Casciaro highlights value of Reserve League despite first defeat

Lincoln Red Imps head coach Ryan Casciaro was nevertheless to offer a positive reflection on what the Reserve League means for his young players, despite seeing his side suffer their first defeat of the season against Glacis United Reserves.
Lincoln Red Imps' unbeaten record in domestic football was broken last week when Glacis United Reserves defeated Lincoln Red Imps Reserves 2-0.
It was the first defeat for the club across its three senior domestic categories: U18, Reserves and senior GFL. The U18s maintained their 100% record on Monday with an emphatic 12-0 victory over Hound Dogs.
While the senior team have dropped points through a draw in their seven matches played, the Reserve side, although also having dropped points earlier in their campaign, had remained unbeaten until last Thursday.
Reserve League football, along with other sports using the main pitch at Lathbury, has seen its activities hampered over the past month and a half due to maintenance works being undertaken at the stadium. As a result, reserve teams had played just two matches prior to last week's encounter.
Thursday's defeat nevertheless provided an opportunity for former international and current head coach of the Reserves and U18s, Ryan Casciaro, to defend his side's approach and highlight the importance of the competition in developing young players.
Rather than using the Reserve team simply as an opportunity to field senior players, Lincoln have focused on providing a pathway for their younger players to gain experience and make the transition into senior football.
Casciaro also highlighted the contrast between his own squad, which includes players still eligible for the U18s and, in some cases, just 16 years of age, and other clubs fielding more experienced players already competing in Gibraltar's Premier Division.
"The performance was very good, again we playing against a senior Glacis side, when we are playing 16 year olds. And this is what we want we want this competition in the reserve league," he told Lincoln Red Imps' official social media channel in a post-match interview.
"This is why they started this league so that the local youngsters start getting that experience, in their transition move to premier."
Casciaro went on to highlight how his players had risen to the challenge of competing against more experienced opposition.
"We were playing a premier side, we matched them physically, we matched them technically."
With Lincoln Red Imps competing in the league phase of the Conference League and boasting a large senior squad, while their youth team also played in the UEFA Youth League earlier this season, the club has continued to place emphasis on developing its younger ranks.
In recent years, several players who featured in previous Youth League campaigns have moved on to other clubs, while others have progressed into the senior squad. Lincoln's continued investment in youth development has also provided a source of homegrown talent for other clubs seeking Gibraltar-eligible players to meet GEP requirements and strengthen their challenges for a place in the GFL's top six.

Hajduk Split visit the Rock

Lincoln Red Imps continue their Conference League campaign this week with a home fixture against Croatian side Hajduk Split.
It will not be the first time the Croatian club have visited the Rock, having done so during the 1950s and 1960s, when they faced representative Gibraltar and Rock XI sides, recording one victory and one defeat.
Lincoln will be looking to secure all three points as they seek to strengthen their challenge for qualification into the competition's knockout phase.
The fixture, considered high-risk, has already seen delays surrounding the release of tickets for sale. It was only on Monday that the club announced tickets would become available from Tuesday.
Tickets sold through the local market require Gibraltar ID for each ticket purchased, with a maximum of five tickets available per person. The measures are intended to control and limit the number of supporters attending, given the nature of the fixture.
Hajduk Split have previously faced several disciplinary actions from UEFA over the behaviour of their supporters at matches, with their most recent home fixtures having been played behind closed doors.