangements in the short time available.”

“I could understand the mental and physical state the players were in for this game. These are not excuses but real facts. This is something we need to face in local football. I do understand the frustration of football fans, particularly the Sliema supporters. They were not expecting such a performance and players deep down feel this as well.

“The players’ effort was ‘supernatural’. We tried but we did not manage. For a coach, the problem is much bigger when there is a general problem not a case of two players not performing on match day. We could have made tactically changes but it would still have not worked out. This was evident from the mistakes we were committing, even by considering only the mistakes which led to the goals as without these we could have avoided such a heavy defeat. However, I want to stress that we will not run away from our responsibilities in a game where we were not the usual Sliema and the performance was not that we were expecting. There was a lot of hype due to the return to European football and therefore one could understand the disappointment.”

“Now we have to concentrate on the second leg as we need to show that we are worthy opponents for this team. I knew that were going to play against a very strong team. We would have preferred being in a better shape, but we were prepared. This is a club with a huge financial backing and following the arrival of the new coach, they went a step further and signed several very valid players. We played against a very strong team, but this is no excuse. We should our responsibilities and now focus fully on this second leg. It was not an easy week and we worked hard to be worthy opponents on Thursday.”

“We need to react. We are still in a period of preparation. We must prove ourselves. As I tell the players and the staff, as it was the case over the past two years, when we went through good and not so good situations, the latter situations show who has the strongest character. We went through good times which enabled us to establish ourselves once again among the top teams thanks to the players and the staff.”

“I would really love to see Maltese clubs making a step further in European. There are a number of difficulties, and we need to discuss together how overcome these difficulties for players to be as fresh as possible for these matches.”

When asked whether the club would opt for new signings, Zammit said “Pre-season for clubs taking part in European qualifying matches is divided into two parts. In the first part, focus will be on additions to the squad to be better prepared for these matches. Then we would go back to the drawing board in view of the rest of the season.”

“This is normal, not because of the defeat. The plan was clear six weeks ago. After winning the FA Trophy, we worked hard so that the squad would be prepared for such matches.”

“With regards to match intensity, we knew they were ahead of us, going for a training camp, playing a number of friendly matches and playing the first round against Shkendija. For us, this was the first game at that intensity. Hopefully, on Thursday, we will better in this aspect.”

Myles Beerman added that the players were very disappointed with their performance.

“We knew how hard we worked. Players who have been involved in this project for the past two years and also those who joined the club last year and in recent weeks have been working hard but we were disappointed in failing to perform in the game. We will shoulder our responsibilities and we move on from there.”

“You go through bad and good parches, stay united and support each other. Hopefully supporters will give us their backing. We will focus on this game and then on league campaign.”