Malta worn out after bright start in Riga
Latvia 27Malta 16(HT: 17-13)\nThe Maltese national team had a disappointing start to the European Nations Cup qualifying campaign yesterday after they were beaten by Latvia 27-16 in the side's opening Division 2B match in Riga. Everything seemed to be...
Latvia 27
Malta 16
(HT: 17-13)
\nThe Maltese national team had a disappointing start to the European Nations Cup qualifying campaign yesterday after they were beaten by Latvia 27-16 in the side's opening Division 2B match in Riga.
Everything seemed to be going Malta's way after 15 minutes as they raced into a seemingly commanding 13-0 lead. Lee Culnane and Oliver Sacco scored a try each while Jamie Caruana converted a penalty kick.
The Latvians took their time to settle down but soon they sprang to life and made home advantage count.
They launched a stirring fightback which saw them scoring a series of points without reply to go into the interval 17-13 ahead.
The Maltese tried to regain the initiative after the break but the Latvians were too strong in set-pieces. They went on to add two other tries to their tally with Caruana kicking in three points for Malta for a final 27-16 scoreline.
In his aftermatch comments, national coach Damien Neill sounded disappointed with the outcome.
"It's bad to lose a match we were leading so comfortably in the opening stages," Neill said.
"For the first 15 to 20 minutes we were moving the ball without problem and our swift play was creating a lot of problems for them. But then, we fell into Latvia's trap and tried to match their strength in the pack... that turned out to be our downfall.
"This wasn't a good start, I know, but we still have time to turn things round in this qualifying phase. Our next match against Croatia at home is an ideal opportunity to show that we are a much better side than what this result might suggest."
Malta play their second match in the group against Croatia on Saturday at the Hibs Ground. The other two qualifiers will be played next year - vs Andorra (home - May 12) and vs Poland (away - May 19).
Malta (starting line-up): I. Borda, J. Ramage, E. Zarb, P. Mangion, R. Bonavia, G. Kennedy, S. Kempster, D. St George, J. Dimmond, J. Caruana 6, J. Finlason, T. Watts, M. Attard, L. Culnane 5, O. Sacco 5.
Other result: Croatia vs Poland 11-12.