Fitzel calls for total focus

A disciplined and committed performance is an absolute must if Malta are to stand a chance of leaving Chisinau with another satisfactory result today.

Malta find themselves in a rather unusual situation ahead of this away qualifier against Moldova at the Zimbru Stadium (6 p.m., Malta time).

Having raised the bar with that famous 2-1 home win over Hungary five months ago, many expect Malta to sustain the upward trajectory with another fruitful outing against a team who lie bottom of Group C with one point from four matches.

Mindful of the fine line between showing the right pre-match attitude and approaching it with an air of over-confidence, Malta coach Dusan Fitzel has invested a great deal of effort in ensuring that his players are totally focused this evening.

The emphasis on full concentration has transcended the confines of the training pitches where the squad have been going through their paces since arriving in the former Soviet republic on Thursday.

Fitzel addressed a couple of meetings at the Malta base, the Hotel Jolly Alon, over the past few days. At these gatherings, he not only shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition but also showed his charges video clips of some mistakes they committed during the 1-1 draw with Austria in last month's 50th anniversary match at the National Stadium.

Furthermore, Fitzel also in-structed his players not to speak to Moldova's sports press outside the allocated slots after a host of TV crews hogged the team hotel on their arrival here last Thursday.

"We must be fully concentrated on the match," Fitzel said. "The first training session on Thursday was the most difficult due to the exertions of the early-morning flight.

"But, I'm confident the players will refocus their minds on this qualifier."

Fitzel will choose his initial XI from a pool of 20 players. As is his norm, the Czech refused to lift the curtains on his formation but there should be no more than two changes from the team that played Austria on February 7.

Andrè Schembri is in line for a recall after recovering from surgery on the broken metatarsal he suffered in the 4-1 reverse to Lithuania in a friendly last November.

The Marsaxlokk striker will lead Malta's attack in Fitzel's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. Michael Mifsud, the Coventry forward, will again be under specific instructions to hit Moldova with his trademark speedy incursions from deep.

George Mallia is a safe bet to retain his position on the left side of midfield and Kevin Sammut will fancy his chances of continuing on the right after recuperating the knock he suffered last weekend.

However, Ivan Woods is also a strong contender to partner Briffa on the right flank.

Fitzel had planned to have Jamie Pace and Gilbert Agius running Malta's engine room. But a decision on his central midfield pairing will be taken today. This is because Agius, with 97 appearances, has not completely recovered from a slight knee injury and his condition is to be assessed again this morning.

The wide defensive positions have given Fitzel much food for thought over the past few weeks. The absence of Ian Ciantar and Steve Wellman, both injured, has seriously reduced Fitzel's options on the flanks.

Ian Azzopardi and Kenneth Scicluna are vying for the left-back position whereas the right-back role should go to Roderick Briffa.

At the heart of defence, Malta will surely not lack experience as Brian Said and Luke Dimech have figured in 115 international matches bet-ween them.

Justin Haber is a certainty to defend Malta's goal this evening.

Midfielders Pace and Sammut are the only two players in the squad for whom a yellow card today would rule them out of Wednesday's home qualifier against Greece.

On previous occasions, Fitzel had tagged flank play as an area where Malta had ample room for improvement. Fitzel reiterated his concern.

"Our movement on the flanks must improve," Fitzel remarked. "We have been working hard in training to deal with that problem."

Despite watching DVD's of matches played by Moldova recently, Fitzel is in the dark as to what tactical plan the opposition will adopt.

"I don't know how Moldova intend to play because in certain games, they were deployed in a 4-4-2 formation whereas on other occasions, they went for 3-5-2," Fitzel observed.

Moldova may be bottom of the group with one point but Fitzel is bracing himself for a taxing encounter.

"It will be a very hard game for us," Fitzel said. "Moldova will be going all out to thrill their fans but we will try to upset their plans.

"They have five new players in their squad. Judging by their performances so far, Moldova have a good squad and that's why I was surprised when they sacked their coach recently."

The Moldova coach at present is ex-Russia international Igor Dobrovolski. The former Genoa and Marseille midfielder was handed the task of replacing Anatol Teslev who resigned last December.

With the match in Moldova preceding another tough qualifier against Euro champions Greece at Ta' Qali next Wednesday, the need to get a creditable result here is even greater.

"The result against Moldova is bound to have an effect on our preparations for the Greece qualifier," Fitzel said.

"If we avoid defeat our morale will be high but on the other hand, a poor showing will have an adverse reaction on the players."

Batting away a question about his plans beyond the expiry of his contract next January with the convenient "we-still-have-time-to-talk-about-that" reply, Fitzel is keen to help Malta steer clear of bottom spot.

"I am happy when we don't lose and even happier when we win but the opponents also do their best to win," Fitzel said. "Our aim is to avoid finishing last in our group."

A draw or a win in Chisinau would go some way towards enhancing Malta's prospects of an honourable finish in Group C, not to mention the uplifting effect it would have on the players before the visit of Greece.