CATIOUS GHEDIN HOPES MALTA WILL HAVE A GOOD GAME AGAINST BULGARIA

Commenting on Malta’s World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria ahead of tomorrow’s match Maltese national team boss Pietro Ghedin said it’s going to be difficult for our team since Bulgaria ‘have made giant positive steps and are doing quite well. Their quality is their team play built around physically strong players like Popov and Manolev. They are very young and grew a lot in the last four months.’    ‘I am very surprised about this team. But then again it’s nice for us to play behind closed doors since they won’t have the crowd behind them,’ Ghedin said when asked if the empty stands might favour the Maltese. Referring to tactics, Ghedin said that we have our own style of play and we will stick to it. ‘We need to stay together and play for one another. I am making sure that we play as a team with everyone knowing what his role is. I am working a lot on this and I hope we have a good game,’ our coach said. Daniel Bogdanovic was equally hopeful that an empty stadium would give us a better chance. ’But then football is a funny game and there are many factors which could affect the game and the result, like the weather and pitch conditions.’ ‘The pitch is usually good. I have played here. I hope it will be a good game,’ the Malta and Valletta forward said. By contrast the Bulgarian coach Penev is setting his goals high as far as his team’s qualification for Brazil is concerned. ‘While I don’t underestimate the Maltese we will approach the match with confidence. I am an optimist and therefore I set high goals for my players. Under no circumstances should we be satisfied with little. We should look for something bigger. So far I am happy with what my team has done,’ the Bulgarian coach said.