Group A Pepsi Player of the Week - Dunstan Vella

The Group A Pepsi Player of the Week is none other than Hibernians FC Dunstan Vella. He’s excellent performances all tournament long and it’s not a surprise that he’s been awarded such an achievement. Here’s how Group A played out, and what’s awaiting Dunstan in the coming stages of the event:

Group A - Match Briefing

Dunstan started his group with a match against the Valletta FC player, Shaun Dimech. Surprisingly, both legs were quite one-sided having a scoreline of 4-2 favouring Hibernians FC. This win got him into the second round of the winners bracket against Brandon Galea, a player for Gzira United. Dunstan had a very dominant start to this series, as he kicked off the match with a goal before the half-time mark. He then increased his advantage by scoring twice more during the 54th & 60th minute. 

This was already a huge lead heading into the second leg, which made things very troubling for Brandon. In the second game, both players started the match with two early goals. Just a few minutes after these initial goals, Brandon was given another opportunity and took the shot to get the lead in the second leg. However what followed was a strong and concise defensive performance from Dunstan, disallowing any chances that Gzira United had to score. This was a very good strategy by him as it got him the series win by aggregate. With this victory, Dunstan finished Group A in the first position. Here are some of his thoughts after topping his group:

Due to his results in Group A, in the playoffs, he was seeded against Isaac Kyle Grima, a player for Balzan FC. Isaac gave him a tough series to win, but Dunstan came out on top with a 2-1 scoreline in the first leg, and a 3-2 victory in the second leg. This progressed Dunstan to the Quarterfinals, where he matched against Gudja United player Kursten Sciberras. The first leg was heavily one-sided due to Dunstan’s incredible 4-goal lead. Then in the second leg, Kursten put up more of a fight, but so did Dunstan, concluding that match with a 4-3 scoreline favouring Hibernians. This win meant that Hibernians advanced onto the Semifinals, and Dunstan will have to face his toughest opponent yet, Christian Spiteri.

We asked Dunstan a couple of questions regarding his performance during the tournament.

Can you start by telling us something about you and for how long have you been playing FIFA competitively?

I’m Dunstan Vella, 25 years old and I have been playing FIFA competitively for the past 5 years.  I am a very competitive person, and I’m always trying to find some online tournaments being organised or head to head matches.

What were your expectations when starting the competition and did you achieve them till now?

This year my expectations were to finish within at least the top 8, and with me reaching the Semifinals, I feel that I have achieved my goal.

Again this year you showed dominance in every match you played. Can you tell us how you prepare for such matches?

I think that consistency is the key and I have shown this in every match this year. With regards to preparations, I do not spend a lot of time playing FIFA as I feel that spending a lot of hours on the game everyday can work against you.

How are you preparing for your SemiFinal match against Christian?

Everyone knows that Christian is one of the best FIFA players. However, my preparations are always the same and the most important aspect in FIFA is concentration and focus.

Did you expect to reach the semifinal and are you expecting to reach the Final?

At the beginning of the tournament I wasn’t expecting that, but after finishing top of my group I felt really confident. Football games are decided by moments and with some luck I believe that I can make it to the final.

Were you surprised that you won the Pepsi Player of the Week?

To be honest, I wasn’t very surprised as I played really well in all matches.

What was the feedback you got from your friends and supporters after this year’s edition?

I had a lot of positive comments especially with the game style I use during the games.

Any Final Comments?

I hope we will have more opportunities during the year to compete in similar tournaments.

What’s next for Hibernians F.C?

As mentioned above, the next step is probably the most difficult in Hibernians’ journey in the BOV ePremier League. Reaching the top 4 is certainly a good achievement, but getting to the final and winning it is a much better feeling. We wish Dunstan the very best in his coming matches, and look forward to his game versus Santa Lucia next Wednesday, 2nd of June!