Thane Micallef share his views on Knock-Out success

by Ayrton Galea - 5th May 2017

Birkirkara FC Under-17's Team Coach Thane Micallef praised the hard work day-in day-out by his team that has led to the trump of the Under-17's Knock-Out, after the Stripes defeated Balzan FC with a 4-0 score in the final.

The Under-17's Team Coach opened with his comments about the match. “Balzan made their way to the final by eliminating strong teams such as Luxol and Valletta. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that a final inevitably brings some added excitement. We were mindful of the complications that this game could represent but we prepared well to limit Balzan's strengths and exploit their weaknesses.

“We started-off the game well but Balzan were organised defensively and managed to close down spaces – in fact we controlled possession without creating important scoring opportunities in the first twenty minutes of play. Midway through the first half we managed to score two goals in two minutes and these goals boosted the confidence of our players. These goals paved the way for a convincing performance and a good result.

“I was happy with the fact that we played good football, created various goal-scoring opportunities and limited our opponents from creating chances to score. I was also very happy with the mental strength showed by the players throughout the 80 minutes of play.

“The boys deserve full credit for this achievement. A wonderful group was created back in July and the sacrifice and commitment put-in by all the players paid off.”

When asked about the meaning of this success, the Coach told us, “One may measure success by the trophies won at the end of the season but the real success is seeing these boys work hard day-in and day-out which ultimately translates to the improvement of each individual.”

He added, “During this development process it is nice to see these boys enjoying themselves by winning a competition but the real success will be achieved when these players establish themselves in senior team-football and when each player manages to reach his maximum potential.”

Finally, Thane signed off this interview with a message to the players, “Passion will make you work hard daily in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Passion will give you the drive to go the extra mile. Don't lose your passion towards this wonderful game.”

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