Malta national teams’ head coach Emilio De Leo is proud of the effort put in by his players against Lithuania last Thursday and is in no doubt that this team is on the right road to fulfil their ambitions.
Malta were seconds away from recording their first win in the FIFA World Cup qualifying Group G as an Alex Satariano goal with seven minutes to go handed the team a deserved lead.
However, football sometimes can be a cruel game, and just when one thought that the team was on course to bounce back in style from June’s disastrous 8-0 defeat by the Netherlands, some controversial referee decisions saw the team drop two priceless points.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Georgian referee Giorgi Kruashvili harshly showed a red card to young midfielder Jake Azzopardi for what he considered a rash challenge on a Lithuanian midfielder, even though TV replays showed that he made contact with the ball first.
Then the final straw came in the seventh minute of extra-time, he handed Lithuania a penalty for a dubious foul from Zach Muscat on defender Edgaras Utkus from a corner action, and Gvidas Gineitis cooly converted as both teams had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
The outcome inevitably sparked a lot of disappointment among the Maltese players who felt they deserved more… a sentiment shared by coach De Leo.
“There is a lot of disappointment because we came here with the sole aim of picking up all three points,” De Leo told the Times of Malta.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we fully deserved all three points. The players deserved much better, particularly for all the hard work the players have been putting in since the debacle against the Netherlands.
“Since the Netherlands’ defeat, the players have worked really hard and deserved much more. Even the Maltese federation deserved a great result as they continued to support us, as well as the fans who have a lot of belief in this team.
“After the defeat to the Netherlands, it would have been nice that we could give great joy to everyone who has been supporting us but it was not to be.
“But that doesn’t ruin what has been a great performance where the boys gave everything and played some great football.
“It’s important that we are proud and happy with our efforts against Lithuania.”
Irvin Cardona made his debut against Lithuania, and the Malta coach was delighted with what he saw.
“I believe that Irvin Cardona played a great match,” the Italian coach said.
“He worked really hard, and he managed to stretch the team, something that we didn’t have before. Irvin is a talented forward who is capable of attacking all spaces, and more importantly, he is already forming a good understanding with the other forwards, like Chouaref and Joseph Mbong.
“It looks like there’s a repeat of what happened when Chouaref made his debut against Poland, where he immediately formed a great understanding with Teddy Teuma. I am sure he will be a great addition for us.”
Defensive cover
One major concern in Malta’s performance against Lithuania on Thursday was the fact that the team’s backline was not sufficiently protected by the midfielders, as De Leo was without an established defensive midfielder.
It has to be said that for this match was without some key midfielders such as Jake Brimmer, Matthew Guillaumier, and Teddy Teuma, with Brandon Paiber given a rare start, and the Malta coach was pleased with the effort of the Valletta FC skipper.
“I congratulated Brandon Paiber for his performance today,” De Leo said.
“It was not easy for him as he was making a return to the national team’s first team after a long time and I felt that he applied himself well.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect anything different from him because he showed a lot of quality and had a great sense of position. He has some great technical qualities that stand out in these kinds of matches.
“Today we were without two key players in Matthew Guillaumier, who was suspended, and Jake Brimmer was not fit to play. But I am pleased for Paiber and also Jake Azzopardi, who collected another international cap.
“Jake came to apologise after his red card, but I told him that I will never be angry with him for a stupid error. I will be furious if I see that he will not put behind him this match and continues to work hard during training.”
The final 1-1 draw in Lithuania earned Malta its second point in Group G, and De Leo said that so far the country should be proud of what they saw from their team as apart from the defeat to the Netherlands, the team was always competitive in the other matches.
“We should take heart from our journey so far in the World Cup qualifiers as apart from the poor result against the Netherlands, the team has always competed very well against all the other teams.
“Against Finland and Poland we were always in the match while we deserved more than a draw in both matches against Lithuania.
“We should be proud of this team, which even though on paper starts as the underdog against all teams in the group, has always played with great courage and with a clear playing identity.
“This team may suffer setbacks, as happened against the Netherlands, but these instances will help us to continue to grow, and I have no doubt that we will reach our goals in a short span of time.”
