Giovanni Tedesco was a relieved man after seeing his Gżira United side finally pick up their first league win of the 2019-20 season at the expense of Balzan on Sunday.

The Maroons came into the match against last year’s FA Trophy winners under some kind of pressure after they could only manage four draws which left them in the lower rungs of the standings in the first part of the league campaign.

After a commendable showing in their Europa League qualifying campaign, which saw them knock out Croatian giants Hajduk Split, the Maroons were unsurprisingly expected to be amont the main protagonists in this year’s Premier League campaign.

But their transition to their domestic endeavours turned out to be far more complicated than expected as Gżira struggled to express their best football, with their biggest problem being their inability to convert their scoring chances into goals.

Things looked to take a familiar path against Balzan as despite dominating proceedings they struggled to put away their scoring opportunities.

Tedesco’s decision to rope in Andrew Cohen midway through the second half turned out to be their trump card as the veteran midfielder took just eight minutes to put his team ahead and from then on there was no way back for Balzan as the Maroons managed to seal their points when Jefferson netted their second three minutes from time.

“I am just relieved to see the team finally win their first match,” the Italian coach told the Times of Malta yesterday.

“It has been quite frustrating in the last four matches as despite dominating the match for long stretches we found it hard to convert our chances into goals. I hope that this win will unleash the team from the mental blockage that we seemed to be affected from.

“Honestly beating a quality team like Balzan, who in my opinion are one of the strongest sides both from a physical and tactical point of view, is certainly a huge shot in the arm and hopefully now we can kick on.

“Obviously we have a difficult match coming up against champions Valletta but it will be an opportunity for our players to show that they are capable of challenging the best teams on the island.”

Tedesco said that he believes that his team’s pariticipation in the Europa League qualifiers had a negative effect on their return to domestic action.

“To play in Europe is a very prestigious opportunity for every Maltese clubs but it holds a few pitfalls with it too,” Tedesco said.

“Obviously every team starts its preparation early in June and there is the euphoria and enthusiasm of playing against quality teams, like on our part Hajduk Split, where we you are given the opportunity to express more your football.

“But once the European campaign is over it’s not easy to get back to your domestic reality. Coaches have to restart their team’s preparation but there are no guarantees that the players are capable to switch to the demands of Maltese football, who is far from difficult than European football.

“Playing in the Premier League is not easy as all teams run more during matches and are equipped with quality overseas players as well as having quality coaches who give them good tactical organization. So, for a player he needs time to make that transition and that has effected our players too.”

Tedesco said that this year’s Premier League campaign is turning out to be far more competitive than previous years as the so-called small teams have strengthened their ranks with quality overseas players.

Leading role

The former Ħamrun Spartans coach warned that his players needed to show more fight to win matches if they are to play a leading role in this year’s Premier League campaign.

“The early indications this year show that at the moment there are at least eight teams who are capable to challenge for a top position,” Tedesco said.

“You have teams like Sta Lucia and Sirens who have done very well in the transfer market when bringing in a quality set of overseas players that provided them a very solid spine and are very difficult to beat and that explains their surprising start while Ħamrun have built on the solid foundation they had last year.

“Then you have teams like Floriana and Birkirkara who have significantly boosted their squad and will surely be among the protagonists along with the usual suspects Hibernians, Valletta and Balzan. So as you can see competition is very fierce.

“Winning against Balzan was very important but now I hope the players show more fight and determination to win matches.

“That’s the only way for us to be able to help the club to achieve more than they have done in recent seasons.”