Miller urges players to raise game

Malta U-21 coach Mark Miller has been urging his players to raise their game in this evening's Euro Championship qualifier against Bosnia Herzegovina in Zenica (kick-off: 8 p.m.).

Miller has been heartened by the brave performance of his young players during the group opener against Romania in June. The Maltese youngsters looked well on course to earn a point with the score still goalless at the end of the normal 90 minutes but Clement Palimaru struck in stoppage time to give Romania a 1-0 win at the Hibs Ground.

The Malta coach is bracing himself for another tough test against the strong Bosnians who will be starting their qualifying campaign this evening.

"For a small country like Malta, these matches are always difficult, regardless of the opposition," Miller told The Times.

"From what I've seen against Romania in June and in our friendly match against Portugal a few weeks ago, it's clear that football at this level is improving fast. Our performance against Romania was good and we certainly deserved a point for our efforts.

"It's important that we keep a high level of consistency in our game as that's our only hope of giving our opponents a good challenge.

"A positive result in Bosnia would be a good injection of confidence for the players ahead of what looks like our toughest match in the group against France on Wednesday."

For the trip to Bosnia, the Malta coach is without utility player Andrei Agius who has stayed with his Italian Serie D club Igea Virtus as the latter have a league match tomorrow.

Miller has a few injury worries ahead of tonight's match as Valletta winger Dyson Falzon is struggling with a calf strain and Floriana's Christian Caruana is hampered by blisters in his foot.

"We had a very good pre-season and a positive performance against a star-studded Portugal team," Miller added.

"I am confident that, if our players go into this match with the right attitude and determination, we can return home with a positive result."

Miller's squad

Goalkeepers: M. Montfort (Valletta), L. Woods (Ware FC, England).

Defenders: S. Bezzina (Valletta), S. Borg (Mosta), J. Caruana (Hibs), C. Failla (Hibs), C. Gatt Baldacchino (Mqabba), E. Herrera (Pietà), D. Pisani (Floriana).

Midfielders: E. Agius (Hibs), M. Bartolo (Sliema), D. Falzon (Valletta), P. Fenech (Birkirkara), R. Fenech (Hamrun), J. Mintoff (Mqabba).

Strikers: C. Caruana (Floriana), S. Meilak (Hamrun), I. Zammit (Valletta).