Malta fightback comes just short against Canada as they settle for 10th place at World Cup Division II

MALTA             12

CANADA        14

(1-5, 1-4, 3-2, 7-3)

The Malta water polo national team produced a strong fightback in the final two sessions but still was not enough to avoid a 14-12 defeat to Canada in the play-off for ninth place at the World Cup Division II at the National Pool.

It looked as though Milan Cirovic’s boys were set for a difficult afternoon as Canada surged into a commanding 9-2 advantage after the opening two sessions.

But the Maltese youngsters refused to lie down and produced a strong fightback in the last two sessions to come up just short of a famous comeback and settle for tenth place.

Still, a 10th-place finish in this tournament is a remarkable result for Milan Cirovic’s team, particularly when one considers the absence of skipper Stevie Camilleri who was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a nasal injury in the opening match against Australia.

Beyond the final placing, the biggest bonus for Cirovic will be the fact that the tournament confirmed that he enjoys a good bunch of upcoming players who are ready to make their leap into the senior squad, and provide a bright future for the national team.

The match had started on a difficult note for Malta as Canada were off to a lightning start in the first session, scoring five times, with the hosts managing to find the net just once through Julian Valletta.

The Canadians kept up the high tempo in the second session when they again outclassed the Maltese side, scoring four times and limiting their opponents to just one goal, scored by Valletta to change ends 9-2 ahead.

But the game changed completely as from the third session as the Maltese started to be more prolific in front of goal, as they edged the session 3-2.

Malta’s scorers were Jake Cachia, Jeremy Abela and Valletta to bridge the gap to 11-5 before the start of the final session.

Here, Malta threw caution to the win as they managed to outplay their opponents, netting seven times against Canada’s three.

Benjamin Cachia made it 11-6 before Nagaev struck twice in quick succession and Jeremy Abela raised the hopes of a comeback when bridging the gap to just three gtoals – 12-9.

But the Canadians scored twice in quick succession with less than four minutes to go and extended their advantage to 14-9.

Still, the Maltese players kept fighting and netted three further goals through an Elijah Schembri brace that was sandwiched by another Nagaev strike to a more respectable 14-12 scoreline.

MALTA: N. Grixti, E. Schembri 2, J. Valletta 3, J. Zerafa Gregory, J. Cachia 1, B. Cachia 1, R. Caruana, I. Nagaev 3, J. Abela 2, F. Bugelli, D. Zammit, L. Dimech, Z. Dzanovic, R. Bugelli.