UEFA Europa League: Abdilla confident that Gzira will finish the job against Sant Julia

Gzira coach Darren Abdilla is confident his boys will be able to finish the job against Andorran side Sant Julia on Thursday evening at the Centenary Stadium (kickoff 7pm).

He and his squad are well aware that they will be carrying a very good 2-0 lead following last week’s first leg in Andorra. “But we still have to keep our feet to the ground,” he said yesterday.

Abdilla, however, is confident. “We have prepared well for this tie and we are looking forward to qualify for the next round. My players are focussed on this match but we also have to give due respect to our opponents.

“After the first leg, we can say they are strong physically, but technically we consider ourselves superior.

“I was quite happy with the performance of the team in Andorra. I have a good squad of players and there might be a few changes from the side that played in Andorra last week,” he said.

Speaking about the squad, Abdilla said they had been working hard on strengthening it. “We acquired the services of Soares and Jorginho from Hibernians and Veronese from Mosta. I like signing players whom I had previously seen in action locally rather than watching them on videos,” he explained.

He added: “I think I still need another important player for the squad. But we still have almost two whole months before the end of the transfer market. I am sure that the player I want will be in our ranks till that deadline.”

Veteran captain and Footballer of the Year Andrew Cohen also said the 2-0 win last week was a very good result. “But we will not be stopping there. We will be trying to make sure of advancing to the next round by scoring more goals. We are full of confidence and I am sure we have all the ingredients to register another win,” he said.

Cohen added that the presence of his former Hibs colleagues Rodolfo Soares and Jorginho should help the side in no small measure, not only in this tie, but also throughout the whole season.