'There is still a long way to go' - Janice Xuereb
by Ayrton Galea - 17th January 2017
Women's Team Goalkeeper, Janice Xuereb, believes that this year's squad has the required experience to win the league, while acknowledging that there is still a long way to go, despite the comfortable advantage at top of the table.
The Stripes ended the second-round commitments with a comfortable seven point advantage following a 4-1 win over Gozo FC. Ironically, this match brought to an end a nine-match streak without conceding a goal.
About this remarkable run, Janice said, “As a team, it's always a positive note to finish the game with a clean-sheet, so nine matches without conceding a goal was a great achievement for all of us. I believe that the team is improving in the way we are defending and we are enjoying the results of our improvements. Nonetheless, we still have to keep working hard on every aspect of the team.”
Needless to say, goalkeeper Xuereb played a key-role in this amazing run which saw her producing a string of fine saves to remain unbeaten, including in the two matches against nearest challengers Hibernians. “I'm quite happy with my performances but I wouldn't say I'm on top form yet, as there is always room for improvement.
About the goalkeepers' coach, Janice said “Coach Ruben Debono plays as an important role in this season's performances. He is such a talented coach and his training is always intense. I believe we have a good coach-athlete relationship because despite the fact that his training is intense, I enjoy every training session.”
From her personal performance, we shifted our conversation about the team's performances which they have led to a comfortable lead on top. “We were focused on every game, played with full concentration and we approached every game as a final. I think the new signings played a very important part in this season because they have strengthened our squad, they are all promising players and I believe they I think they complemented the team very well. I think our team is a young team. Obviously the majority of the players were younger in the previous years, but this year we have the appropriate experience to win the league.”
Despite the comfortable lead, Janice is not being carried away. “All the team knows that there is still a long way to go. We are still going play every game like all the games that we played so far, because the moment that the team plays with overconfidence would be the moment we would lose everything we built so far. During the next matches we want nothing less than three points from every match.
This evening, the Women's Team will start the third round with a difficult match against Mgarr United. Janice said, “Mgarr is a promising team, like every other team. We prepared for this match by training hard like we prepare for every other game.”
Finally, we concluded this interview with Janice talking about the ambitions for this season. “Our ambition is the win every achievement possible and participates in the UEFA Women's Champions League. This goes hand to hand with my ambitions as they are to win as much achievements as I can. Individual achievements are always an honour but my main aim is the team's achievements.”
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